1/5 stars! Ok; so the premise did not warn us that the love interests are step-siblings. I'm conflicted on that because they're legally related, but not blood-related so... it's kind of a grey area. Not for me but I wouldn't quite say it required a trigger warning. But even beyond that, this book just wasn't good. The characters were shallow and the writing lacked precision.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great romance novel and I throughly enjoyed reading this book.

Such a heartbreaking beautiful story filled with emotional drama, pain, love and sadness.
This book is a perfect depiction of life. “Nothing good lasts. Cherish and appreciate those moments, good or bad, because not everyone is gifted by a lifetime.” B. Celeste’s writing is so beautifully done on such a heartbreaking subject. Her details put into Emery’s character about her I’ll see and her daily struggles are so realistic. The relationship with her mother and father is heartbreaking but I love the growth these characters experience and learning to love again. I love the friendship Kaiden and Emery shared. While it did not start great Kaiden eventually pulled back his tough guy layers and you can see a softer sweeter side. Have the tissues ready you will need it. This book is full of love, sadness, happy times and emotionally heartbreaking moments. A book that will stand the test of time and one that everyone should read. Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“Disease is the monster in the dark. It lingers, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It veers its ugly head and takes what it wants, when it wants. Yet there’s one disease that is worse than any kind of invisible illness in existence, and it is something the world is plagued with. Indifference.”

This book was a tough one to read. Not only because it deals with difficult subject matter (death, grief, chronic illness, parental alienation) but from a more personal note. As someone with a chronic illness (albeit not lupus level) this book spoke to me in a direct way I’m not used to. I’m not afraid to admit that I welled up a fair bit during reading this.

“The thing about chronic illness is that you never know what you’re going to feel like when you wake up every day. It’s a new battle, because the good days don’t mean that you don’t hurt. They just mean that you can tolerate the pain better.“

Emery ‘Em’ Matheson is nineteen years old. She’s a twin. She is chronically ill with lupus. Her twin, Logan (Lo) died from the same disease ten years ago. Their mother struggles through the grief of losing her daughter, and after her mum calls her Logan one too many times, Emery decides to move to live with her dad and his new wife (Cam) and stepson, Kaiden.

The relationship between Kaiden and Emery blossoms, and I found it a little uncomfortable since they ARE step-siblings. But honestly? It’s not like step-siblings who met at age 19 and 20 respectively are really going to have a particularly brother and sister relationship. I just struggled a little to get the whole stepbrother thing out of my head in their scenes.

All in all, this book was excellent. And the best thing to say about it is actually a quote from the book itself:

“Fiction is the perfect platform to talk about the things nobody wants to have conversations about in real life. When you’re reading about a character’s struggles, you find ways to relate from a distance. It doesn’t always hurt as much, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt at all.

Chronic illness is real.

Death is real.

People don’t like to read about those things because they know it could happen to them. Distance or not, you put yourself in the shoes of every character you read. Denial doesn’t make the fear go away. It expands it. Feeds it. Makes it impossible to fight.”

Accurate and heart-wrenchingly true.

A solid 4 stars.

I love this book because of the reality. I hate this book because of the reality. Eye opening, awareness, thoughtful, amazing.

Emery is so full of strength! She worries more about everyone else before herself. She is inspiring with how she deals with everything and everyone.
Kaiden is struggling. He doesn’t let anyone in, until Em.

A book with all the feels. No one controls how you view things and how you accept things except for you. Live life for you.

I am a little bit ashamed that it took me this long before I picked this one up. Because there is no reason at all why I didn’t dive into it immediately.
 
This story was beautiful. Emotional and not light at all, but beautiful. From the first page you step on an emotional rollercoaster and it is impossible to get off until you finish it (and you wish to do so in one sitting). The story of Emery is one you won’t forget very soon. Especially the ending, which was absolutely perfect!
 
However, I did detest Kaiden in the beginning. Of course, throughout the book you’ll learn his secrets and motives, but he is still an ass. I don’t think I can fully forgive him for the way he treated Emery in the beginning. No ignorance or past makes up for that.
 
