Member Reviews
Read/Listen if you like:
2️⃣ Dual POV
🔀 Opposites Attract
🥈Second Chance Romance
💰Rich Girl/Poor Boy
🎸 Boy in a Band
🤬 Meddling Family Members
⏳ Books that take place over 3 points in Time
This one was the epitome of a second chance romance (more like 3rd) with our two MC’s being childhood sweethearts that met at 17 and fell in love. The book starts with Jace witnessing Andie getting married to another man and walking away until we go back to when they were 17 and first met and follow them until they are 18 and fall in love and then lose each other over a miscommunication put together by Jace’s brother who wanted Andie out of the picture.
Andie then goes back to her life of wealth and lives as Andrea and does as expected by her family and then ends up being asked to marry someone from her childhood… this takes us then back to the prologue and then we have to jump into the future again for their third chance several years later where Andie and Jace are finally able to get their timing right.
If you love these things mentioned about I highly recommend checking this one out!
Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC of this book!
DNF 30%
I really wanted to love this book based on the premise and high reviews, but it’s just too YA for me and the author’s obvious lack of firsthand experience about living in NYC is very distracting and keeps taking me out of the story.
This is a very big personal pet peeve of mine, but writers who only have vague knowledge of life in New York based on what they see on TV and research on Google should not set their books here. Native New Yorkers do not spend their days bouncing around from one tourist attraction to the next. Even if someone who only experienced privilege or extreme poverty wanted to see how the other half lives, there are so many cool, local places to hang out in the city, they would absolutely NOT be at the M&M store in Times Square or any of the other places Andi and Shane go. The author also does not seem to realize that there are five separate boroughs, and they are not that close to each other. She has the characters flitting back and forth from the Bronx to downtown Manhattan, to Central Park, and then to Brooklyn in a single afternoon. It would take an hour on the train each way to get from one of these places to the next. There are dozens of other small details that are just completely wrong, and when so much of the story is built around life in NYC, it should feel authentic. There absolutely nothing about this book that is true.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of The Space Between. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.
This book is definitely an emotional roller coaster but so worth it!! First love can be so wonderful and also so heartbreaking, and you definitely have both of those things inside this amazing book!
Andrea and Jace are both phenomenal characters who I loved so much. I was so invested in their story and I was sad when this book came to an end. This one will give the reader all the feels. I would definitely recommend having tissues handy.
This is my first time reading a book by this author. I’m definitely going to be reading more of her work in the future. Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley for this beautiful contemporary romance. It was exactly what I was needing and wanting to read.
Andrea and Jace were meant to fall in love. They instantly know they are each other's person. Usually it's a story of a couple coming together however in this book they fall for each other quickly but the struggle is trying to stay together even when they know it's love.
This was a gorgeous and heartbreaking story of love and what it takes to try and stay together when the world is trying to break you apart.
I loved this book so much and can't recommend it enough! Have tissues ready!
This was such a beautiful story. The story starts with Jace, a kid who lives in poverty in NYC with his brothers, struggling to survive after his parents were both killed. The brothers play music around NYC, because keeping their family band making music is a way to honor their parents and keep their memory alive. One day when Jace is playing music in Central Park, he locks eyes with Andi, and he knows his life is about to be forever changed. Andi is a very wealthy teenager growing up in the most elite circles in NYC, wanting for nothing except attention and someone to love her. Andi has been floating through life unfeeling until she meets Jace and everything changes. Andi and Jace both believe they have found that once in a lifetime kind of love, but so many forces are trying to keep them apart. After a huge misunderstanding, they split up and we follow them in the space between. There were so many unexpected twists and turns in this story that kept me guessing. I loved the characters and was deeply invested in what was happening to them. My only complaint is that I wish we had gotten more of Jace’s side of what happened during their breakup. This was such a beautiful story, one that will stay with me for a while. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
This book wrecked me!!! My new favorite from Sarah Ready, she broke my heart and then put it back together in this heartbreakingly beautiful story about first love, second chances and finding your way back when life throws you the worst curveballs.
