I’m so sorry but this book just was not for me. I just couldn’t take to the characters. I wish I could have enjoyed this book more than I did but I just didn’t.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Unfortunately, just couldn't get into the plot and found the characters unlikeable. I appreciated the representation of Chron's disease though.

This one wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the most memorable I’ve ever read. The romance was cute, however. I don’t think it’ll be one I reread, but it wasn’t one I regret reading.

I DEVOURED THIS BOOK.
Every chance I got at work to take a break to read a few more chapters, I took it. I couldn't put this down.
It was such an easy and light read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved seeing the development of the characters though I can't help but wonder what happened to them after the final page.
I found this book well written and easy to read. The chapters were a nice length, not too short but not too long either which made it easy to pick up whenever I had a few minutes spare.
I can't wait to see more from this author!

First of all, this cover is beautiful! Second, what a lovely story of healing and what home really is.

1.5 stars.
I had a hard time with this book, not because it was hard to follow or hard to read. But I was left with so much annoyance and confusion. Paige was told to be sabotaging teen? Where? When? Did i…miss it? Okay, she is a teen who`s upset and do some bad choices sure, but sabotaging? No? It wasn`t even much tagging on the walls. Paige did not have much character development either, she strung along Griffin aka her best friend/friend/ ex-boyfriend /Boyfriend and you might wonder; why can`t I label him one thing? Because Paige wanted him to be so many things, broke up with him and expected him to still be there for her. She broke up with him at first because she was far away and did not know where she would be in September, later she says she`s not sure they are good for each other – but it is not too quickly revealed she wants him to be her boyfriend and then it`s too late for him. Joey the last part of the triangle, he was so randomly there? And suddenly gone? It seemed like Paige wanted to be with him when he was cool with the kissing and all. I HATED the love triangle. I felt bad for Griffin that sort of was used, and his feelings were very little recognized by Paige. Ugh.

Her mother and father, understandable they had a hard time because of her dad`s sickness. But it is no excuse to just send their daughter away, when she needs them. Paige was not having bad attitude or sabotaging; Paige was feeling insecure, scared and yes, she was annoying but she`s a teen. We`ve always been there. But I didn`t exactly feel for Paige, I felt somewhat bad that her parents were so ignorant for their daughter, but her decisions and actions towards her and life? It was all her.

Thank you NetGalley for sending this arc for an honest review.

If your looking for a truly captivating sad yet heartwarming story of love and friendship, then this is the book for you. Such captivating plot that keeps you on your edge and a story that sets you to keep going. The romance was such a joy and quite incredibly has done an immaculate job and setting me to truly believe In love.

2.5 stars ⭐⭐✨

A feeling like Home by Haleigh Wenger was a quick read for me. It had its moments but they were short-lived for me. Overall a good story.

Thank you, NetGalley, author, and publications for providing an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 🙏🏾😊

When Paige runs into trouble with the police she gets sent to live with her sister in Texas for the summer. Helping babysit her nephews and working on a building project, she tries to prove to her parents she has changed so they don’t send her to boarding school. Embracing life in Texas, Paige begins to make friends. And while she hated Joey when they first met, will their friendship turn into something more? But when her father’s health gets worse Paige’s life turns upside down.

This story does a great job of raising awareness of Crohn’s disease, the illness Paige’s father has. Paige is a teen who has done some bad things in her past but wants to do better. The author does a great job of showing the struggle she faces between becoming a better person and returning to old habits, especially when Paige receives bad news. Paige and Joey had a great relationship. Going from enemies to friends to lovers, Joey really helps Paige realize you can have fun without breaking the law. Paige’s nephews Cam and Mattie were also adorable characters! Overall this book had good characters, a cute romance, and shed light on some difficult topics.

I really wanted to enjoy this one. I really did. I just felt a total disconnect to Paige and the story as a whole. A solid read, just not one I enjoyed.

This was a fast and easy read. Paige is a good person who makes some poor choices due to pain, but she works hard at coming to terms with everything. Loved every second of this read and was really happy with the ending.

Okkkay, I have a lot of feelings about this book.

Overall, it was a good enough book to pass the time if you're bored and also gives a sense of "what's gonna happen next?"

However, I probably have way more issues with the book then positives.

Let's start with the positives:

1, The handling of the topic of Crohn's disease was done well, which might be due to the author's own life experience with a chronic illness.

2. Can and Mattie were adorable! I loved their relation to their Aunt Piggy as well as Joey

3. Joey was a good enough romantic interest

4. Allison is a great big sister for taking on her 'rebellious' 16 year old sister while handling two toddlers and a photography business

Now onto the negatives:

1. From the very first time we meet Paige, we are thought to believe that she is a rebellious teen that makes all the wrong decisions. However, the most rebellious she ever gets is breaking open a window and then spray-painting......like okay? Is it just me or was that not a good enough reason for her parents to send her away and potentially boarding school? Also, before the initial incident, it seems like she wasn't even rebellious. She was in the honour roll at school for christ's sakes! She just seemed like a typical teenager that was dealing with adverse experiences like most teenagers.