I think that also is the reason why I wasn’t as emotional as I should have thought? Besides, lately I am not crier at all anymore (unfortunately), but this book didn’t do it for me. Yes, it is emotional and there a some very heavy themes the author digs into (very well so), but it was absolutely not the most heartbreaking book I have ever read.

The way the author writes about the disease and the way Emery lives and suffers with it, is absolutely one of the best parts of the book. Especially when you read the note of the author at the end. But besides that, this one was really well written, it was realistic and a wonderful story to dive in and to forget the world for some hours. I would recommend this one, especially if you’re looking for an emotional rollercoaster.
 
Please, read the TW before you dive into this one!

i want to say thank you to b. celeste. i have an autoimmune disease myself and felt as though i was looking in a mirror when reading this book. while i don’t have lupus, my autoimmune disease plays a huge impact on my life and i found myself relating to emery with her pain and her difficulty with her illness.

emery was such a strong and inspirational character and she truly lived each day to the best of her abilities. while the romance was sweet in this novel, i wasn’t too keen on it being done with her stepbrother… i mean i know they’re not related but i just didn’t enjoy it because of that. don’t get me wrong, kaiden was great but i’m not keen on step-sibling intimacy.

i sobbed so much with the ending. it was so heartbreaking and gut wrenching that i could hardly see the words on my ipad while reading.

i cannot recommend this book enough. it’s about time we had more representation of invisible and chronic illnesses in modern day literature and especially ones that are accurate. if you have a friend who suffers from a chronic illness, then i recommend that you read this book to gain an understanding of what they are going through in life because, believe me, it is so hard.

thank you b. celeste. i feel seen with this book and will be grabbing a physical copy as soon as i can

UNDERNEATH THE SYCAMORE TREE is a heart wrenching love story of Emery and Kaiden, just when they are about the age to start their lives. Despite being sick with an autoimmune disease and so weak and fragile at times, what Emery goes through doesn't weaken her but in a way strengthens her and her spirit. Even when I hated Kaiden, I still loved him. The title couldn't be more perfect for this book.

What an incredibly powerful ending, which I had not predicted, that leaves you feeling raw and emotional.

Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the digital copy.

So raw, real and emotional, this story was amazing, sad and wonderful. It truly shows you life is unexpected and we never really know how strong we are or what we can take until something happens. This book was beautifully written and I absolutely recommend you read this.

This was unlike anything I remember reading before. A main character pov with a chronic Illness, who lost her twin sister to the same chronic illness. A girl who just wants to be accepted for who she is and loved by her family, but can’t escape the passing of her twin sister because she’s living that sisters past now while battling her illness.

This book will sit with me for a while but I wasn’t a fan of Em falling for her step brother. It was very courageous of the author to base this story off her own chronic Illness.

I had heard of this book previously but because of the level of hype was assuming it wouldn't live up to it (I like to be different).

Wrong - this book exceeded every expectation I had. Such a sweet sweet love story and so many tears - I've found my new tearjerker for when you just need to cry.

Seriously loved it - downloaded more of her books and can't wait to jump in.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced release of this book for my honest review. I enjoyed this book, so much that I thought about it and couldn't wait to get back to it. This is a coming of age story in the context of chronic illness. I felt the heartache of the characters as they each carried the weight of grief and its lasting effects. This is not a light read and may be triggering for some readers.

This book broke my heart into tiny little pieces and then glued them back together at the end. You can't help but root for a happy ending for the main characters. The writing style of B. Celeste is incredible and thoughtfully written. Thank you for the ARC!

This isn’t a book full of sunshine and roses it’s raw and heartbreaking. Emery is living with chronic pain and an incurable disease that will eventually take her life she just doesn’t know when. After moving in with her father and his new family, Emery gains things she never thought she would. She gains the chance to repair her relationship with her father, an opportunity to understand her mother better, and a best friend in an unlikely person- her new stepbrother. Kaiden carries around his own heartbreak and with the help of Emery he heals and has a better understanding for the uncertain future.

