TW- panic attacks, trauma,

This book was not what I expected it to be. It was so much more. Did it give me what I wanted? Well, no, so I m a little disappointed. Overall, it was a bumpy ride with so many emotions but I have no regrets!!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun second chance story. Nice for a beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Adept Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

i really, really enjoyed this book!! <i>The Corey Effect</i> follows Andi, a young woman who is forced to revisit her past after her father passes away. she reunites with her high school sweetheart, Corey, and her other high school friends, while also reconnecting with her younger half-sister and processing the grief and trauma of her abusive father's passing.

i really liked that the story consisted of chapters set in the "then": the high school years, and the "now". this allowed for the reader to gain a deeper understanding of how andi and corey's relationship initially blossomed and why ultimately broke, as well as all that andi went through living with her father and how that all impacted her into who she is now in the present. the chapters were also more on the short side, which i loved, and the second-chance romance between andi and corey was really cute!

this book does feature the death of a parent, alcoholism, abuse, and grief so just be ware of that before reading!

DNF the book. I started out really enjoying it but ultimately it was not for me even though I love second chance!

Honestly I thought this was going to be such a cute light read based on the cover, boy was I wrong. I'm glad I read it, and very much enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am going to be completely honest, this book was such a pleasant surprise. I had NO IDEA what this book was about. I requested it on Netgalley because of the title - my oldest son's name is Corey. Being that it is not a very popular name and that is it one of my favorites, I had to read this book. Luckily for me it was ADORABLE! I liked the characters, even when they annoyed me. The love story was cute, the drama was realistic. It had some heavy parts, some happy parts and I even laughed a few times. It had a little of everything and was definitely enjoyable! 

Andi left her hometown 10 years ago, with the intention of never returning. When her estranged father dies, she finds herself face-to-face with Corey, her childhood love. Over the course of a week, Andi finds that all the walls she built around herself are being forced down. She has to re-examine life as she remembers it.  Will Andi and Corey forgive one another for mistakes of their past? Or will they carry their broken heart

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy

I adored Casey’s previous novel When We’re Thirty, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Corey Effect! I read this book on October 3rd, which is the couple's anniversary (and also Mean Girls Day). I'm curious if this is a fun coincidence, or if Casey chose the day before her pub day for their anniversary on purpose!

While I loved this author’s debut, I feel like she knocked it out of the park even further with her sophomore novel. These characters have so much depth, which we learn about through flashbacks to Andi’s past. We know Andi isn’t perfect: the novel opens with a scene where she is having sex with her separated-but-still-technically-married boss. I really enjoyed watching her grow throughout the book as the reason for her estrangement from her father is revealed, as well as her friends’ reasoning for accepting him back into their lives.

The split timeline was a great way to tell this story. Andi and Corey had such a sweet and interesting high school romance. I appreciated that not all the parents were absentee, that in fact Corey’s parents took it upon themselves to step in as would have been realistic.

I loved the nods to When We’re Thirty. For example, Andi’s favorite band is that of the MMC from the previous book. While these two books are complete stand-alones in the same universe, I believe the author mentioned that her third book will tie all of them together.

The Corey Effect features much heavier themes than When We’re Thirty, and I believe that led to an even stronger story. Casey is definitely an author to keep an eye on, and I can’t wait to read her next book!

This book is so good!

The Corey Effect by Casey Dembowski was an unexpected read. The cover, title, and description had me believe that this was your typical rom-com. Boy was that the wrong assumption to make. This book is filled with heavy content that should come with a trigger warning before reading. With that being said, I absolutely loved this book and will be thinking about it for sometime.

Trigger Warning:
1. Alcoholism
2. Physical and verbal abuse

While The Corey Effect covers some hard topics. I loved that Dembowski did not shy away from the hard realities, Corey and Andi endured as individuals and a couple. I loved the raw, gritty look at life and love. This was beautifully done and I felt Colleen Hoover vibes from her bestseller It Ends With Us.

I would love to analyze this further, but to do so would give too much of the plot away. All I can say is I thought this was an amazing book! I highly recommend it and wholeheartedly believe it would make for a top notch book club pick.

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and Red Adept Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

📚 ARC REVIEW 📚

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 by @casey_dembowski
✨
Leaving her friends and love of her life in the small town of Fairford 10 years ago, Andi Scott could think of no reason to go back to the town where her horrible memories overshadow the good ones.

News of her estranged fathers death, she leaves her mother to reluctantly go back to Fairford. The stories about the father she knew, are different to the father she remembers. There she also finds that her ex, Corey was her fathers business partner before her father passed which is even more of a shock to her as Corey knew everything about her past while in Fairford. The pull towards Corey was always strong 10 years ago but now even more.

“𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜 𝙄'𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙.”

This was a moving read.
Andi’s journey through her trauma and character growth was fantastically done, as well as Corey’s. I found that the to and fro of Andi’s feelings very relatable.

“𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙄'𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙄'𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧. 𝙄'𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙨𝙠. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄'𝙢 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

It wasn’t a book that was a sunshine and rainbows. It was hard. It was hard for Andi to move on from what had happened to her in the past and that to me was a natural human reaction. It was heart wrenching and honest and I felt like wanting to give a hug to Andi.

