I tried, I did really try. I swear. But for the most part, this book didn't hold my interest.
Contrary to what I was hoping for, All The Little Lights is on the youngest-YA side of the romance spectrum. And while a coming of age can be fulfilling in every way, this time around it just didn't win over my heart completely.

The characters were genuine and diverse, the story was sweet and bitter in the right places but the pace was slow. Even though I wanted to keep reading, at the very same time, I was not interested enough to sit myself and finish this book quicker.

So with all the pain in my heart, I have to give this book 3 stars, after all it was alright, and recognise my disappointment.

I really enjoyed this book! The storyline was really good and different. The character where also well done and developed

I had high hopes for this one as I have always enjoyed this author and was excited to see she was writing for teens. I was not really disappointed. I did feel the story dragged on a bit, but it had a good twist at the end. I will be buying for my high school library.

Hmm... I thought that this book was going to be a romance book. And it is - for the first 1/4th of the book. But the last part gets interesting and goes beyond a normal YA romance.

The blurb pretty much covers the premise of the story between Catherine and Elliott. No surprises there. Although I had to ask myself a couple of times why he loved her so much?

Both of the teens deal with some challenging parental issues. Catherine has an absent mother that needs more care than she gives. Elliott's father hits his mother and they often fight in front of him. After Elliott's parents separate, his father calls him asking for money! wow. Fortunately Elliott has a stable place to live with his aunt and uncle.

I enjoyed reading about the relationship challenges between Catherine and Elliott. But I enjoyed the ending of the book much more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the early reader's copy of this title.

All the Little Lights is kind of like a young adult version of American Horror Story. It starts off innocent enough, but pretty soon you realize things are not right. You don’t even get the full scope of what’s going on until the very end. Which leaves you questioning everything that happened leading up that point. And when you stop and think about it, it gives you chills. Yup, that was pretty much this story.

All the Little Lights starts off innocently enough with Elliot spying a young girl burying her dog with her father. It isn’t until years later that he works up the courage to actually talk to her. They end up becoming fast friends and pretty soon they are inseparable. However, something does happen, and when Catherine needs him the most, he is nowhere to be found. Fast forward two years and Elliot is finally back for good and ready to pick up where they left off. Except, a lot has changed in the two years that he’s been gone.

There is so much that goes on in this story that it’s so hard to review it without giving anything away. I honestly thought this would be a cute YA romance, but instead I got this twisted mystery romance story. I mean, you know something isn’t right, but you can never quite figure it out. I will admit that there were a lot of times where I got fed up with Catherine and the fact that she refused to put her foot down around her mother. Not to mention how she would sleep with her dresser and bed against the door, because her mom and the regular guests who would stay at their B&B would come into her room to talk. What?! I just, didn’t understand why she wouldn’t let her friends in the house when there were guests staying there. But then you start to see some shady stuff happening. Like one-time guest’s luggage sitting in the basement after that guest has left, and all the regular guests and her mom having a whispered conversation about Catherine… and then you start to get really creeped out.

Not only was there a lot of weirdness going on at her house, but there was your typical high school drama, too. Catherine is an outcast and is shunned by all the kids at school. So when Elliot comes into to town to stay and enrolls in her school, she starts to go out more and do more things like going out for ice cream and going to a football game. Of course, there was teenage drama with the mean girls, bullying, and what have you. I actually kind of liked that the author mixed a sweet romance with your typical teen drama, with this undercurrent of creepy mystery.

I wish I could say so much more about this story, but a lot of what goes on is sort of dropped into your lap as you are reading. All I can say is that this story is probably unlike anything you’ve read before in a YA romance. It was nothing like I thought it would be and when I got to the end and everything was revealed, I was thrown for a loop.

I love the Maddox books, so I was very excited to read this book, but it just didn't do it for me sadly. I tried many times to get into it, but I gave up in the end, which is very rare for me.

Originally posted on Forever Young Adult on 2018 June 19

BOOK REPORT for All The Little Lights by Jamie McGuire

Cover Story: Sparkle City
BFF Charm: Meh x2
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: He Said, She Said
Bonus Factors: Hitchcockian Twists, Bed and Breakfasts
Anti-Bonus Factor: Patty Chase Award For Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: Summer Fling

Cover Story: Sparkle City

I'm really a fan of the sparkly lights title treatment, and the cover as a whole is pretty and not embarrassing! My one, tiny, nit-picky beef is that the street looks like a modern, new build subdivision, and the setting of this book is much more rural with older houses. But overall, a great cover!

