This was a quick and easy read/listen about a young woman wanting more herself despite her shortcomings. As an educator, I am always looking for books that my students will enjoy to get them into reading more books. This book is one that they would devour because while it does have some romantic aspects, it discusses mother-daughter relationships in which quite a few can relate. I was rooting for Nikki to be successful while literally screaming at her toxic mother. It was great to see things get better in the end.

I loved the ending of this story, things weren't perfect for Nikki but I think that Nikki and her mother both had a better understanding of the each other. I think we all need a friend like Malachi, he takes the time to truly see what you are facing and provide support and encouragement. Looking forward to reading more of Joya Goffney's work.

Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very quick read, I flew through this one. I liked the romance between Malachi and Nikki, he was such a good friend for her. I was shocked by how Nikki's mother treated her. This book dealt a lot with family drama, relationships, coming of age, and following your dreams. Malachi's family was so sweet, especially when juxtaposed with Nikki's mother. I appreciated when Nikki's mother helped her to rehearse for her audition at the end, I do not think this made up for her previous actions but it did show how the characters were growing throughout the story. I would recommend this book.

This is a YA novel about a girl named Nikki who dreams of becoming a singer. When she is given the opportunity to go to California to audition for a girl band, it’s a no brainer. She has a strained relationship with her mother, and she is on the outs with her best friend/crush, Malachi, so she has nothing keeping her in her hometown. But when her mother finds out about her plan, she kicks out Nikki, leaving her with nowhere to go but Malachi’s house. Their budding relationship teaches Nikki to dream, hope, and forgive.

This is an uplifting but realistic story about resiliency. Nikki’s mother has never shown her love or affection, so reciprocating the love that Malachi shows her is difficult. But through her relationship with Malachi, she learns what love is and is able to begin to repair the damage with her mother. She still has doubts, but she knows she will be okay with or without her mother, and whether she makes the girl band or not, her future is bright. The ending is hopeful, but it doesn’t wrap up neatly. I thought that was true to Nikki’s situation and fit the plot well. The author did a beautiful job of depicting Nikki’s complex relationship with her neglectful mother and the strong bond with her sister, Vae, as a means of surviving. I only deducted a star because this book is slightly different from what the synopsis suggests. While all of the things listed in the synopsis do happen, this is much more about Nikki figuring out herself and her relationships than searching for Vae or fleeing Texas. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Joya Goffney for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is really a good book but it also made me sad. The mother is horrifying, and I wanted Nikki to get away from her so badly! This is a good read.

- The Summary -
Nikki is a young Black girl who has big dreams of a pursuing a music career and can't wait to escape her life in small town Cactus, Texas. Before she leaves for California for an audition she gets into a fight with her mom and her sister Vae and is kicked out of her house. Nikki, resolved that she has no reason to stay, stops in to say good by to her best friend Malachai (Mal). When Mal discovers her plans to leave he begs her to stay and to spend the week with him.
Things go well between Mal and Nikki until they are notified that Nikki's sister Vae has run away from home; and they have to return home to help find her.


- The Review -
My Week with Him is a super cute friends-to-lovers, coming of age story which deals with a lot of heavy material.
Nikki has considerable strength, dealing with her complicated home-life, dreams for the future, and on-going complicated feelings for her best friend Malachai.
Nikki appears to be the pseudo-mother-big-sister to her sister Vae; and is responsible for getting her to and from school when she doesn't always have the means to do so. She doesn't have the best relationship with her mother, who seems to be very proud and rather strict; having been kicked out of her house at the beginning of the book. We later learn some of the mother's own childhood, which does help to draw some sympathy from the reader but doesn't justify her actions. Lastly, Malachai (Mal), they met when they were in grade 8 and appear to have been in love with each other since - whether they were putting a label on it or not. At the beginning of the novel, Mal is dating someone else which has had a significant impact on his and Nikki's relationship.
Through all of these complex relationships she still manages to appear fairly positive and thrives creatively.

I haven't read any of Joya Goffney's previous works, but I'm going to have to check them out. This was beautifully balanced between Nikki and Mal's budding relationship, reconciliation with her family, and finding success. I really enjoyed this read and would love if there was a sequel or a short follow-up novel, I'd love to see Mal and Nikki's future.

- The Acknowledgement -
Thank you to NetGalley, Joya Goffney, Harper Audio, and HarperTeen for the advanced copy. I received the copy for free, however my comments are my own.

Love it😍💖💗❤️✨🤍💕🤩😘🥰

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I loved Joya Goffney's previous book "Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry" and was intrigued by this book here. She succeeded again at capturing the essence of the Black teen experience and made reading the development of the two main characters an enjoyable and rewarding ride. I'm using this book currently in a reading program for Black teens, and they are currently loving how the story plays out.

I liked this book. It was a cute, coming-of-age story that many could relate to being a teenager and wanting to follow their dreams without the approval of their parents. I enjoyed the friendship that the main characters had and how you will always have friends who will be there for you to help you think things through and make good decisions. Not only that, but you can find family in friends who want to see you win and will do what it takes for you to do so. This book also touches on the different dynamics of being adopted and how people can live in luxury but also deal with certain struggles that others in poverty are dealing with. It's a great book for teens to read and learn about making life decisions.

