This is a book about teenagers during the last months of their senior year of high school. As a 40 yr old woman, I understand I am probably not the target audience. Let’s start by saying the narrators did a great job. They were much more pleasant to listen to than some narrators. At times the drama felt just a bit much, but that is probably rather accurate for the characters ages.

I was quite unhappy with the amount of sexual content in a book that is labeled YA. Much, if not all of it, was simply unnecessary. As a rule I feel like there should not be any level of open door content in a YA book. I feel like the author could have established the history of behavior without such detail. Then there was the language and drugs. As I think over it this is definitely the kind of book I’d rather my daughters not read until they are at a minimum in their late teens. So I guess that explains my feelings on it being labeled YA. If the character were a few years older it would feel significantly less inappropriate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

There’s something bigger at play than teenage hormones in this delightfully charming and deeply effecting YA novel, though there’s plenty of them, a story of the final year of high school for best friends Caplan and Mina in Two Docks, Michigan.

It’s a little bit Ladybird, a little bit Breakfast Club, a whole lotta great.

High school is that precarious time when you’re sure the smallest screw up will ruin your entire life, but it’s actually the only time of your life when nothing *really* matters - Garrison captures that with perfection.

Here are two people on the cusp of the challenges and changes college will bring them, one a bookish outcast, the other the popular kid.

There’s a complexity and depth to our main characters as well as the friend group surrounding them, each one understanding that everything is about to be upended, each both fearful and fearless in the face of it.

I’m trying to remember a time when I’ve read a YA that felt so raw and honest - it feels real in a way others haven’t.

And again, this shouldn’t be pigeons holed as a romance; it’s a coming of age tale with complicated and endearing characters who just happen to love one another.

___
Mina and Caplan have been friends since 3rd grade, an unlikely pair who slowly drifted into the kind of friendship that can’t be broken - even by the social order that stratified them in high school: golden boy jock Caplan and bookish weirdo Mina.

Caplan has always been there for Mina, through tough times, but he’s always kept her separate. It’s what he thought she wanted.

But when his best friend Quinn, with his messy smile and skateboard scars, takes an interest in Mina, brings her into the friend group, everything goes topsy turvy.

Is it too late for Caplan and Mina to realize what everyone else knows? Or will they find the courage they need to meet each other in the middle and admit their feelings?

I adored this book and Daisy Garrison will be an automatic buy for me. The audiobook is done terrifically, too.

I’ve preordered, and I think you should, too.

Now I’ll just wait for the book featuring Quinn.

Thanks to @netgalley, @macmillianaudio for the audiobook and @flatironbooks for the eARC. This will be published June 11, 2024.

2.5⭐️

I’m a bit conflicted about this story. It was easily bingeable with all the high school and relationship drama, but I didn’t like how the sexual assault was basically glossed over and how the adults never addressed the violence. Sex and drinking are a significant focus, and while I appreciated the young adults were practicing safe sex and talking about using condoms, most of conversations between the male characters were frankly crass and immature. All of the characters were hooking up with each other and it was icky.

I enjoyed and appreciated the evolution of Hollis and Mina’s friendship and how they put aside the past to support each other in the present and future. I’m glad Mina didn’t allow her feelings for a boy to influence her future, especially when there was nothing redeeming about said boy. Even though he gave her support and helped her through panic attacks and healing after being assaulted, I thought Mina deserved better than Caplan.

Sadly, this story did not work for me. I’m frustrated the author rushed the ending and didn’t discuss the sexual assault more to give space for the characters to heal. The beginning had such promise but it quickly unraveled and wasn’t the sweet summer romance it was marketed to be.

This book was the breath of air that I needed and I loved it. It gave me all the Dawson/Joey/Pacey vibes and since DC is my absolute jam, I was here for it!
This was a 4.5 read for me.

This one was a bit incomplete to me, I think because it felt like I was reading several smaller stories that were intertwined, all of which were missing something.

My biggest criticism, like many others have said, is that this book needs a content/trigger warning. (I listened to it as an audio book and it didn’t include one. I’m not aware of whether or not the print edition has one.)

