I'm at a loss. for words...
You just need to read this book...
A beautiful written story about Max and Ella who are childhood friends who become separated until Ella returns years later. A heart wrenching love story that had me sobbing. You can't help but fall in love with Max and Ella. The ending was satisfying but i didn't want the story to end. This book will stick with me for some time. One of my favorite reads this year!

Catch The Sun ☀️

Rating: 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 2.5 stars 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Before I started this book, I knew I had to get my tissues ready, because I was going to cry! 😭 Having read her previous book Still Beating, I knew Jennifer Hartmanns’s stories are special. So I was excited to hear that I got an opportunity to read an ARC of her latest release, Catch The Sun!

Sooo thank you soo much Jennifer Hartmann and Valentine PR for this incredible opportunity to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ❤️❤️❤️

Now moving onto the story. Max and Ella aka Sunny! ☀️☀️☀️ The first line hooked me in! I was invested.

Catch The Sun written in dual POV, tells the story of Ella, who is facing the consequences of the biggest trial in her life, her brother being sentenced to death for committing a double murder. She moves back to a small town she used to live in when she was a child, hated now by her peers and hating the idea of love. Cause from what she understands, love kills! 💀

Ella has a snarky, doomed personality, which was hilarious at time! I loved how realistic it was having to deal with a tragedy like this for her. Cause it is hard to hate someone you love, especially someone who you grew up loving and was your protector all your life to then finding out that same person took a life! Her struggles were portrayed really well as well as showing the harsh reality of what it is like being the family member of someone who committed a crime, which is another sentence in itself. Being hated by your friends, being treated as an accomplice and overall being treated like shit. 💩 Cause we are a judgy society!

She meets Max, her childhood friend. Who is also dealing with his own struggles. They both end up rekindling their friendship reluctantly and from there, their story begins. Max is the greenest of green flag! He is a sweetheart! Always putting Ella first! I love how much he fought for her in every step of their relationship, from friendship to eventually lovers. He listens! People need to take lessons from him on communication! Every list he wrote, every song he played, every action he took, was just swoon worthy!

This story portrayed the blooming of innocent love in the midst of pain really well. I loved Ella and Max and their beautiful story, which was not only about love but also about healing! ❤️‍🩹 And I loved the colour orange, the potted carrot, the sun and my dear old friend, Winnie the Pooh.

The foreshadowing of something bad was gonna happen, really scared me. Cause everything was going well for Max and Ella, and they both wholehearted deserved happiness. And even with all the warning sign, I was still not prepared! I sobbed! 😭 And finally, just like any other Jennifer Hartmann book you pick up, the Max and Ella healed, and eventually found their way back together stronger than ever.

This was a beautiful, poignant read. Which everyone needs to read immediately! One thing that I can say for sure, this book really puts into perspective of things that may even be going in your own lives. I definitely learnt the power of healing and living from Ella and Max for sure, something that I needed desperately myself.

Thank you Jennifer Hartmann for another incredible read! Lots of love! ❤️

first of all, i loved the plot in this - it was interesting, covered topics i've never really seen explored before (like ella's brother being on death row for the majority of the book), but for some reason i just did not want to pick this up. i couldn't really connect with any of the main characters, despite me feeling for them and what they were going through. i think it may just be jennifer hartmann's writing style that didn't gel with me, but that's not to say i won't give her other books a shot.

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks bloom books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

🍊Catch the Sun🧡Jennifer Hartmann🌞 @author.jenniferhartmann
Thank you @netgalley for this arc, here is my honest review 😊
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️🌶️
💭My thoughts: I read Lotus and also Still Beating by this author and just ADORED them. Jennifer made me feel things I haven’t felt in a long time. A weight on my chest lifting going through the journey with the characters she creates. I knew that this was going to be another great read. I just hated having to be away from this book! I was visiting family and friends and was thinking about finishing this book the whole time! The prologue was what immediately drew me in, and made it unforgettable. My heart broke on the first few pages and I was prepared to heal it by finishing the book. I cannot imagine a better ending. That was perfect and threw me off guard. Max is the perfect man and I love how their love blossomed from nothing. This has become my favorite Jennifer Hartmann book so far 🥰
There is something hauntingly beautiful about the journeys that this author takes the readers on. Buckle me in and take me on the emotional roller coaster any time 🥹 I highly recommend this author and this book if you want to feel not just some things, but everything. If you just feel like life is dull and not so beautiful, let this author show you that it matters. You matter. and this life wouldn’t be sunny without you in it. 🧡

This book had me all in the feels! I went from totally in love with the two main characters to crying my eyes out while my heart ached so much! This book was an emotional roller coaster, but so worth the read. I would say to check your trigger warnings because this did have a lot of trauma healing. Happy reading!