In my Goodreads Pre-Review, I said my revoew was going to be hella long. I said that because I usually write hella long reviews for books that I don’t like lol But I didn’t NOT like this one. It was more like it annoyed me and I wanted to have a talk with all the people who decided it was ok to make this the title.

Ok so if you’re like me, you don’t read the synopsis of books because they give too many spoilers. (And now that I’ve read this book and went back to read the synopsis, I can honestly say you’d be spoiled if you did it the other way.) So imagine asking what this was about and being told it was a romance. Yeah, there’s romance IN it, but this book is a realistic fiction, contemporary book. The focus is NOT their relationship. And if you say it is, what are you on? Idk, I just feel bamboozled lol

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but its just not what was advertised? Like I went into this looking for a romance and got this book that had grief, and anger, and bad parenting. As a character driven reader, I didn’t like anyone in this book. Like I’m being serious, everyone was terrible except Mal. Even her sister. I would have beat her ass up at the very beginning lol It was just one thing after the other with them. And the way her mama was?! Yeah every time she ran away, she should’ve stayed gone. Ain’t no way I would have went back there.

And on top of that, I didn’t like that there was no reason for her mama to act like that. I mean she finally gave her one, but it was terrible. Like a big ass excuse. It was literally generational trauma because, “it happened to her.” Like that’s not good enough anymore. She was way better than me because I don’t think I would have accepted that. I mean I get why she did because it was her mama, but at some point you have to realize this means just hurt for you. And I hated that for her.

Like I said, there is some romance in there, but it’s not a large part of the story. It’s really her using this guy for whatever she needed and then getting mad when he got someone else to be with. Then he breaks up with them and she’s still not happy. Like I really didn’t like her lol I was hoping that Mal stayed with the other girl. They finally got together and he was begging her to do something and she didn’t want to. It was never easy for them and I hated that. She deserved to have something nice and sweet just for herself.

I DID like the way it was told tho. Idk I have a thing for books with non-linear or weird linear type books. And this one is the weird one. I like that it gives times for the events taking place. It did get a bit confusing since I was listening to the audio on 1.85xs the speed (and because it was a Harper audio so people were talking in the background and it was an AI voice.)

I also liked where its set. Because obviously, I’m from Texas too lol I loved this and I wanted to see more of it. But there was nothing but how far it was from Dallas and how small it was. But it’s also kind of (?) a road trip book, so I would have loved to see more of the other places she went. I know this could be just me being nit picky, but my blog name is Take Me Away for a reason. I love looking at the setting of every book I read.

This book was a weird one to rate. I liked it, but I was hella disappointed. As a charcter driven reader, I hated everyone in this book and I only wanted an HEA for Mal. And that’s saying something because I didn’t like the MC.

The narrator tho was really good. (I listened to the last 20% from Libby so I could have an opinion on the narrator) They had different voices for everyone and they were all different. It always amazes me how narrators are able to do that. I’ve listened to a few other books narrated by Cox, and they seem to get better and better!

I will always read anything by Joya Goffney. She has a magic about her. This book is no difference. I love the small town best friends to lovers romance.

This was a sweet/tender best friends to lovers YA romance between two Black small town Texas teens. Both Nikki and Mal come from troubled family backgrounds but they've always been there for one another.

When Nikki's mom kicks her out of the house she decides to take it as a sign to pursue her dream of becoming a singer in California but Mal convinces her to give him a week to change her mind and stay. What follows is a combination of sweet road trip moments sprinkled with lots of family drama. While it wasn't my fav by this author it's definitely a cute read that tackles some heavy topics.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early voice galley in exchange for my honest review. I'll be interested to hear how the finished narrators make this one even better as an audiobook!

CW: toxic/absentee parents, parents with addiction problems

Thank you to #NetGalley, Joya Goffney and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Nikki cannot wait until she's an adult and can leave Texas. She's ready to follow her music dreams to California. A betrayal by her sister causes their mom to kick Nikki out of their house and soon she finds herself on the doorstep of her best friend Malachai. When Malachai finds out that Nikki is going to leave Texas before graduation, he will work to convince her over the week (Spring Break) to stay in Texas or at lest graduate high school. Their peaceful week is interrupted though when Nikki's sister goes missing. Will Nikki be able to work with with her difficult mother? Will Malachai be able to convince Nikki to stay?

A good but painful at times to read YA. I felt for Nikki and her family troubles. I did love the dynamic/friendship of Nikki and Malachi. I will recommend this YA read to others!

My Week with Him is a coming-of-age story about Nikki who wants out of her life in small town Texas. Her best friend convinces her to stay and spend the week with him. Nikki faces many complicated family dynamics with her mother and Goffney is amazing at showing those dynamics and how Nikki moves through them to ultimately find herself. Nikki's relationship with Malachai is sweet and the character development of Nikki evokes a lot of emotions.

I love anything Joya Goffney so this one was everything I needed like usual. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Joya Goffney's writing is pure perfection ALWAYS!! This was romantic and funny and filled with the perfect amount of drama and angst. I love this story so much!!! I would highly recommend.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Mel and Nikki. I enjoy how the author brings the subjects of neglect and foster care into this book. I have always been surrounded by foster care and child abuse as my dad works with the child victims of these situations. Overall I did enjoy the book and the relationships felt very real to me.