I would of loved to know what Corey thought throughout the book. The miscommunication in this book was done with purpose and for a good reason.

Trigger Warning: Alcohol Abuse and it’s effects

If you like:

✨ Small Town
✨ Young Love
✨ Second Chance
✨ Single Dad
✨ Low Spice / Closed Door Romance
✨ Mental Health Rep

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @redadeptpublishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

✨

My GOD this book was everything!

Starting it I thought it would be your typical romance book I'd just read for the sake of entertainment but it ended up being so much more than that. This book is about forgiveness and family friendships, about maturing and learning, I genuinely was rooting for her, the whole time I just wanted to give her the biggest hug in history.
I'm typing this and getting emotional again this book was so GOOD I really really hope it gets big, I see lame books get hyped up on tiktok and Instagram and this books deserves that kind of hype

I must admit that this cover does not reflect the turmoil that Andi Scott has experienced. When she left her hometown ten years ago, she turned her back on the love of her life, Corey Johnson, her father and her step-sister. Running from the abuse she faced, she returns for her father’s funeral, only to find that not only is Corey still in Fairford, but he's the cofounder of a successful local business—one he built with her father. Andi must now reflect back on her past with Corey, and all she thought she knew. However, in facing her past, she must open herself to have her heart broken again by Corey.
This was a book that held me spellbound and I found myself stopping throughout the day, to read both the past and present situation that Andi is facing. It was interesting to see the change in Andi, yet her fragility is still obvious even as an adult. Corey has also grown up but his ability to shoulder the burden for Andi, was ever present. Both characters have experienced life and made many mistakes, but I could see how the challenges that they had faced had shaped their lives but not hardened them to their feelings towards each other. This was such a great read and a beautiful romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hmm... I think I would have dnf'd this after the first chapter if I hadn't been reading a review copy. However, I'm glad I kept reading because the tone of the rest of the book was nothing like that of the first chapter.

This book is definitely more about family, forgiveness, and second chances than romance. Andi's journey to unpack her complicated feelings about her father was nicely done and presented in a relatable way that could be emotional for many readers.

Omg! I fell in love with this story right from the beginning. Love love loved these amazing characters! Loved the ending. Highly highly recommend

5 stars for this book for sure! It gave me Every Summer After and It Ends With Us vibes! I loved that the characters had flaws that made you feel angry towards them and gave you understanding from both perspectives. I loved the messages of forgiveness and second chances! I loved that Andi found the strength to face her fears! This book made me want to be more courageous and go after what I want because you never know everything you’re missing out on if you hide and run from it all!

The Corey Effect starts with a bang before Andi's life comes to a screeching halt when she receives a call that her father has died. Andi has to return to a town with bittersweet memories and encounter her first love, Corey. What she finds in Fairford is nothing like what she expected, and Andi must come to terms with what has transpired since she left town.

Dembowski alternates between present-day scenes & flashbacks to give us a full view of Andi's life. The switching between the two had no consistent pattern, which ended up being frustrating as she would interrupt important moments. The opening scene caught me off-guard and put a bad taste in my mouth as it felt like we were walking into the middle of the action with minimal explanation.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it took me longer than I wanted to fully immerse myself in this world & was not a true fan of the structure.

CW: physical & verbal abuse, alcoholism, infidelity

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

Absolutely loved this book, the dynamic between Corey and and I was so cute.I seriously loved every aspect of what this book gave. The art of the cover blends in with the story. The author really did a great job!

This was such a good and honest story about family, friendships, and love. I loved the present-day and flashback scenes that alternated throughout the story. This book follows Andie and Corey throughout their first relationship when they were younger as well as their second chance romance in their adulthood. I loved how real the characters were. The writing style was beautifully done in a way that had me fully immersed in the story and connecting with the characters. Andie and Corey were flawed and at times frustrating but they were so relatable in a way that you can't help but love them.
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thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I'm a sucker for second-chance romances and this one didn't disappoint. Andi spent a year of high school living with her somewhat estranged father while her mother was abroad for work. That year proved to be a roller coaster of emotions while she dealt with her alcoholic father and was saved by her new high school sweetheart, Corey. Misunderstandings cut "forever" short with Corey and they both moved on until Andi's father dies and she's forced to face her past a decade later. I enjoyed Andi's journey to overcome the trauma of her childhood and give family, friends and past boyfriends a second chance.

TW-Divorce, alcoholism, abusive alcoholic.

my GOD this book was everything
starting it i thought it would be your typical romance book i’d just read for the sake of entertainment but it ended up being so much more than that
this book is about forgiveness and family friendships, about maturing and learning and BOY have i cried
andi went through so much and she still managed to overcome it all, i genuinely was rooting for her. the whole time i just wanted to give her the biggest hug in history
i’m typing this and getting emotional again this book was so GOOD i really really hope it gets big, i see lame books get hyped up on tiktok and instagram and this books deserves that kind of hype
thank you so much for the eARC this book was wonderful