I’ve never read a book by this author before but I absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for the ARC! I loved this story, it was extremely well written. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!

This one just wasn't for me. It wasn't bad book at all and I am sure it will be another hit and many will love it. I just had a really hard time settling into it so it took me a bit to read it. I couldn't quite click into it. Thank you so much for the ARC opportunity.

Thank you to @netgalley and author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I took my time reading this and savoring it (i read it in two days...). As much as i actually wanted to savor it...my world was crashing and burning with this...no cap
Jennifer Hartmann has hit me with another gut wrenching and angsty new release. i need therapy with this too just like when i read Wrong Heart.
i LOVED all the characters and their depths and i loved how they navigated their feelings and their traumas.
this destroyed me! i was clutching my blanket to my face to not sob, i almost threw away my kindle because WHATTT
Jen really had us hoping that Ella was right.

PLEASE go read it. PLEASE look up the TWs. Please forward the therapy bill to Jen.

Every. Single. Time. Jennifer Hartmann ever so gently coaxes my heart into falling head over heels in love with these characters, only to tragically and horrifically devastate us all.
But I’m totally here for it, every time.
Because then she somehow magically weaves it all into this incredibly epic love story, overflowing with healing, and growth, and hope, and love. So much love. It’s heart wrenching and devastatingly beautiful. Every. Single. Time.
Anyway, this is a new favorite!! You all need to go read this book right now!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

Pure Perfection!!!!

✔️ Jennifer Hartmann
✔️ Angst
✔️ How to Catch the Sun
✔️ Phenomenal Writing

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of Catch the Sun!

This is another fantastic book from Jennifer Hartmann! There is just something about this book at hooked me from page one!

The character development was excellent! This book had plenty of twisty turns at just the right points.

I savored every word because I could not stop reading!

So much emotion with book! Heartbreak, healing, love, angst, stream and forgiveness!

This is one of the best of 2024 thus far! A masterpiece that kept me engaged the entire time!

No spoilers with my review! This is a must read for 2024!

If I could give more than 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I would!

She is the queen of breaking someone down and making them feel so broken before she puts them back together again. This was incredibly sad but incredibly good with a happily ever after that I needed it to have.

This is the first book I read by this author and I had to take some time to process and review. There are so many strong emotions, tragic events, amidst shiny moments of love and devotion. After such a maelstrom of feelings, all I could think is wow, what a ride!

Max and Ella were best friends when they were seven years old. Then her dad took her away, and she didn’t come back to live in Juniper Falls until she was a senior in high school. Her older brother had just been convicted of murder and was in prison, in death row. And as is customary among the idiots and brainless in school, she was bullied and insulted for a crime she didn’t commit.

Max was her neighbor once again, but his home life was crappy too, and like Ella, he had brick walls around his heart, because, also like Ella, he didn’t believe in love anymore.

My heart broke for these two young ones, because their life is just beginning and there is already despair and hopelessness. However, once they found each other again, hope rose anew, feelings flourished, insecurities still existed, but there was a feeling that the sun was about to rise for them. I loved that Ella didn’t cower from the bullies and gave back as good as she got. I loved Max’s kindness and devotion to his father, brother and later Ella. He was her white knight in many instances. I loved how their love grew even amidst all the sad events of their life and the poetic turn of phrases as they compare their feelings to the sunrise.

Surprisingly poetic, deeply heart wrenching, exquisitely emotional, and ultimately uplifting. Tissues are necessary for some scenes, warning heartbreak ahead!

Wow! Jennifer really knows how to write an emotionally captivating story. I was hooked from the prologue! Max and Ella are childhood besties who end up reconnecting 10 years later.

Both Ella and Max are both struggling with their lives and eventually reconnect. Catch The Sun really shows that life after loss can get better. A true story of right person wrong time. My heart truly hurt for them both. Reading their reconnection and growth was 🤌🏻 There were so many times I found myself tearing up.

A must read!

Prepare for this roller-coaster ride!!! Catch the sun had me all in my feelings I was happy at times and then I was heartbroken but it was such a good read . This was my first J. Hartmann read and she definitely took me completely out and then put right back together again!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC !

Oh, my goodness! Are all of this author’s books like an emotional sledgehammer? This is my first book of hers. I hit about 50% in and didn’t stop crying until the very end. My family was actually worried about me. 😂 These characters were really put through the wringer!

