My Review
You know how when you really enjoy a book, you have a difficult time writing a review for it? Well, here’s the bottom line – This book is amazing. It’s adorable. It’s sweet. It’s everything that a great YA romance should be.
This book has two main characters – Max and Loren. Max has a rough life – his mother left him and his father two years ago because Max’s father had an alcohol problem. So Max has been fending for himself for the most part, and taking care of his father on a daily basis when he has had too much to drink. One day, his father gets in trouble with the law, and is sent to rehab, creating a problem for Max – where was he going to be living? They couldn’t get in contact with his mother, so his father’s lawyer decided to take Max in and let him live in the family’s pool house – reminding him that he needs to continue following the house rules, and that he must stay away from his two teenage daughters (Loren and her sister) romantically. Max decides that this sounds too good to be true, and agrees.
When he first meets Loren (who goes to a different school than Max), he doesn’t ever remember seeing her before. But Loren remembers him – she had a crush on him for a long time. Eventually he remembers who she is, and Loren starts to fall in love with Max all over again (and while Max tries his hardest not to fall in love with Loren, he pretty much can’t help himself). Although they have to keep their relationship secret, so that Loren’s parents don’t find out, the two of them realize how much they love each other and want to be together. Meanwhile, Max is dealing with his dad being in rehab, work, hockey, and someone coming back into his life.
This book is one of those feel-good romances that make you want to keep reading to the very last page.
Okay, the story is somewhat predictable, and I pretty much could tell how it was going to play out, but wow, was it good. The author, Patricia Vanasse, did such a wonderful job with this book, creating a very believable and beautifully written love story that I couldn’t put down. The characters in this book are so amazing and they actually develop and grow – especially Loren (I loved watching the changes her character went through from the first time we meet her until the end of the novel).
If you like young adult romance, this is a really great book to pick up, and I finished it pretty quickly because I just couldn’t stop reading.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Also, check out my interview with Against All Odds author Patricia Vanasse here!
nice review