No One Needs to Know

by Amanda Grace

[Leah]

I'm a big fan of Young Adult novels and Amanda Grace (aka Mandy Hubbard) is rather big in big in the YA world with many novels under her belt. I haven't read any of her novels though I have one of her novels on my shelf and I've always wanted to try her Amanda Grace novels as they seem darker than her Mandy Hubbard books so I was sooooo happy to spot No One Needs To Know on Netgalley and even happier to be approved to read it and I couldn't wait to dive in!

No One Needs To Know is a very quick, very simple read that I thoroughly enjoyed - I liked getting to know the characters, and i liked that the novel dived into themes I don't normally read about, and I liked the whole Zoey in the middle thing, between Olivia and Liam. It was super interesting and while novels that advocate cheating are generally quite icky, there was something about No One Needs To Know that didn't seem icky and it didn't bother me as much as it might that Zoey was kissing both Olivia and Liam.

I don't read many LGBTQ books - not by choice, but because there aren't all that many diverse books around, although that's changing as more people are less judgemental and I very much enjoyed Zoey and Olivia's exploration of their feelings. There was a natural progression in their relationship from sorta-enemies, to friends, to more that I thought was thoroughly satisfying. It was so easy, so normal, which is very much down to Grace's writing. I was totally rooting for them and I loved their moments together, especially the earring and tattoo scene and the day when Olivia tells Zoey they're going to do whatever she wants, though she doesn't present it like that. It was so sweet of Olivia.

I'll be honest, it wasn't the most complicated book in the world, it took me 3 hours or so to complete, but I completely lost myself in Olivia and Zoey's alternating narrative. Olivia, Zoey and Liam make quite a pair and I was very pleased there wasn't a massive blow out towards the end which I had feared. Liam was über cool, cooler than I expected him to be, and I found him super kind and super unselfish. I must also mention Zoey's sister Caitlyn, who is the most gorgeous, sweet girl, such a sweetheart! I really enjoyed No One Needs To Know, it was a quick, fun summer read, different to what I normally read but I think no less of it because of that, I enjoyed reading about my first lesbian romance, especially with two such great girls as Olivia and Zoey.

This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read