This is my first story by Kristen Granata and it was a good young adult read. The topics these young adults encountered were different and I found it enjoyable as I turned the page on my kindle. I think this story had a lot of passion (nonsexual) and heart. There were things that each of the characters has to overcome and this cliffhanger ending will leave you wondering which way their journey will take them.
Merritt is in her early twenties. She has a past that has caused a lot of dark in her life. My heart hurt for her. When the world comes crashing down, her life changes in the blink of an eye. She must decide how she wants to pick up the pieces and rebuild. Merritt’s personality isn’t a bubbly one. I actually liked the fact that the main female wasn’t hearts, flowers, and rose-colored glasses. She is jaded, angry, and closed off. Let’s face it though, there are a lot of people like that. I would say she is a hard character to like. I liked that I didn’t immediately love her. She had to grow on me. Once she lets you in though, it’s magical to see her open up. They say opposites attract and Chase is definitely the yin to her yang. Over the story you really see Merritt grow into a young adult and some of the immaturity fade. By the end of the story, I was her biggest cheerleader for moving forward in life to find her happy.
Chase is your typical all American hometown boy. Yet at the same time, he wasn’t. He had a secret he kept from Merritt. You watch him go through the story being the strength and eventually needing someone to be strong for him. His world falls apart and the only shining light is Merritt. I will say the secret surprised me. I predicted one thing but was wrong. I did, however, predict the surprise he gave her.
Shelly & Brody are secondary characters that play an important role in Merritt’s life. They are her family. I really liked the dynamics they all had. I think there addition to the story was perfect. Chase’s family was wonderful. you could feel the love they had to seep through the pages. I would love to have a story on Tanner. Khloe stole the show though. That little girl was so sweet and I think she melted Merritt’s heart a good bit in this story. I also felt like she showed Merritt the meaning of unconditional love.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and think for a young adult, coming of age tale, the personalities and actions of the characters fit. There was some predictability for me but I didn’t feel it took away from the story.
This was Kristen’s first novel and I only see great things to come. I feel this story was a good beginning. I do know she is working on the sequel and I’m excited to read it. This story is a cliffhanger. They are not for everyone, so I want to let my followers know that it was one. That said, with the conclusion coming soon, you won’t completely be left hanging. I never like to compare authors to other authors when reviewing. Honestly, I’m stuck on the fence with this one. I am giving it a 4.5 pointe shoe rating. It wasn’t quite an OMG I’d read again and a gazillion times over story. But, I would buy book two. I cared that much to want to know what happens to Merritt. The story flowed and there was a cliffhanger but she did provide a content for now moment.
There you have it. If you are interested in finding all things Kristen Granata, you can find her at these links below.
Website: https://kristengranata.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristen.granata.16
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristen_granata
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristen_granata/