Catch the Sun isn't my first Jennifer Hartmann read, but it is the first that is young adult (YA), although due to the some of the themes and potential triggers, I would consider this more mature YA than anything. This is the story of Ella Sunbury, a girl who meets fellow seven-year-old Max Manning and become each other's best friend. Then without warning, she moves away, no longer to live with her father but with her mother and older brother instead. A decade later, Ella returns to the community of Juniper Falls in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, but from the get-go, it's clear that her senior year in high school will be nothing like that idyllic year when life was all about having fun with her best friend by her side. Now, that former best friend can barely stand to look at her, what more breathe the same air she does. But Ella has it all wrong because seeing her again has Max hoping to get to know this version of the girl he never forgot. Their connection may have survived ten years apart, but what will be left of their budding romance when the unthinkable happens? Could catching the elusive sun leave nothing more than ashes?

Goodness but how heartrending this novel was! Yes, there was a coming of age story and romance, but it was also about family and what you were willing to do for them. The phrase "my brother's keeper" popped in my head a few times while I was reading this book, and if you've perused this Jennifer Hartmann-penned tale, then you'll understand why. My heart broke for both Ella and Max, and by the end, even with the resolution of sorts, that heart had only barely been stitched back together. I honestly have no clue what I would have done if I were in either of their shoes. After all, they were teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. I'm the age that I'm at and I found myself at a loss when they were faced with one absolutely devastating multi-layered tragedy. There was a maturity to Ella and Max, but I'm pretty sure that was a by-product of the lives that they were living because what other choice did they have but to grow up far more quickly than their peers? I will say, though, that they also had quite a few pillars of support around them, for which I'm appreciative. The character development was stellar, particularly in the case of Ella. She was Jonah's Piglet; then she was Max's Sunny; and by the book's end, she was Ella--a survivor of a past with an unfortunate series of gut-wrenching circumstances who is thriving in her present and hopeful for her future. And in the middle of it all was a boy who became a man; while she, in turn, was the center of his life.

Catch the Sun was a novel I didn't see coming, and for that, I'm glad--even if my heart is still healing from everything Ella and Max experienced. It's a five-plus-starred must-read. (I would make a list of reasons why this needs to be on everyone's to-be-read list, but my review is already overly wrong. So let me end this with three words: Just. Read. It.)

(P.S. I'm an Eeyore, too, but I still believe in happily-ever-afters.)

——ARC REVIEW——

I went into this blindly and was lucky enough to receive an ARC from netgalley🩵. I was genuinely excited because I read “Still Beating” by Jennifer Hartman two years ago and STILL think about it. I just knew I would love anything she wrote, and I was right! This book was so raw, beautiful, and sad. I love how Jennifer Hartman writes characters with all their flaws and inner monologues. You finish the book feeling like you know these characters deep in their souls.

Max and Ella’s story is a roller coaster, but one I would ride a million times! One thing I’ve noticed is Jennifer’s writing is so different from other authors. It feels like she writes without thinking about specific tropes – her books just feel natural. There’s none of that cliché stuff that’s everywhere. The plot, characters, and dialogue are all so cohesive, which is rare.

I love how her men are total green flags. Sometimes I just don’t want to read about a morally grey guy. Max was the sweetest, most caring character I’ve ever read. Both Max’s and Ella’s traumas affected them deeply, but they turned into such wonderful people because of it. Go read this book right now!!!

——

“Nobody ever really needs rescuing,” he says, our footsteps slowing. “But it feels nice sometimes.” ~ Max 😩

I haven't picked up a YA romance in a hot minute, so imagine my surprise when I ended up absolutely loving "Catch the Sun"!

