Four Days of You and Me

by Miranda Kenneally

[Sam@WLABB]

I am going to be upfront with you, I am a super fan of the Hundred Oaks series. You could only imagine how excited I was, when I heard about this book. But, my excitement came with high expectations, and I am happy to say, they were exceeded.

Kenneally's other eight books all had romance in them, but the focus always seemed to be on the main character, and the issues she was working through. This book was a full-on romance. The relationship between Lulu and Alex took center stage, and I was really excited about that.

The Timeline

The book is broken into four parts, starting on the same day each year - May 7th, the annual class trip. I followed Lulu and Alex from Freshman to Senior year, and though I didn't spend the entire time with them, flashbacks supplied me with all the important events in their relationship, which lead them to the day of the field trip. I thought the format was clever, and felt it was done well. I looked forward to finding out the fate of Lulu and Alex each May 7th. Were they together? Were they apart? And, how did they get there? I know I was eager to find out.

The Growth

Because, I got to spend four years with these two, I really got to see how much they changed from one class trip to the next. Not only did their relationship evolve, they evolved. It was such a treat for me, as a reader, to get to see some of their dreams and aspirations take shape and come to fruition. I felt so involved in their journey, and I was keen on seeing what was next for them.

The Romance

The one thing Lulu and Alex never had a lack of was passion. When they were younger, it came across as hostility, but that quickly turned into sparks and fire. I was all about this ship. I was there at the dock, I christened it, and I was ready to bail the water out, because I was not allowing this ship to sink. Like any relationship, though, Alex and Lulu had their ups and downs. They were on and off, but never out of love.

You could see their understanding of their relationship changing as they aged. People grew, priorities changed, and they became ready to handle the many different aspects that come with a mature relationship. Kenneally has never shied away from sex in her books, so I was not surprised to see a lot of talk about the physical side of the relationship, but she also tackled the emotional side, which is such important part, and one that should be getting more attention.

The Ending

The ending was wonderful! Seriously, I had a big grin on my face. Yet, after spending four years with these two, I wanted more. It wasn't because I was worried about their relationship, but rather, I was curious about the path each character was on. Kenneally gave both Lulu and Alex such bright futures, and they were well on their way to making them a reality. I so wanted to be a part of that. A follow up novella would be ah-mazing. I'm just saying....

Overall: This was a beautiful story of love and growing up, and I would be ecstatic to spend more May 7ths with Lulu and Alex.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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