If you are looking for a book that packs a gut punch and invokes all the feels then pick up Underneath the Sycamore Tree and prepare to have your heartbreak a few times.


Thank you @authorbceleste @read_bloom and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

*Chrissy Teigen cringe-face*

Oh no... no no no no no. Nope. Big fat no. This was horrible. DNF at 20%. I couldn't even finish. This was bad fanfic published. The writing was bad, so base level. By 20% I couldn't care less about either character or continuing with the book.

The dad just NEVER mentioned he had another daughter who died... even to his new WIFE?!? Are you fucking kidding me?
Emory just leaves her grieving mother? Also please stop with 'mama'. It gave What's Eating Gilbert Grape vibes and I couldn't.
I stopped when Kaiden went upstairs to have sex and told Emory to turn the tv volume because the girl tends to be loud. Absolutely not.

This is garbage.

Thanks to Netgalley and B. Celeste for the eARC.
Rating: 5 stars

The story is about Emery who’s struggling with a chronic illness. She has the same illness that her twin sister (Logan) died of when they were younger. After her death, their mother starts to break down. She got too unwell to be able to take care of Emery, and she often thought Emery was Logan… The book starts with her moving in with her father and his new family. Her new stepbrother, Kaiden, makes her feel normal. Even with a bad boy exterior, he has a soft spot for Emery. Through the story, we get to see how Em is fighting her illness and wants to live a normal life. We also get to see her relationship with Kaiden grow.

When we learn the story about the Sycamore tree, I got so emotional. This book made my heart shatter, and I cried for hours. It made a lot of sense why B. Celeste chose name the book “Underneath the Sycamore Tree”.

Favourite quote: “It doesn’t matter what battle you’re fighting, it only matters that you’re willing to fight.” - B. Celeste

Big yikes. Not a fan of the writing style at all! I’m sure this was a very emotional story, but the wrong person wrote this. Needs an editor and a LOT of work. Very surface level for a supposed sad book

Okay... this book did not work for me. I think the writing style was not for me and I could not connect to anything in the story. This book dealt with sad and heavy topics but I was so detached from it. Everyone talks about how sad this is but felt absolutely nothing, even by the end.

I was totally detached from Emery as a character from the get-go due to the author's writing style. Kaiden was such a toxic, rude, jerkish love interest and I was not rooting for them to be together. He literally forced people to stop talking to her and justified it by saying he was "protecting" her from bullies. Like no. This felt like a bad Wattpad fanfiction

Also, I knew this was a step-sibling romance before going in but this was not it. I've read books where that trope is in it but somehow it made sense in those books and wasn't as bad... but in this one... it was weird. The fact that not a single person in their lives even questioned the relationship only made it worse.

This book had my emotions all over…laughter, tears, anger. So much anger at the end….Emery ignoring that something wasn't right. She could’ve have seen a doctor sooner. But I also get wanting to be just a normal person, not wanting to think about being sick.
I loved Emery and Kaiden and how their relationship developed. I enjoyed all the characters in the book, honestly. The author showed the various ways people handle hard situations.

Thank netgalley for this ARC. Would definitely recommend this book to others!!

A direct line to the heart, my soul was stripped and my emotions raw by the heavy dose of reality that B. Celeste has woven 💔

Celeste crafts from a place of pain and honesty and their words broke me down and left me weary in every way; and I loved every heartfelt second. I remained hopeful with every turn of the page, even as I drowned amidst the grief that weighed me down as Emery battled this invisible illness, and that which had already been claimed by it previously. Despite the melancholy, these characters boasted strength, they grew and restored, and revealed the truths we often overlook or seek to escape through words. This was a heavy read, the storytelling mature and introspective, and I already know this will be a favourite of mine this year. This is definitely an author I’ll be revisiting.

For an honest reflection of life, both the beauty and the brutality, look no further than these Picoult vibes that Celeste has strung. Tissues are highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an advanced copy, and for the imprint this read has left on my soul.