Along with that criticism, the assault plot is tough for me. It feels like it should be a much larger deal than it’s made in the story. At one point, it’s so subtle that I didn’t even realize it was being addressed until an action is discussed later on that calls back to that moment, tying it to the assault. I appreciate that the author was handling it delicately, but it ends up so delicate that it may have been better served being edited out completely.

Another major issue I had while reading was that the male MC displayed of a lot of red flags that weren’t really resolved. He’s purposely kept his best friend out of his friend circle, effectively treating her more like a dirty secret than a friend he’s in love with. He goes from having sex with someone else to texting her immediately after, as if it’s not a big deal. He’s over protective and jealous, and (hopefully) unintentionally makes her feel bad about coming out of her shell so much that he nearly pushes her back into it. I also had some trouble following his motivations. Was he upset about his absent dad, or about her? And if it was about his dad, it came out of nowhere and could have used a bigger explanation.

However—I loved the girlfriend/rival character, and kind of wish that the story had been told from her POV. She had a big heart, became a genuine friend to the female MC, and stood up for herself when she realized she was being jerked around emotionally by the male MC. Her bluntness and her ability to get to the point was refreshing in a story that felt like it had a lot of characters tiptoeing around the big conversations.

I also really liked “the other guy”, Quinn, and I felt like he was a pretty genuine person who worked really well with the female MC, and that he got tossed aside because he wasn’t THE guy. I was glad that he got the ending he deserved.

As far as the criticisms about open sex talk and actions, that didn’t bother me at all. I think frank dialogue about sex in YA novels is good, because it means it isn’t a shameful secret conversation. I think the author depicted teens pretty well.

Overall, if you like a good old fashioned friends to lovers messy romance, this is for you. But remember that there are a few triggers to keep in mind going in, like past sexual assault, death of a parent, smoking and drinking.

I binged this one so fast!! Perfect for Jenny Han fans, the story was very high school 2024 and full of drama. I was pulled into Mina and Caplan’s friendship and rooting for the HEA. This definitely leans on the more mature YA side (sex is a common theme along with drinking), so recommend this with caution. The audiobook was really well done!

Read if you like:
-Friends to lovers
-High school seniors
-Coming of age
-Michigan setting

The narrators helped the story come to life. The characters fell flat to me and would have been flatter without the narration. It was an okay story but a quick read that you won’t remember after.

I got this arc, because the blurb sounded like a fun summer read. Especially when compared to Jenny Hann, I figured it would be ok to try - and mostly stick to a mostly clean YA rating. I don’t know why I try anymore really. While the writing was good - the core story was cute, and I enjoyed the best friends to lovers trope… this is not in any way what I would consider a YA. It shouldn’t be more of a NA raiting.. From the language to the graphic innuendos, and sex. I was disappointed. I’m not sure why these types of books are being marketed to young adults. But I wish they weren’t. Thank you to Netgalley for issuing me this arc in return for my honest opinion.

3.5 ⭐️
The day after I finished this I woke up and was looking for my earphones so I could listen to more and then remembered it was over! 🤦🏻‍♀️ 😞

I really liked the writing style and the narrators, Georgia Garrison (the authors sister!) and Jesse Aaronson absolutely sounded like the two MCs, Mina and Caplan 👏🏼

This is a YA/Teen, they’re in their senior year of high school, so it felt nostalgic and like I was listening to friends talk and living out the last days of high school. I could picture the characters and all their expressions and animation as the story went on so I highly recommend the audiobook 🎧

Mina and Caplan have been friends since around 3rd grade - he’s athletic and popular, she’s studious and introverted, but they work. Although Caplan has always tried to include her in everything, it isn’t until his other best friend Quinn (reminded me of someone I knew in HS lol) shows interest in Mina that she’s whisked into their social circle by everyone including Caplans girlfriend Hollis (loved her, probably the most mature teen here 🤣). Caplan starts realizing that maybe he’s jealous and may actually have feelings for Mina and queue the messiness that is high school.