The Deal:

From the moment 10-year-old Elliot Youngblood climbed a tree and saw Catherine Calhoun in her backyard, he's known he loved her. The two strike up an easy friendship while Elliot is spending summers at his aunt's house, but the day Catherine's father dies - the day she needs Elliot the most, he leaves town for good.

Well, almost. After years of trying to get back to her, Elliot finally manages to return for his senior year. But something's happened to Catherine. She's tired, withdrawn, and spends all her time working harder than any teenage girl should at her mother's bed and breakfast, The Juniper. Catherine still hasn't forgiven Elliot for leaving her, and Elliot is ready to do whatever it takes to win her heart. But Catherine's a bit, um, preoccupied with whatever dark, mysterious situation her mother has gotten into with the regular guests at the Juniper. And when Elliot becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance of a local girl, Catherine realizes the Juniper's terrible secret may be about to come to light.

BFF Charm: Meh x2



These kids! I found myself rolling my eyes at both of them on occasion. Catherine falls into the all-too-common YA trap of considering herself plain, while Elliot insists she's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Elliot seems like he's always one second away from punching a hole in the wall if anyone so much as looks at Catherine the wrong way. Catherine is extremely insecure and private about her problems at home, and Elliot is dead set on saving her whether she wanted him to or not. There were so many interesting aspects to this book, but unfortunately, the main characters felt a little cliche.

Swoonworthy Scale: 4

While the romance between Elliot and Catherine is a major part of this book, it was, unfortunately, my least favorite part of the story. It wasn't insta-love, necessarily, but once Elliot moved back to town, he was a little obsessed with Catherine, and their relationship picked up as if "we hung out as kids" was enough basis for love. Plus, Elliot was a bit *too* aggressively protective of Catherine at times. So while their relationship had all the usual steps in its development, none of them felt particularly swoony to me, and I kept wishing those scenes would get out of the way so I could get back to the mystery.

Talky Talk: He Said, She Said

Set in a small, Oklahoma town, there's something gorgeously hazy about All The Little Lights, which alternates between Catherine and Elliot's POV. Even though I knew it was set in the present, one might easily imagine that they're reading a book set in the 1950s or 60s. Atmospheric descriptions of the town and Catherine's bed and breakfast were where McGuire's writing was strongest. I found the mystery portion of this book really compelling, and finding out what the HECK was going down behind closed doors at the Juniper was what kept me turning pages until the end. Unfortunately, I felt like the mystery took a backseat to the romance for a majority of the book. I caught myself rolling my eyes at the melodramatic romance and stilted, unrealistic dialogue between Catherine and Elliott, and wishing I could skip ahead to the reveal.

Bonus Factor: Hitchcockian Twists



Talk about tension! McGuire builds suspense throughout the story, only to have your jaw hit the floor when you find out the truth. The mystery of the bed and breakfast was, without a doubt, my favorite part of this story. And as someone who prides herself on being able to figure out what will happen before the end of a book, guys, I did NOT see this one coming.

Bonus Factor: Bed and Breakfasts



It may not be an idyllic place like the Dragonfly Inn, but the Juniper is still a bed and breakfast, which I've always thought would be such a fun place to grow up! (Okay, I would not have wanted to grow up in the Juniper, BUT STILL.)

Anti-Bonus Factor: Patty Chase Award For Awful Parenting



Catherine's mom is clearly going through something dark that I can't really talk about without getting spoilery, so while she is an awful parent, she at least has a reason. But that wasn't the case with Elliot's parents. His dad was a total deadbeat, and his mom, while finding a bit of redemption toward the end, was a total jerk through most of the book.

Relationship Status: Summer Fling

We may not be soulmates, Book, but if I were spending the summers at my aunt's house and you lived down the street, I'd seek you out and invite you on an ice cream date in the hopes of getting to know you and unraveling your secrets.

Literary Matchmaking:



• If you want to read another suspenseful book with surprising twists, check out We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

• For a suspenseful psychological thriller that also serves up a heaping helping of swoon, check out The Devil You Know by Trish Doller.

• And if you want a thriller that will keep you guessing, try The Truth Beneath the Lies by Amanda Searcy.

FTC Full Disclosure: I did not receive money or Girl Scout cookies of any kind (not even the lame cranberry ones) for writing this review. All The Little Lights is available now.

I had such a hard time getting into this story. I have never read anything by the author, but my friends have and they loved the books. Over half of the book could have been cut...the build up of the two main characters relationship. Normally I want that...no need that from a book. However this just didn't work for me. But it is what it is and the last part finally picked up and had me wanting to keep going.