I have been in the worst reading slump. I haven’t finished a book in 4 days. Who is she?? I just haven’t wanted to pick up a book to read. Once I got about halfway into this though, I couldn’t put it down!

Max, oh Max. He was amazing! He loves so hard. I loved his lists. This was a beautiful coming of age story about first love and two people that do not have easy lives but find falling in love with each other easy. Life pulls them apart and then back again. Over and over and over. They are the light in each other’s lives.

THAT. ENDING. Seriously? 🥺🥺🥺 I highly recommend this book; just make sure you have a couple of boxes of tissues nearby! 🤧 You will need them.

Experiencing this for the first time is something I want again and again.

I refuse to give any spoilers, so this review is going to be painfully vague.

If there was one book I could read again for the first time then Catch the Sun would be it. Jennifer’s words are painfully beautiful. I have come to love Jennifer Hartmann’s books. I love her writing style, but what I love most is how shes able to write so beautifully no matter how painful the words are. There is a lot of truth in the words written in this book.

Ella and Max found something so beautiful, but the road to get there was rough to read. Max was patient and persistent with Ella no matter what life threw their way. He broke down Ella’s walls in the most beautiful way. I love the devotion they had towards in another. Their character development is one of my favorites of all time. I’ve never routed for characters more than I did for these two.

I found myself stopping multiple times while reading this book because I was afraid of the outcome of certain situations. I was on the edge of my seat multiple times and I stopped only because I was afraid of what would happen next.

I came for the romance, but stayed for every painful situation hoping for a better outcome.

Ella met Max when she was a little kid. At 17, she’s back in town as the sister of a murderer. But Max sees her for who she is, and become the friend she needs. Until tragedy happens again.
Well… this book broke my heart, as all Jennifer Hartmann’s book. I cried, I was scared and of course I fell in Love.

"Love comes first."

Catch the Sun is another amazing story by Jennifer Hartmann. Filled with poetic words, heartbreak, tragedy and first loves. The heart pounding moments start in chapter one. Jennifer's story telling is intense, unique, and detailed. There is no rush when telling Max and Ella's story.

Ella once had a best friend named Max. They had the greatest summer together when they were seven years old. Then life got in the way, and they were separated by grown-up decisions. Ella returns ten years later. Once again, due to grown-up decisions. Max is not the same carefree boy that he once was. Life's responsibilities have left him no choice but to do what needs to be done.

Ella is not the carefree girl that Max once knew. Grief, emotional evasion, antilove are all reasons why Ella finds herself unavailable for anyone. Ella's fire catches onto Max and suddenly he wants more of that heat. He starts out trying to be her friend. As they let their guards down their relationship changes into more...

"Love conquers. Consumes. Kills."

Catch the Sun was such an emotional roller-coaster. My heart was obliterated more than once! I loved everything about Max and Ella! I was consumed by the beautiful writing and intense storyline. Love, loss, hope, fear, forgiveness and second chances fill the pages. A must read for Jennifer Hartmann fans! And - don't get me started on Pooh, Piglet, orange crayons and brisket! If you have never read Jennifer Hartmann, you are missing out on beautiful, griping, emotional, full-box-of-tissues stories!

#AuthorJenniferHartmann #CatchTheSun #MaxAndElla

This may be my top read this year! It was absolutely beautiful and tragic. The trauma Ella and Max face from the age of 7 years old is unimaginable. However, they seem to deal with their trauma in such realistic ways.

Best friends from childhood, Max and Ella vow to be each other's everything. Life gets in the way and separates these two for 10 years. Upon her return, things are not easy. The struggle to find a new normal tears at Ella and she fights to get her life back.

I fell in love reading Max and Ella fall in love. The grief and trauma are so strong, and yet it makes them more human. They face one battle after another and find light at the end. A beautiful story about love and healing that will make you fall in love with sunsets and catching the sun.

3-3.5 stars

Hard one to rate, because while I enjoyed the plot and the 2nd half of this book quite a bit I feel like the execution and marketing are off the mark.

Marketed as YA, I think New Adult would have been more appropriate. These are 17-18 year old kids, basically parenting themselves and dealing with heavy adult like themes. With that being said, the MC Ella, acted very young at times (the whole Winnie the Pooh thing, I was over that pretty quickly) while other times using language like she was an adult who was trying to relate to teens would (even the flashbacks to when they were 7, they didn't talk like 7 year olds would.)