There were a couple things that were mentioned and not expanded on, which I think was part of what left me wanting more. It didn’t feel like I had enough closure by the end. Also, the end of the final chapter confused me 🤪 and I wonder if it was because I wasn’t actually seeing the words or if there was a mishap with the narration and they said the wrong name 🤷🏻‍♀️ I replayed it a couple times trying to find what I was missing, this could totally be a me thing though 🤣

Another “issue” which 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 be a NetGalley app thing since the last two audiobooks I got from them had this happen was skipping! The second or third to last chapter was skipping ALOT of big chunks, so I essentially missed a whole chapter that 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 have provided more answers. I tried everything from restarting my phone to relaunching the NetGalley app and nothing fixed it but my rating had to be off what I 𝐝𝐢𝐝 get.

I am very conflicted about this one as i feel it should be labeled as new adult. There are a lot of sexual scenes that I don't think belong in YA and more mature subjects as well such as sexual assault. Trigger warnings should be given.

It is heavy on the drama and I just wanted them to realize how they felt about each other and be together !! Still a fun read and a cute friends to lovers with high school drama.

🎧 The narration by Georgia Garrison & Jesse Aaronson was really good. They did a great job portraying the high school characters with all the emotions and feelings. Very good audio production.

✨️ Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio & @daisygarrison for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute YA, cleaner than most (but not completely) teen romance beach read.

I want to thank NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the Audio ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

First the narration… This was narrated by the authors sister Georgia Garrison and fellow actor Jesse Aaronson. It always gives me pause when narrators are listed as actors or when it says “performed by” type language. Then thrown in a family member as one of them and it can be a complete disaster.
This however was anything but. Not only were they clear and engaging readers they did well with the fine line of performance when it comes to audio book narration.

They gave enough emphasis to the prose but without going too far where the listener can’t create their own picture in one’s head. They also did a great job at embodying teen agers without sounding cartoonish.

Now for the book itself…

I liked that it captured the messiness that can be the high school experience. The entanglements that friends can get in when feelings get in the way. The challenges of social standing differences along with boy/girl friendships and issues with significant others etc..

Lastly, the character development was pretty good. A bit better with some characters than others but I felt I knew the characters.

If you like YA Romance, this is a fun read to give a go when it comes out on June 11th 2024.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

When I saw this book was for fans of Carley Fortune I didn’t need to know anything else. Unfortunately, I did not like this as much as I like any of Carly’s books and I found myself getting a little frustrated during my read.

I want to start by saying the book gives no trigger warnings but there should be trigger warnings for sexual assault.

The story follows Caplan and Mina who are polar opposites in high school. Caplan is predicted to be prom king and Mina is valedictorian and awkward. They live across the street and from a young age they have been friends and only friends.

Caplan annoyed me the most. He comes off as entitled throughout the story and seems to string along his girlfriend as long as Mina. Romantically he shows no interest in Mina until Mina is with someone else.

The plot felt like it was all over the place at times making it a little confusing for parts of the story but as a whole the story itself is good. Mina is a great main character, she is multileveled and deals with so many things. From being bullied at school, her love life, her home life, the passing of her dad, and the fallout from her dad’s family. I wanted nothing but happiness for Mina and for me, that meant I wanted Caplan far away from her.

If you like high school romances or friends to lovers then definitely check this one out.

This was perfectly fine, which sucks, because there is a world in which it could have been great. What kept it from being great - the over abundance of Harry Potter references - I am begging authors, editors, and everyone else involved to stop using HP references - it's 2024 - it adds nothing to your story and just makes me question your morals/ethics. The other thing that bothered me as the ending, I didn't want Mina and Caplan to be endgame - I wasn't sold on them at all- I wanted her to pick herself more than she did.

That being said, this felt very real and very authentic. I adored Hollis and her character development. Garrison definitely kept characters from falling into familiar traps. I really liked the discussion about choosing the path that was best for Mina instead of what might be seen as the "best" path to take. There's a lot of good content here that I think teens will like.

As for the audiobook - it was really well done and both narrators did a great job!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC!

I was so excited for this one as the premise was SO cute and I adore the cover!

While the characters seemed cute the constant teenage sex and F words on repeat over and over surprised me for something classified as a Young Adult book. I don't love when books portray all highschoolers as sex crazed and it surprises me when YA has more sex than a lot of adult romances. I'm not sure who the target audiences are for these books.

Overall, I'm sad to say I was disappointed.

The narrator was great and the audio production itself was 10/10! I loved the male and female narrators back and forth as that helps add such great perspective and keeps things interesting!

This is out (rightfully so) in June!