If you picked this book up expecting to get an epic love story about an alpha male who stops at nothing to get to the woman you love, this story is not the one for you. While it does have a strong male character Elliott definitely has some of those Alpha male characteristics that we love from McGuire, there is definitely a softer side to his character.
This is a different kind of book that McGuire has written and I absolutely loved this book. It focused more on the Fiction genre and less on the romance genre and I feel like McGuire really showed her stuff in this book. She spread her wings and took us to a whole new level. While the book does have some part of it that are ‘slow’ but it’s completely worth it in the end.

The ending is such a surprise! OMG I didn’t see it coming. And then when you start to think about it you wonder how come you didn’t. It’s the best kind of story because you are so focused on making sure that Catherine is ok and that young love doesn’t fall victim to the world that they live in, that McGuire throws us this curveball that changes the game.

This book reminds us what it was like to be in high school and all the drama and problems that come with being a teenager trying to find your place in the world. Catherine is stuck between what she wants with her future with school but also her future with Elliott. We get to see the formation that Catherine takes after tragedy takes the beginning of her high school life and her determination to make sure that the end doesn’t end up the same.

I tried very hard to get into this story but it just wasn't for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I barely made it passed the first section where the character were kids and when I got to the part where they were older I still was unable to follow the story.

Wow, another great book by one of my favourite Authors which I had been eagerly awaiting and it certainly didn't disappoint - I enjoy immersing myself into a teenage love story with a bit of grit to it and this certainly is up there with the best . I loved the 2 main characters and felt that I was with them every step of their journey together. The loss and hurt they both felt through no fault of their own just jumped out of the page, and issues such a racism had a prominent feature without feeling that they were being shouted about and overtaking this lovely story. The mystery surrounding the book kept building up throughout the chapters and had me guessing until the last minute. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.

I have really mixed feelings about this book?? To be honest, I feel like it dragged on too much and was unnecessarily long. The first half and a bit felt completely useless. Nothing really happened except two characters falling in love (and it was really insta-lovey), then this huge tragedy (oof drama) and then a time jump.

The characters were so cliche? Catherine is the kind of girl who thinks of herself as plain and boring (wattpad vibes) and Elliot is the kind of guy who sees himself as the lord and saviour of all. Both of those tropey character traits pissed me off so much ugh. Also, they both seemed really fake and all of their conversations were the exact same?? It was always Catherine saying "oh no I'm so ugly and stupid" and Elliot saying "nooo you're amazing and beautiful!!!"

About the plot: It's clear from the beginning that the home lives of both Catherine and Elliot are pretty shitty. I can’t say much without spoiling - just that Catherine’s been keeping a secret from everyone and it’s uh,,, scary?

The only reason I'm giving it three stars instead of two is because of the ending: it was unexpected??? Also extremely well thought out,, wow I'm still reeling. It was probably the one redeeming feature of this book. 
I don't know if I should recommend this book or not?? It's not terrible it was just really ,,,, meh. Read it for the ending maybe? The romance is cringey and the characters are underdeveloped but the mystery level is intriguing!

Perhaps it is due to the fact that I do not typically read anything in the romance genre. Perhaps it is because I have only read a precious few of Ms. McGuire's previous novels. Whatever the cause, I found her latest novel, All the Little Lights, to be a delightful escape back to a time of innocence and young love.

In fact, All the Little Lights made me feel better in a way I did not know I needed. Its story of first loves and loyalty, alongside the high school horrors of cliques, peer pressure, and bullying, reminded me of better times, when I too was young and in love for the first time and torn between family and that love. It is a simple story but one that allowed me to escape adulthood for a few hours.

Not that Catherine's and Elliott's lives are simple. Growing up in homes with parents who are emotionally and/or physically abusive tend to remove all simplicity from any child's life, and Catherine and Elliott gravitate to each other precisely because they can relate to the other in this regard. However, Ms. McGuire is careful to remind readers that no one person reacts to such situations in the same way, thereby setting the stage for Catherine and Elliott's future relationship issues.

One of the best parts about All the Little Lights is the fact that it is part romance and part mystery. The regulars at her mother's bed and breakfast are most unusual, coming and going at all hours of the day and night with no regularity to their schedules. Yet, nothing quite explains why Catherine is not willing to have anyone enter her former house or why she remains so invested in her mother's feelings when it is obvious that Catherine has been on her own emotionally, mentally, and physically for a long time. Familial loyalty is admirable and understandable, and yet you side with Elliott as he questions why Catherine is willing to sacrifice her future and any happiness to stay with her mother in a failing business.