Parts of this story had me gasping for breath while others had my heart melting. I can't recommend it enough and really enjoyed it on audio too. Aspiring rock star Jace and lonely heiress Andrea were from completely different worlds but their roller coaster love story will have you reaching for kleenex and wanting more!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: emotionally abusive parents, death from cancer
Life doesn’t have many certainties, but for Andrea and Jace, forever is one of them.
Andrea Leighton-Hughes—shockingly wealthy Upper East Sider, a chess-piece in her family’s games since before she was born—knows what it’s like to hide behind a mask.
Her world is one of lies, manipulation, and reputation. Jace is the first and only person to see who she truly is.
Jace Morgan knows the ugly side of life and he hasn’t always kept his nose clean. A musical prodigy from the Bronx, Jace and his brothers will do whatever it takes to climb to the top of the music charts. Andrea is the first and only person who has helped him play from the heart.
No one understands their connection. No one understands their love.
As Jace and Andrea struggle to stay together and prove that love defeats all obstacles, life sets out to prove them wrong.
What happens when two people promise forever, but life tears them apart?
Sometimes always doesn't mean forever, and forever doesn't mean always.
What happens in the time they aren’t together—in the space between?
Wow! This book was something else. I have listened to another of Sarah Ready's books: French Holiday, which I absolutely loved too, but the two books are very different. This author is now firmly one of my favourite romance authors. The main difference between the two books is that with this one, she rips your heart out - and when you get it back, it is forever altered! This book will stay with me for a long time, I could not stop listening to it - I NEEDED to find out what was going to happen.
The story is told from both Andy's and Jase's point of view and I really liked both narrators. Rachel F. Hirsch and James Fouhey. I am a bit biased when it comes to James Fouhey, I fell in love with him a little bit when I listened to him narrate Deadbreak by Jorge Sanchez, and actually listened to it again as soon as I was finished with this one. Highly recommend giving it a listen! Anyway, this is a very different take on a true love story, and I don't think I've ever read a romance story quite like it. There are so many layers to this story and there is more than one love story contained within, but very different types of love. The story takes place over the span of around twenty years and covers the complexities of love, loss and heartbreak.
If you feel like going on an emotional rollercoaster, then this is the book for you. Just remember to keep all parts of your body inside the ride at all times, you will end up with a broken heart, so you don't want to risk breaking anything else. Also, keep a box of tissues nearby!
My thanks to the author and W. W. Crown for my advance copy to listen to and review via Netgalley.
The Space Between
by Sarah Ready
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance,
Sarah is a new-to-me author so I'd no idea what to expect. I liked it right from the start, but about quarter in I felt it dragged a little and I put it aside. Came back a few days later, must have just been my mood because I was sucked in to what was happening between them, to the drama of their lives, the deceptions and heartache. Oh I love that drawn out emotional drama, it was perfect for me.
The characters are incredibly real feeling, and I veered from hating them, being angry, frustrated , heartbroken with them, to feeling the joy when finally, finally things came right. I need to FEEL along with the characters, to care about them, and I really did here. I love stories that cover a longer time span too, I feel it really lets the nuances of the story shine through.
The actual story too, it was a treat to read something a little different from the standard rock romance, I love those, but sadly many now seem to fall into almost a format, this was different, very turned on its head type of story. There were lots of really interesting side plots, along with the main romance. I could see them developing into a later story.
Stars: four. A gorgeous, emotion and drama filled romance
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers
5 Stars!!! This one left me crying. What a beautiful love story. I was expecting a lighthearted fun read but was so invested in this incredibly emotional story. Andi and Jace first meet as teenagers. They come from different backgrounds. Jace is a talented musician from the Bronx while Andi withholds from Jace that she is wealthy. Their connection is instant and they both know it’s real. The book is divided in 3 parts reflecting different times in their lives.
Highly recommend this one!!