2. Joey seems okay but his romance is overshadowed by Paige and Griffin's history. I felt more of a connection to Griffin than Joey but apparently after meeting Joey she no longer loved Griffin? Like okay, makes you feel really bad about Griffin

3. Joey has this conflict with his father on not wanting to carry on the family business. Other than Joey complaining about it, and brief scenes with his dad, this doesn't really go anywhere. At the end it is told to the reader that Joey and his dad are now better at communicating their feelings. Like okay, but when did that happen? There needs to be a scene with Joey and his dad that resolves this but it doesn't happen!

4. Paige's brothers don't show up until half way through the book and at that point they're just a nuisance. They don't provide anything more to the story other than just being there. I wish there were way more scenes with her brothers, even if it was just them texting in the family group chat.

5. All of the other friends that Paige makes, like Jen and Cass, fell flat for me. What's with Jen being jealous but also not jealous of Paige because she used to (or still does) like Joey?? and Cass with that toxic Kevin dude? Nothing happened as a result of these plot lines and, in the end, were not needed. If these characters were taken out of the book, nothing would change in Paige's story.

6. There are some inconsistencies in the book. Like Joey being okay with her spray painting the first time (even though it goes against who he is as a person) and then being very against it the second time. Also, in chapter 1, it is explained that Justin taught Paige how to play phase 10. But later on it kinda insinuates that her dad was always the one that played with her and taught her the game? It was a but confusing. And again, the whole "Paige is rebellious' thing was not accurate AT ALL

Overall, will probably never read again and would not recommend to anyone. Too many inconsistencies and unlikeable/forgettable characters.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t great to me. I found the characters kind of blah. It was a fast read though

I really enjoyed this book - Paige was such a realistic teenager in my opinion. Outwardly confident and full of life, rebellious and a trouble maker. However inside she faces some real inner turmoil, who she was, where she fit in in the many places of her life and who she ultimately wanted to be. Throughout this book we follow her on her journey of self awareness. I laughed, swooned and cried! What more could I ask for in a book?

I want to fist say thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me the eARC. The book is short, you can finish it in one sitting. But I have mix feeling about his book Paige was going through a lot of things at such young age. I really couldn’t relate to her, And all the things that where happening. This book covers a lot of difficult subjects, and also has some trigger warnings so please check that out before reading this book. Even though I couldn’t relate and connect with the characters it was a good book that I would read again without a doubt.

A feeling Like Home by Haleigh Wenger ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 !!
I honestly enjoyed this book a lot! Paige’s growth through the book really intrigued me and the narrative style is definitely my favorite style! Haleigh’s writing is super super enjoyable and easy to read!! The only thing I would have enjoyed more is more convincing paige was a delinquent. I never felt like she should be in that light until later in the book. i would have liked to see the growth from being the delinquent she was earlier in the book! Other than that, a super super fun read!!! Will definitely look out for more of her books in the future!

Teenage Life Can Be Tough
This is a very good book that will cause me to ponder for days to come. Our main character is 15 going on 30. She is dealing with Dad's poor health, Mom's stress, and the fallout of being the youngest of five siblings. She acts out and gets shipped to her older sister's home halfway across the country. This author hits the nail squarely on the head with this story. She gets the characters, their emotions, and their reactions completely correct. Her main character is in a tough situation and the author spells it out better than a psychologist could. This is an excellent book. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Paige Williams can't stop self-sabotaging. Not when her dad gets sick, not when her relationship implodes, not even when her parents send her to live with her sister. Paige just wants to have fun to block out everything stressful, including the fact that she might be sick as well. Her parents also threaten to send her to boarding school if she can't change her bad habits. In Texas, she meets Joey who is so different from her, but Paige realizes that may not be a bad thing. Just when Paige begins to feel settled , her dad's health brings her home to Seattle. When her own health fails her, Paige must decide where, and with whom, she truly feels at home.

This book was okay. It was a simple and quick coming-of-age read. However, I didn't really relate to Paige. I found her a bit immature and I didn't like how she was hot and cold with her ex. Paige had little to no character growth and I didn't really like the side characters either. The only character who I thought was more interesting was Paige's older sister, Allison. Also, the plot summary made the book seem dramatic, but it really wasn't. Paige didn't really self-sabotage and being threaten to be sent to boarding school seemed extreme. The romance definitely took the backseat and it seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn't think Paige and Joey had much of a connection or chemistry. However, there were some sad bits that some people could relate to.

CW: illness and loss of a family member

4 Stars for this coming of age story

After Paige gets in trouble with the police for tagging, her parents send her to Texas to live with her older sister and if she doesn't prove to them that she can change, she will be heading off to boarding school in the fall (which I felt was really harsh for what she did). Paige is to babysit her sisfer's two boys and in her spare time she is to work in the community with helping to rebuild the secton of town that was hit with a torando a few months back. Because she will be gone for 3 months, she breaks up with her boyfriend (who is also her best friend) ... which to me didn't really make any sense. Paige embraces her life in Texas and meets Callie and Jen, who she likes and Joey, who she doesn't like. But it doesn't take long for her to change her mind and Paige and Joey become fast friends. But when her father's health takes a turns for the worse, her whole life will turn upside down.

This is a story about real life and a teenager who is struggling with her choices in life. Paige did make me mad at times by being self-centered, but she is just 16 and still trying to figure life out. I kinda felt sorry for Griffin because he didn't understand their breakup and just wanted to be with her. And I really liked Joey because even though he was a rule follower, he was drawn to Paige. So I was torn between who Paige should choose ... Griffin or Joey.

I received an early copy coutesy of Sword & Silk Books through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.