This book is for you if you love young adult romance, childhood friends to lovers, second chances, new girl x football player, and silly high school compatibility quizzes.

This book definitely has some King Arthur vibes with Lancelot and Genevieve style main characters. The other reviews make it sound like the cheating aspect is hard and fast. In actuality, they kiss towards the end. Nothing else. They are definitely in the wrong, but the female main character, Nova, tries repeatedly to get Sam to sort his crap out with his girlfriend.

Abigail is a literal saint and didn't deserve to be treated with anything less than utmost respect and honesty. In truth, I think she might be the most sincere senior in high school I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. She is kind and welcoming, and I just love her character.

I liked the character growth and the author commentary. It reminded me of a Sarah Dessen book to be honest. Well written and believable characters. The romantic subplot would have been sweeter without the cheating overtones.

Content Warning: sweet kiss, cheating, abusive father, adopted by uncle after leaving abusive home, child physical abuse, language

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

I going to be really honest. This author is one of my favorites. But this one was a HUGE miss for me. The cheating in this book just wasn't it.
And I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two MCs. I found myself skimming the last 1/3 of the book. And I just think this particular book wasn't for me.

I was initially put off to the storytelling line of this novel, but Nora and Sam eventually captured my heart. This was an engaging novel and was wrought with details and emotions. It was a great love story of how people can come and go into our lives and how we may need them for a specific reason or season. The interwoven storylines worked well for this cozy YA romance.

Can a personality test tell you who you are most compatible with? What if you are most compatible with someone you used to be best friends with, but no longer seems to even remember you? That’s what we get to watch unfold in this book. I love Ashley Schumacher and will read every book of hers that comes out. This isn’t my favorite of her books, but I still enjoyed the ride and will be back for more!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will be withholding all reviews and promotion for St. Martin's Press titles and their imprints until the publisher addresses the concerns of BIPOC and Muslim creators who are being stalked, harassed and feel unsafe due to the actions of a racist employee.

In the Orbit of You is a story of inevitability, chemistry, and lasting relationships. I loved the connection between Sam and Nova, who were neighbors and secret friends at a young age who then reconnect when Nova starts attending Sam's high school. Nova has moved around for years and reinvented herself every time - so much so that she doesn't really know who she is anymore.

I ended up getting pretty sucked into this book and couldn't put it down! I had intended to read it over a few days but finished it in less than 48 hours. The writing is captivating and endearing and I highlighted a lot of sections.

I loved Sam's relationship with his parents - I totally get why he felt like they would be disappointed in him if he chose not to pursue football but when he finally did confess what he wanted to do, I loved seeing how they accepted his desires really immediately and reiterated that they just wanted him to be happy.

My one larger issue with this was that I just wanted Sam to breakup with his girlfriend so much earlier. Emotional cheating is something that I just never like to read, even if it does often fit more with in a YA novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In the Orbit of You is about chance meetings and possibilities. Finding yourself when you have no idea who you are or what you want. And sometimes, making that choice between what you want and what you don’t, and how that messes things up. Not everyone gets a happy ending but there’s a possibility of happiness that is somehow better than that perfect happily ever after.

I enjoyed Nova’s lack of direction. Her mom’s job keeps them moving around the country, Nova dragged along for the ride. She tries new personalities and preferences at each school she goes to and still can’t figure out who she is or what she wants. It’s kind of amazing, because she gets opportunities not many other teens get. A chance at a new start every few months. But trying on endless personalities has caused her to lose herself beneath it all. Sam wants to please his mom and dad, who aren’t his biological parents but his aunt and uncle who took him in when they took him away from an abusive father. He doesn’t know who he is either, embracing what he thinks his parents want him to be so he can make them happy. When Nova comes back into his life through a random happenstance, and matches with him because of a personality test, they both begin to question who they really are and what they want. And what that will cost.