Thank you so much NetGalley and publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sarah Ready is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her writing always draws me into these beautiful heart wrenching stories. The Space Between had me running the gamet of emotions. There were beautiful happy moments and also some beautiful heartbreaking moments. I loved the characters and how they transformed through their lives, especially Andrea (Andi). I want to open this book and read it again even though I just finished. Definitely one of my favorite books this year!!
thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for providing this ebook arc
first off i really enjoyed reading this even though it took me a while. i do think this book could have been shorter. i did not like how insta-lovey this was though. once i got past that initial cringe of the love at first sight bit andi and jace were really cute and i was rooting for them.
when they are forced apart by circumstance and miscommunication it was so frustrating for me because again miscommunication trope is just not for me. if either of them tried a little harder to reach out and get closure on what really happened, so much hurt could have been avoided. but then again if that was the case this book wouldn’t exist. i hated that dean never faced any real consequences for his actions.
i loooooved river and was so happy that he got a happy ending.
i kinda liked reid and andi better as a couple and was frustrated that reid was being used more as a plot device than anything else. all in all the story was enjoyable but it felt too long for me. there were like five endings phew
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of the book and audiobook.
Super quick read. I listened to about half and read half. Which made it easy to finish in a day.
Would make a great beach read.
This book was a beautiful reminder that although love comes in many different forms and at different times in our lives, ultimately true love always wins out.
I adored both Jace and Andrea. The story starts with them as teenagers, but you never feel like you are following two immature kids. They are from two completely different backgrounds, but work hard to mesh their two worlds together. We grow with them, feel their pain, experience their heartbreaks and triumphs.
I would recommend this to anyone who loves love. This book will break you apart, but will definitely make you whole again.
A great read from Sarah, and one I will definitely read again and purchase.
Read it! Trust me, this one's going to be a bestseller.
Thank you, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. All views are my own.
This book ripped me apart and put me back together so many times. It is definitely one that will stick with me for a long time.
Jace is a musician who comes from nothing, and Andrea comes from a wealthy family but is looking for something more. They immediately fall in love right before their high school graduation, but life isn’t easy for them. So many things try to keep them apart, but they both ache for love and happiness, finding it wherever they can.
I loved these characters. Andrea is a formidable woman who knows her power and isn’t afraid to use it. And Jace is the perfect opposite to her, helping her soften and open up to love. I was also completely hooked into the story, enjoying every twist and turn and was dying to see how it would all turn out.
I highly recommend this to everyone who loves a story about true love, and how it stands the rest of time. I can also recommend the audiobook, where the narrators really brought all the characters to life and helped me feel all the emotion in the book.
I am so glad I gave this book a chance! This is now one of my favorites. I absolutely love the story; it seems a bit cliché at first just based off of the description, but the author does a spectacular job of giving the plot and characters tremendous depth. I also love the writing style in this book, and how wonderfully detailed the author is - I felt like I was in the room with the Jace, in The Tower with Andrea, and in the ballrooms with Reid. The fact that each of the characters grow so much is such a wonderful gift, and I actually wound caring so much about all of them (even Reid!). I could NOT put this book down, and I'm actually a bit sad that I finished reading it because I am still thinking about this book. There were some sections of the book that were intense (in such a great way), and I literally couldn't stop reading. AMAZING! I love how this book made me feel, and especially all of the emotions it made me feel. I am so happy and honored to have been able to read it before it comes out. INCREDIBLE BOOK!!!
Wow, just wow. This book is everything and then some. This book perfectly protrude that true love always prevails. This book is written in three parts, one where they are 17, one where it's 5 years later, and then the last is 8 years after that.
In the first part you read about a boy (Jace) who is starting from nothing, playing his music where anyone will listen. He then gets tracked down by a group of guys that he goes to school with and they attempt to beat him up until someone (Andi) comes out of nowhere and stops them. They spend all night talking about who they are and what matters most to each other. You read about how Jace's parents showed him what true love looks like, how to fully love someone, and how to chase after your dreams. All within part one you get to see their friendship grow as well as their love for each other. You also get to see Jace's brothers fight their own demons while building their music careers. Then the worst happens, and you are left balling you eyes out for Jace and Andi.