This book, guys, this book! I was an emotional wreck from start to finish.

Just a little bit of advice: don't read it in public. I made that mistake and ended up crying multiple times during my work breaks. My colleagues gave me concerned looks, but I didn't care—I just couldn't put this book down.

The angst, the twists, these characters! They are my precious babies. Max needs to be protected at all costs—such a pure soul, and I loved him as our MMC. The connection he shared with Ella was so special and rare. I'm such a sucker for childhood sweethearts to lovers, and this story delivered it perfectly.

I literally cannot shut up about this book. It was my first Jennifer Hartman book, and I'm already planning to read all her other books. If you want a YA romance that will tug at your heartstrings and make you tear up, this is the one.

Just please check trigger warnings, it deals with some very heavy topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for letting me enjoy this precious books, all opinions are my own!!

𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.
𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒔.
𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒔.
𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔.

Like every time I read a book by Jenn, reading Catch the sun was a mountain of emotions.

Reading Max and Ella was amazing, because this story not only tells us about a first love, it also gives us the difficult background of both of their lives, but also the unconditional love that you can have for a person and the family that you create in life.

I cried, I smiled, I suffered, i was surprised with the plot and like all of Jenn's books I loved this one ❤️

I felt that it was going a little slow at the beginning, I wanted more answers, but once we started to have them the book was impacting with more and more truths.

Jenn is the only author that I know will make me suffer and I still read it, the way she writes and the stories she gives are on another level.

I don't want to say more, but I will tell that you definitely have to read this book, Jenn never disappoints.

Thank you so much to Jenn and Valentine PR for the e-arc copy

Wow!!! What a beautiful and emotional read, the writing was one of the best I’ve ever read. The book tells the story of Ella & Max, they met when they were children and have loved each other ever since, the problem is that they lived apart for a few years and when they met again they found new problems. Their love journey is undoubtedly heartbreaking but so, so beautiful. I wish everyone read this book one day.

“You smiled at me and I knew I was going to marry you one day.”

“Kissing you feels like catching the sun.”

How can Jennifer Hartmann hurt me this time and bring me out on the other side? EASILY. And I'll let her do it every time.

These two were childhood friends. They were separated for a lot of years. And let me tell you, they have NOT had it easy. When Ella returns to town, everyone knows her. Her brother is on death row, and her classmates don't want her at their school.

Max has so many responsibilities on his shoulders. His dad is disabled and has a drinking problem, and his twin is no help. He doesn't need girls or anything else distracting him.

They're brought into each other's path again and again. And they are so perfect for each other. I fell in love with both of them. Ella is teased and tortured by her classmates, and it is so frustrating! It's scary for her sometimes. Max slowly becomes a refuge for her, and it's so great. They become one for each other.

But it is not sunshine and roses. This book becomes so heartbreaking I wanted to !!!!!!!!! There are some evil people in their lives. Not exactly plotting their destruction, but literal life ruiners.

If you love angst and people coming out the other side, this is the book to read!

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy I love all of Jennifer Hartmann’s books and Catching the Sun hits it out of the park. Ella and Max meet when she’s 7 but then she’s gone for 10 years now she back and infamous and she’s having a rough time. Max and his twin brother McKay live across the street struggling with their own problems, There’s some heavy subjects in this story but handled so well. I love Ella and Max so much.

Jennifer Hartmann is an amazing storyteller. Her books just have a way of touching me deep in my soul. I loved this book so much. The characters, the struggles, the growth, everything about it was perfect! Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

I loved this book and read the whole thing in one sitting! So many twists and turns that kept the story moving and kept me super engaged. Jennifer Hartmann is a great storyteller and world builder, I am excited to know about her and look for more of her titles

This book was so heartwrecking! Max and Ella was so touching. The topics in this book were heavy and deep but so well done. Jennifer Hartmann and her unique prose were a perfect combination !

Catch the Sun is a heartbreaking story of two childhood best friends that learn to love not only each other, but also themselves. It’s a beautifully written coming-of-age story that teaches you to never give up, even when it seems like you have hit rock bottom.