Adding another layer to this mystery is the disappearance of one of their fellow high school students and the reactions of the town. The racism and elitism that comes to the forefront upon the disappearance is appalling and yet timely given the increasing racism in our everyday lives. It does not make the situations Elliott faces any easier to read, but it does lend an arc of reality to the entire story.

As for the romance portion of the story, it is so very sweet and pure. Given both characters' emotional frailty and neediness, as well as their stubbornness, I see nothing completely outlandish about their behavior or relationship. It is only slightly idealized in my opinion but done in a way that feels authentic to both characters. This is not a typical Jamie McGuire New Adult novel, even if it is being marketed that way. This is truly a young adult novel complete with characters who are not quite eighteen years old, are still in high school, and are still young and inexperienced in certain adult ways. With that in mind, I genuinely adore Elliott and Catherine as a couple. They are honest and open, mature in some ways and immature in others, and all with that blush of first love that is so powerful.

All the Little Lights is mostly likely not a perfect novel, but I could see few of its failings. The story is so touching, but the darkness in both families prevents it from becoming overly saccharine. Both mysteries balance the sweetness of the romance and provide an added layer of interest over a story that could feel contrived or at the very least redundant. As for the ending, it is not anything I saw coming. In fact, it was an ending that shocked me specifically because it was so unexpected and yet perfect.

If anything, All the Little Lights confirmed for me that I enjoy Ms. McGuire's non-New Adult stories more than I do those which made her famous. Moreover, I appreciate any author who takes a chance and publishes stories across multiple genres. Ms. McGuire proved that she can do just that with her latest romance-mystery hybrid.

I have been struggling with this book for a while now.

If I could give it 5 stars just because I love Jamie and her work, I would! But if I’m honest, then this book has to get 3 stars from me.

All the Little Lights was a totally different kind of book for Jamie. One that just didn’t work for me. First, I didn’t connect with the characters. The plot twist was good, but without the connection to the characters, it didn’t work.

Do you know how much I want to put my head in the sand and not come back out for even writing this review?!?! Believe me, writing an honest review on an author that I have followed from the first day that she pressed publish is like having a death in the family! I was so excited for this one. It just fell flat for me. But since I am a fan of Jamie McGuire’s for life, know that this will not be my last book of hers by any means!

Thank you for allowing me to take the chance on this one by reading and review it. I am sorry that it wasn’t the book for me at this time.


* Note: Because of the 3 star review, I will not be posting my review on our blog's social media sites as well as any selling sites as I do not think that it would be fair to Jamie McGuire and her work.

Do you remember your first love? That rushing feeling you get when you meet someone who understands everything about you, and is willing to support you through anything? All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire was a sweet story about young love, tenderness, but also has elements of mystery, darkness, and curiosity.

The book begins with a young Catherine Calhoun and her father in their backyard burying their poor dog. Catherine is crushed and heartbroken, along with her father, meanwhile her mother seems to be distracted by her own thoughts. With this, I was immediately drawn to the family dynamic within the Calhoun household—something seemed eerie, and curious about their nature.

Across the street, young Elliott Youngblood is staying with his Aunt for the summer and sees Catherine from across the street… and falls in love immediately. All he strives for is to get to know Catherine. I found this so endearing about Elliott as a character, and found myself rooting for him during all his thought processes since meeting Catherine. Fast forward a couple of chapters, and Catherine and Elliott become best friends, and he promises her he will come back every summer for her. By the end of that summer, Catherine is faced with a tragic situation, and Elliott leaves her behind—or so it seems. When Elliott returns, him and Catherine are both seniors in high school, and Elliott still determined to win her back.

But, beneath all of that… a mystery is brewing inside the Calhoun household, and Catherine is determined to keep it a secret from everyone.

That is probably my favourite part of the book since I’m an avid mystery genre reader. The way McGuire was able to intertwine aspects of teenage love and a mystery within a creepy, almost gothic-like household. Within the dialogue and character development throughout the book, you begin to wonder what exactly is going on with Catherine and her family, and how her life can possibly get better. Although it was mainly a love story between two strangers, which is outside my normal read, I really enjoyed this book! Catherine & Elliot we’re such relatable and endearing characters, and I enjoyed cheering them on throughout the book, and found it so interesting to see this mystery unfold.

If you enjoy reading mysteries, but also love the YA/love story genre, this book may just be for you!

Oh my gosh! Amazing!

I needed a little while to collect my thoughts on this one. It was so dang good! This is a plot line with a major twist that I never saw coming. Every part of this book is unforgettable, the characters, the story, the setting, all of it. I’m sure it will stay on my mind for a long time to come.