Part two is all about Andi starting over and trying to figure out how to love again, not just herself but others as well. You see her start off as this cold and bitter woman, then by the end of this part she is this warm and forgiving person who teachers her daughter how to truly live. I will admit this part got me tearing up a few times with the multiple deaths. They way it was written and the events leading up to them had my own heart breaking.
Part three you read about Andi and Jace seeing each other again. They both realize that they never have nor will they stop loving each other. One thing I loved in this part was the way Claudia was with Jace and vice versa. They finally get their HEA.. Part three did a wonderful job of showing true love has no limits.
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This book had my heart swooning, it makes the hopeless romantics wanting more. I ate this book up, from all of the love that was in the book, but also the heart break. It was hard reading about Andi growing up in a loveless home, not to mention the time reading about what Reid's father did to him. You really do see that money doesn't buy love and happiness. This book was very well written. It did start off slow at the beginning, but it was needed so we got to see how all of the characters developed in the years to come. This is probably one of the first time I'll say there is nothing id change in the book.
Check trigger warnings prior to reading as this book mentions drug overdose, parental abuse, cancer, death/accidental death, and mental heath issue.
Thank you NetGalley and W.W Crown/Independent Book Publishers Association for the ARC, this is my honest thoughts of the book.
'The Space Between' by Sarah Ready is a roller-coaster romance story that captivated me until the end! Our main characters, Jace Morgan and Andrea Leighton-Hughes are wonderfully developed - and are complimented by the contrasting worlds of the New York rich and the Morgan Brothers' music scene that Ready so masterfully constructs. My main gripe with the novel is the lack of a strong "meet-cute" between Jace and Andrea. It's seemingly love at first sight for the two, but there's little to no explanation detailing why the two are so in love and go to the lengths that they do throughout the story. Even with overlooking this - they lack strong chemistry and banter throughout the rest of the novel (that I felt another couple in this book actually had) - making it hard for me to really root for their romance. Overall, 'The Space Between' is a great read, whose riveting plot ultimately makes up for lacking points in the romance.
5 *****
I’m not going to regurgitate the plot summary, I presume you’ve read the publisher’s blurb before moving on to reader reviews.
I devoured this book. It drew me in right from the beginning and kept me hooked. I never skimmed, never got distracted and wandered off to do something else for a while. I love finding a book in which I can be fully immersed and engaged.
The characters were well drawn – well characterized, as it were – with backstory in bits and pieces to establish them and provide context for their actions. I was able to sympathize / empathize with all of them, and at times, my heart broke – or soared – along with theirs. I am not overly emotional, but this book drew those emotional responses from me.
This was my first book by this author, and I will definitely seek more. Solid five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley for a free preview copy in exchange for my honest review.
Andi and Jace are meant to be from the moment they meet at seventeen in Central Park. From that moment on their lives are set on a rollercoaster with the highest highs and lowest lows that test the strength of their love and of their always.
This book. Wow. I am having a hard time even knowing what to say because this love story was truly epic, in scope and in time and in feeling. Devastating and heartbreaking at times, this book will stay with you for a long time.
Without spoiling too much, I will note that there is cheating in this that ultimately isn’t what it seems. If cheating is a hard stop, for you, though, it’s worth noting that the resolution is not immediate.
💞 soulmates 💸 rich girl/poor boy 🎸 musician romance 🌳 the Central Park Ramble 😭 emotionally charged romantic drama 🎤 “tell me a lyric” 💭 she’s his muse 💔 angst
TW: terminal cancer, cheating, drug overdose, gun violence, suicide
Best book of the year? The Space Between is taking the number one spot rightaway without any doubts! It's my absolute favorite romance of 2023 so far! This book had everything, with it's 540 pages(!) I couldn't just stop reading. And I didn't want it to end.
💗
The story and love between Andrea and Jace was just so emotional, beautiful, heartwarming and heartwrecking. You feel all the emotions at the same time. The dimensions of what love means went so much farther than I could've imagined in this book. If you were so touched by a lyric or a love song that you wished it were a full length book, this would be it.
Everyone should pick this one up.