I was amazed with this book. The writing was excellent and so addicting. I could not put this book down. I liked the characters and the way they were together.

This book dealt with some very heavy subject matter but it was handled in a realistic way. The love story between Grey and Lane was sizzling. I recommend if you're into romance.

I wanted this to be my kind of book - and to be fair, it was recommended highly by a friend I trust a lot! It just wasn't for me and I can't quite pinpoint why. With sadness, because the premise is excellent.

My expectations were a YA romance, where the main character is crushing on her new stepbrother, but what this book was so much more and dealt with so much more. I haven't read a book that dives as deeply into grief and mental health as this one did in a long while. Lane is dealing with the lose of her mother to suicide when she was a child. Now as a young adult, Lane is living with a new stepmother and the stepbrother she has been crushing on for years. The story deals with Lane's crush but more so with her finally coming to terms with her mental health. She has been holding on to many emotions from her loss and things all start to explode as she begins a new relationship. There are complicated relationships within the story and some topics that may be triggering to some readers. I appreciated that the author mentions those topics before the story starts to give her readers a heads up. Overall this is a very heavy, intense read. I would recommend it to my older high school students due to some of the content. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my goodness this book. I had been looking forward to reading it for MONTHS, when I saw it was for request I was PUMPED!!!!!!!!!!!!

and it did not disappoint. It's sexy, dark, romantic, painful - everything that I was hoping it would be.

Lane is in love with a boy. But not just any boy , her newest STEPBROTHER.......that's right, her step-brother. She's been in love with him for years, and now he's instantly apart of her family! And, to make matters even more complicated - he's the boyfriend of her good friend, Sadie. I just love these complicated twisty YA books!

This honestly went much deeper into mental health than I’d expected and I was here for it.  I mean it is as dark, emotionally raw, and beautiful as they come. 

I might be a bit bias due to my profession, but the book as a whole provides a vivid, in-your-face look at the lasting effects of childhood trauma. The trauma/issues covered are timely, dark, and deeply important, and this story will stick with you long after you read the last page!

When I read the description of Together We Caught Fire, I knew right away that I had to read it. The glowing reviews it had already attracted on goodreads only added to my resolve. This is a powerful story of a teenager who is already dealing with about all she can handle and is thrown for another loop when her longtime crush becomes her stepbrother. Having to handle her feelings for him (not as unreciprocated as she originally thought) while dealing with his relationship with his girlfriend and her own relationship with an artist who himself has a tough past tips the balance of her own closely guarded mental health issues.

There was so much here that was so very real and relatable, from Lane’s desire to protect her father from her own experience of trauma to her attraction to someone with his own maturity born out of challenging life circumstances. I loved the relationship between Lane and Connor. I also love seeing a stepparent who is loving, kind, and exactly what our protagonist needs.

This book is raw, and sharp, and all the things it needs to be to feel real. This could just as easily be a firsthand account. Every element strikes as true, the voice shines as authentic, and despite the encroaching darkness, hope lurks around every corner. Bravo.

A fabulous read! Gibson draws her characters very well. Lane crushed my heart. I look forward to her future novels.

Lane Jamison's lifelong crush - Grey McIntyre - just became her stepbrother. She can't seem to repress her feelings for him despite this new familial connection and his girlfriend who is always around professing their intention to be together forever. For better or worse, Lane, Grey, his girlfriend Sadie, and her brother Connor become fast friends. They party together, fight together, and when Grey is wrapped up in Sadie, Lane turns to Connor for a bit of distraction. His honesty suites her and as she gets to know him, he starts overriding Grey in her mind, but not nearly enough.

It should be a given, given the synopsis of this book, but it is a heavy read. I was prepared for the thrill of forbidden love and grappling with your crush becoming your brother, but I was not prepared for the intensity that is Together We Caught Fire.

That's not to say this isn't a great book. It's compelling, beautifully written, and heart-wrenching. But it is very tough to read in certain parts. Lane's nightmares are incredibly triggering, whether you've dealt with something similar or not. The imagery made it hard to fall asleep after reading - which wasn't fun but is a huge compliment to Eva V. Gibson's writing. She never failed to put the reader in Lane's shoes and feel every ounce of emotion she was feeling.

There were a few quirks that bothered me - particularly Lane's over usage of "--, much?" language. "Lie, much?' "Mind your business, much?" - it felt very immature and popped up so often that I started rolling my eyes at it. But I guess it's telling of Lane's emotional struggle. She's not immature, per se, but has so much in her life she hasn't dealt with or addressed and it's bound to bubble out somehow.

My other gripe was that it's hard to see what Lane finds so attractive in Grey. Sure, he's smart and vaguely nice, but his intense jealously overrode all of that. He constantly insulted Lane, saying things to her that I would never be able to forgive. He blames Lane for his attraction to her and takes out that confusion on her when she does nothing to deserve it and is clearly struggling.

"I'd rather have a firecracker than an ice queen. Trust me, Elaine--if Sadie were as cold as you, I'd have slit my wrists ages ago."

Not the best thing to say to someone who's mother committed suicide...Grey is a dick.

I'm digressing, but this is such a jam-packed book and there are so many things I could say about it. It's overwhelming, complicated, beautiful, terrible, and every other emotion. If you're looking for something light and fluffy, this is not the book for you. But if you want feelings coming out of every pore, and the most depth you'll ever experience in contemporary YA, Together We Caught Fire is most definitely for you. I look forward to seeing what else Eva V. Gibson brings into this world.

Lane is a train wreck waiting to happen! I enjoyed the strong characters and unique individuals in this book. The mixture of faith and religion was unique. The back story slowly unravels and becomes an essential part of the story and the character's lives and personalities.

I enjoyed this book as an adult, I will not be able to purchase this book for my collection due to the number of conflicting issues it highlights and the type of school I work in.

An emotionally gripping story from start to finish! I don’t think I have ever felt so many emotions as I did with this novel! This story was so beautifully crafted I could feel each raw open wound and when Lane hurt I hurt along with her! Lanes journey was a rough one at times but seeing her grow and experiencing her pain turn into hope made my heart soar! This novel was one of the most beautiful stories I have read and one I won’t ever forget!

There’s so much to be said about a book that takes on tough topics and yet I don’t want it to ruin the experience of the journey! There’s so much within these pages to learn from and so much that we all as a society face daily and to be young and trying to sort though it all is just tough so I will say this; READ! Read this beautiful book because the message of love, hope, and asking for help when needed are messages we all need to hear from time to time so go on this journey with Lane and learn to love not only others but most importantly yourself!