The pacing made the book easy to read and I finished it in less than two hours. I was engaged the whole time, with how fast paced everything was and how easy it was to empathize with Sam and Nova. The characters were incredibly engaging and the side characters added depth to the story and interacted well with Sam and Nova. Nova, with no friends of her own, didn’t really get a chance to shine when interacting with others in the same way Sam did.

I recommend this book for young adult readers. While the topics of abuse and the aftermath thereof could be triggering, they fit into the story well and are handled logically and with compassion. Because the story is told from dual points of view, we get insight into two different ways a person can struggle with finding themselves and making choices about their future. I’ve read all of Ashley Schumacher’s books and it’s neat to see how her writing has developed over time. I very much enjoyed Sam and Nova, and hope to read more of Schumacher’s character-driven books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing this ARC with me.

In the Orbit of You
by Ashley Schumacher

In the orbit of you, by Ashley Schumacher is a captivating young adult love story that spans the high school friendships of nova and Sam. The writing was emotional, and the characters are beautifully written. I really enjoyed reading this one.

In the Orbit of You draws the reader in from the very first pages. It is a high school story of hope, love, and living after being abused. Nova and Sammy reconnect in high school after being childhood friends. Schumacher seemlessly tells their tale connecting the reader to them, so they too can hope that the days ahead will always be more than the days that were left behind.

This novel sucked me in from the very beginning and I didn’t want to leave. Nova is always on the move for her Mom’s job but she doesn’t mind the constant changes, as she doesn’t have to set expectations for friendships/relationships. Sam is the star football player at school with expectations to go D1 in college. While the two characters live very different lives now, they have a shared past. Written in dual POV, the reader is able to further explore both Sam & Nova’s thoughts and feelings of being reconnected. I quickly fell in love with the wholesomeness of this novel as the two teenagers find what they need in their lives. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes high school romances with tropes like forced proximity, friends to lovers, and second chance!

As with all Ashley Schumacher books, I'm enthralled by the immediate connection between the two main characters and how it goes beyond just surface-level attraction. In the case of Nova and Sam, this is partly due to a shared childhood, but it's also more than that. They get each other in a way no one else gets them. This book also had the characteristic bittersweet flavor of the books I've read of hers before, especially with the ending, and gave me a sort of sad hopefulness the entire time I was reading that felt cathartic. I read this book in one sitting.

I also enjoyed the side characters, especially Abigail and her kindness and good nature. I like how her and Sam's relationship played out (Abigail gave Sam more grace than he deserved, considering how he treated her, and I admire her deeply). I also liked Sam's nature club friends and how we got glimpses into the bittersweet nature of their relationship as well.

The consequences of Sam's abuse even today, even after ten years of living in a loving and supportive family, were well integrated into his day-to-day. I liked the addition of the traits he shares with his adopted father, who was also abused as a child. I also liked the reveal of Nova's mother's parallel story to Nova and Sam's in her own youth with Sam's adopted father, and as someone who enjoys narrative cycles, this pleased me even though it did make commentary on cycles of violence and abuse and the lasting impacts of what is done to children.

This book. This. BOOK. 🥹

I was captivated instantly and held so rapt in the orbit of these 2 main characters. WOW.

I loved every moment of this book. I couldn’t put it down.
Nova and Sam will forever hold a tender place in my heart.

The story was beautifully written, with captivating writing and wonderfully fleshed out characters that made we WEEP with the full spectrum of emotion.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this incredible YA novel ❤️

I felt all the things while reading this story. I was angry. I was ogling. I was crying. It made me love it even more. It really touches on the importance of relationships while in an abusive home and how they can carry through the lifetime. The real and rawness of the content is what really tied me to this story. The characters were ones that I was cheering on the whole time and I wish I had more time with them!

5/5 stars! Recommend for family, friends, and snails!