Words cannot describe how utterly in love I am with this story. I laughed and I cried (I may have even thrown my kindle 😅). The attention to detail blew me away. The quotes throughout the book had me tearing up. The plot twists had my jaw hitting the floor 😱

Jonah (Ella’s brother) = 😭🤦🏻‍♀️😍🙄 (that’s the only way to describe him). His character completely broke me.

Ella and Max’s story completely tore me apart. I felt their pain and their loss. Even when I thought they couldn’t get past all of the bad things that life just kept throwing at them, they still found each other in the end. They got the happily ever after that they both so desperately deserved. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry 🤧

Thank you so much Valentine PR and Jennifer Hartmann for gifting me an ARC of this book!

I loved this book, Jennifer NEVER misses and that still holds true to this book. it had everything I was looking for and more

5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

Every single time I read a Jennifer book I cry. This book had me feeling EVERYTHING. The way Jennifer writes these books just breaks my heart and then builds it back up again. I had to sit down for a good half an hour after the book ended because I was feeling so many emotions.

Max and Ellas story was beautiful and tragic and it had everything we love and look for in Jennifer books. They met when they were in first grade to then meet again 10 years later after tragedy hits. The way Max adores her and wants her to thrive was so beautiful. His words will forever live in my soul.

<b> “I’d feel you in any lifetime, in any version of any reality. And I’d know, without a doubt, without a shred of hesitation…that your soul was meant for mine.” </b>

Ella and Maxs story was beautiful in every way even the tragic moments. I loved seeing them work through their struggles and continue to choose each other. I don’t know if this review makes sense, I’m still so out of sorts from it. I cried and I laughed and I sobbed.

My book besties said I should add this quote after I sent them a couple crying videos “This review is sponsored by Kleenex. Not really, but it should be.”

I did want to note that I didn’t think this was a YA book as the smex scenes were very graphic and it definitely felt like an adult romance book.

Thank you Jennifer for always making my heart feel and for writing these beautiful stories.

Jennifer Hartmann just knows how to capture the heart in ways that no other author ever can. This book, like all of hers will capture your heart and put you through the emotional ringer.

We meet Ella and Max first when they are young and then again ten years later as teens. Ella has gone through a tragedy that unfortunately everyone is aware of and throws in her face, and to Max- she’s just Ella! Max has so much going on at home with his dad and twin brother, that his focus isn’t on the social scene like all the other kids. Once their friendship starts blossoming again, their connection was almost like no time passed at all. Max just remembers all the little things and it will make your heart SWOON!

But in true Jennifer Hartmann fashion, there is that all consuming heartache that just gut wrenches you—but it’s also to find the light and you just have to trust her process, knowing she’s going to bring you to the most beautiful outcome for these two.

Just all the stars and ☀️ that this book can possibly receive!

Amazing. All the stars. All the feels. Honestly inject any Jennifer Hartmann book straight into my veins at this point.

Ella and Max were meant to be from the moment they met as children, but Ella was forced to move away. Ten years later she returns with the belief that the only thing that can come from love is destruction. The question is, is it worth it?

This book chewed me up and spit me out. My heart still hurts a little bit, I won’t lie, but I was expecting nothing less.

The author really takes you on a journey with these characters. There is not a moment in this book that I wasn’t completely obsessed with these two together. I was constantly rooting for them and hoping for their circumstances to improve only for the second half of this book to punch me right in the gut and turn their whole lives upside down. They have to go through a lot to get their happily ever after, and I just wanted to give them both the biggest hugs.

This book, while being heartbreaking, is also so comforting and heartwarming in a way only Jennifer Hartmann books can be. It’s a story about two teenagers dealing with far more than anyone should have to, who are able to find a home in each other.

I highly recommend this one. It’s one of those books that will stay with you long after it’s over.

Worth noting: this book has been marketed, from what I can tell, as YA. I’m not an expert, but all I will say is if it’s keeping you from reading this one, I wouldn’t let it. I would consider this a coming of age story, partially set in high school, and our FMC turns 18 in the novel, but it didn’t read noticeably different to me than any other of Jennifer Hartmann’s novels.

Definitely check trigger warnings on this one though!