Elliot and Catherine make it very hard to not get completely invested in them. They both have hard pasts and lives that shape the way they move through life. They work together to bond and overcome some very terrible events that have happened to them. They learn so much about love, trust, and loyalty. I couldn’t get enough of this book!

I recommend this book to everyone. Even if you don’t read much YA, this one is too good to pass up. It’s mysterious, dark, twisty, and shocking in all the best ways! This story would make a great TV show!

Note: Some parts of this story may be hard to read as there are triggers for neglect and physical abuse.

Elliott Youngblood is smitten with Catherine Calhoun from the moment he sees her. Both feeling like they have no place in their neighbourhoods, they become friends. But when Catherine needs him the most, he can't be there.

When Elliott returns, he has to work to regain Catherine's trust. His now a star athlete, while she is depended upon to run the family Bed and Breakfast alongside her very troubled mother. Can Elliott help Catherine find a way to leave? Or can she ever be truly honest with Elliott about why she can't leave?

This was amazing. It's one of those books that took me completely by surprise in so many ways, so please forgive me if I gush.

Firstly, I thought this was set in the same era as The Help because I got that same lazy, hazy Summer feeling from it. It's not, it's set in modern times (there's a Beyoncé reference) but has a lovely "old" quality to it. I love that it's not your typical "all-American white jock meets poor little rich girl" story. Elliott is Cherokee, and has seen his family been subjected to horrible racism and prejudice because of this. Catherine appears privileged on the surface, but it soon becomes apparent that she is dealing with a family member who has severe mental health issues.

As the story progresses, and something happens to turn the town against Elliott, the pace and tone changes and this caught me by surprise. I read this over two nights (I stayed up until long past 1 am both nights) and couldn't devour it quick enough - until the pace changed. I found myself genuinely very freaked out, which hasn't happened with a book in a very long time. I didn't want to continue, but I didn't want to stop reading, if that makes sense?

I thought that sensitive issues were handled well, I thought the characters were wonderful (I especially loved Mrs Mason, a modern-day Miss Honey if ever there were one). When all the pieces began to fit together I felt sad, and thought the author did a fantastic job of winding everything up.

I don't know what I was expecting - but this was so much more. I absolutely loved it, it's a real contender for my favourite book of 2018.

All the Little Lights is significantly different from what readers have come to expect from Jamie McGuire based on her previous releases, but readers shouldn’t let that fact deter them from reading Elliott and Catherine’s story because not only are the hero and heroine intriguing characters who experience all the ups and downs that teens go through as they grow up, but this coming of age love story also tackles a variety of tough issues that are important to explore, and McGuire does so with respect and honesty.

When the book begins, Elliott and Catherine are in their teens, growing up in a small town in Oklahoma and finding comfort and solace with each other since they both feel like outcasts. Their friendship helps them both endure what they’re faced with, and it’s a bond that seems unbreakable until it isn’t…until Elliott leaves town without telling Catherine goodbye…without giving her an explanation and what makes things worse is the fact that when she needs him most, he’s nowhere to be found, breaking her heart and her trust in irreparable ways.

Elliott and Catherine’s story has a multifaceted plot line - one that not only incorporates a multitude of life’s issues but also uses several perspectives to deliver the story line, and while that complicates the events that occur in the story, it also layers the book in a way that allows readers to see all sides of the circumstances that the hero and the heroine face. There are several unknown pieces of information that unravel as All the Little Lights continues, which keeps readers guessing as well as anticipating the answers, making it quite the interesting read.

All the Little Lights is a mature young adult coming of age love story. As the main characters face a variety of obstacles, feeling the highs and lows as well as the ups and downs of life, readers not only learn from the characters’ mistakes, but they also cheer the hero and heroine and hope against hope that they’ll be able to find their way back to each other and make things right between them when Elliott returns and refuses to give up on what he had with Catherine before he left. But their ending may be out of Elliott’s hands because there’s more working against his reunion with Catherine than just her broken heart, which means that the darkness may hold them back from ever being in the light together again.

4 Poison Apples

Damn...this was amazing! I loved this so much! It was really good! Loved it so much! I will for sure check out more of her books because I cannot believe that I have not read any of her books, but I plan on fixing that soon! She writes such amazing characters and this really was dark, and intense, and so full of a beautiful romance, At least to me. But yes! I am so happy to have read this book!

I DNF this book at 25%. I felt it was long and drawn out, and was quickly losing interest. I thought it was primarily a YA romance, but later learned that was not the case. The beginning of the book felt like it was entirely different from the rest as I went on.