**Thank you NetGalley for a free review copy! I am voluntarily leaving this review.

I read the author’s other book The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway. In my honest opinion, I liked that book a lot more than this one. It wasn’t horrible. It was just okay. And Sam cheating on his girlfriend with Nova after he was so upset someone cheated on her before and his abusive dad’s own cheating it didn’t seem like it would be in character for Sam to not think and do it as well. All in all, it did keep me interested until the very end. All opinions stated are my own. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

This story was beautifully written. It really tugged at my heart strings and not just because of the sensitive/emotional history of the main characters. The author really pulls readers into the details with imagery and emotions through the lens of childhood.

There were a few repetitive things that slightly irked me (snails) but I’m a super picky ready overall. The narrator/trubador elements felt a bit unnecessary but I overall I’d recommend this (with trigger warnings for child abuse, mental health, ptsd).

This book follows childhood best friends/neighbors Nova and Sam, who are reunited at the end of high school after not seeing each other for years. Sam had went to live with his uncle and aunt due to abuse, while Nova moved around a lot. They are both struggling, Nova with what to do to with her life in college and Sam with pleasing everyone around him (continuing with football, dating the "right" girl, etc.). They take comfort in spending time together.

This book was very frustrating, Sam most of all. He admitted that he did not love his girlfriend, but refused to break up with her. They are together for almost the entire book. I was happy that his girlfriend was not vilified and got her moment at the end. I appreciated both Sam and Nova's struggles outside of this.

I wish there was more to their backstory than what was shown and also that there had been a better closure at the end. There is more the prospect of a HEA than a HEA shown and I prefer when it shown. That's personal preference though.

I did like the writing and will probably read other books by this author.

Trigger warnings: cheating, child abuse

I love this author's books so much! This may be my favorite yet.

A brilliantly poetic and sweet story of childhood best friends torn apart by circumstances and then reunited, a year too early.

“Maybe we're twin planets and our options are either to distantly orbit the same star or else collide and take everything down with us.”

When Jordan and Nova were little, they build their own kingdom - Snailopolis. But when Jordan is taken away from his abusive parents, he promises to find Nova again when he's eighteen. Nova's mother's job takes them all over the country, however; and one day when she's seventeen, she looks up at a new school and there's Jordan, one year earlier than he promised.

Jordan's now a popular football player with an adoring, genuinely nice girlfriend named Abigail. His life trajectory seems set - date the cheerleader, get a college scholarship and maybe even go pro. But then Nova comes back into his life, unlocking all these layers of feelings that he didn't even know he was capable of.

Nova's conflicted because Jordan's life seems so set, and she still can't figure out who she is or wants to be. She feels like all her moves have kept her from putting down roots long enough to find herself. She's drawn to Jordan, but also feels like they should stay away from each other.

This will-they-or-won't-they romance captures your whole heart. The author's signature gorgeous lyrical prose style really sings in this book. The ending is perfection and will leave you with a big book hangover.

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

Ashley Schumacher weaved a tale of trauma and hope. She elegantly flitted around difficult topics and character growth with the acumen of an archer. Straight through the heart, but with love. Thoroughly Enjoyed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

1 wanderer, 1 just wanting to make people happy, meet for a second time and aren’t sure how to move forward, or if they even should.
This was an emotional yet predictable read. Set in high school with memories from ‘childhood’, this coming of age story hits on some sensitive topics.
I am 99% positive you would enjoy reading this.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC. The opinion I give is my own.

Schumacher’s books are a salve for my inner teenage soul. I wish I had all of her books 20+ years ago, and I have to believe that is why I love them so much. This one isn’t any different.

In the Orbit of You is a dual narrative of Sam and Nova. Childhood friends that were separated and then thrown back together in high school. When I tell you the level of angst and longing in this book is off the charts, I mean it’s like that scene from New Moon where Bella is staring out the window as the months pass. And I am here for it! I was irritated about halfway through their story, but I knew it would payoff in the end. It definitely does…just not in the way we think. This is a truly beautiful and relatable story about finding out who you are, what you love, and making sure you know what’s in the negative space before you see the final picture.