I struggled with the first half of the book. I was bored, it was slow, and the dialogue wasn't pulling me in. The action/plot points picked up in the 2nd half and I enjoyed it a lot more. It was overly dramatic in a lot of ways and a little far fetched, but I'd rather have that than what I read the first half. The emotions were heartfelt, the pain intense, and I felt for the main characters. This author ALWAYS knows how to bring feelings to her stories. That's where she excels!

Overall it was an okay read, but if it wasn't a book I was reading from Netgalley I might have DNF'd it before I got to the good part, as the first 30% was really slow for me. Chalk full of feels but more character development (especially with the dialogue) and less stereotypical characterizations would be appreciated and make it a better read for me. I'll still read this author, just maybe not her YA geared books.

The prologue really sucks you in. It had me turning the page so fast.

This story follows Ella and Max. They were best friends when they were little until she was moved away to live with her mum and brother.
When they see each other again it has been nearly a decade and they are not the same people.
Ella’s brother is in prison after being arrested for murder.
She is a pariah at her school and is horrendously bullied by everyone.
Except Max.
Max has his own issues going on at home with his dad, with no help from his twin brother McKay.
They both decided to try for friendship again, even if Ella fights it.

This couple is so cute it makes my teeth hurt from all the sweetness.
When Max made Ella a playlist called ‘Sunny Songs’ ,and it was filled with songs that reminded him of her, I swear my heart melted.
The end of step two broke me. I was literally sobbing my heart out. All the emotions swirling from the different characters really affected me.

Omfg!!! As if it couldn’t emotionally damage me even more, what happens with the brothers shattered me.

I swear my heart has been in pieces for most of this book. And just when I think it couldn’t break anymore, it bloody well does!!
Step three destroyed me.
All of the heartache and grief could be felt through the pages.

I felt like I had put myself back together again by the time I was reading the last step on how to catch the sun. But of course it wouldn’t be a Jennifer Hartmann book unless she played with your emotions just one last time.

This book was pure magic. The characters were some of the best I have EVER read. The world building was exceptional.
This is a story that will stick with me for a long time to come.

jennifer hartmann never fails to YANK on your heart strings!!! this book was adorable but also dealt with some very heavy topics and although it’s labeled as YA, i would definitely recommend to proceed with caution or check tw’s if needed!

max & ella are childhood friends who share this instant unique bind that is short lived since ella’s father brings her back to her moms shortly after she met max. years later following a tragic event, ella is back and feels like an outcast. overtime, she starts to grow close with max and it’s clear to them both that the unique bond they shared never really went away.

soon they are inseparable and planning their future as together when another tragic event occurs. from this point on the rest of the book had me on the edge of my seat! things got a little crazy and following along with the plot was so entertaining. their was so much pain to process and digest but it was worth it to see max and ella happy together at the end.

if you love angsty books that follow unique plots you would love this book. once i hit the 55% mark i had a really hard time putting this book down and all i wanted to do was stay up late and read

Jennifer Hartmann writes a truly emotional story in Catch the Sun. Ella and Max meet as young children and then don't see each other again for ten years. During that time, both of their worlds are thrown into complete chaos by the loved ones around them. When they see each other again, they are no where near the people they were before. It takes them a while to find their footing and befriend one another again. But once that door opens, it's such a lovely thing. You can see what a balm they are to each other's souls. But things can't be that easy, the world around them throws every challenge it can at them and things unravel. Ella and Max may never be able to overcome the things that happen.

This is a creative and heart wrenching read and was there for each and every word of it. Whenever I pick up one of Ms. Hartmann's books, I always know I'm going to get a book full of emotional upheaval and probably a little trauma. I always hope that the couple will find their way to some sort of happiness but it can take a while to get there sometimes and often it isn't pretty.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a beautiful story about love and loss and the complexity that comes with familial love.

This one is an extreme slow burn but it just draws you into the characters lives even more. You really get to know every detail of their inner thoughts and struggles and it makes all the plot twists and outcomes even more powerful and impactful.

The writing style is absolutely beautiful, entertaining and captivating and there’s no way my thoughts or descriptions can do this author justice.


I went in not knowing what this was about and I highly suggest you do too!

Wow! This book was everything I could have wanted and more from a Jennifer Hartmann book! It shattered me into a million pieces yet was still one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever read.

I will say the beginning took me awhile to get through and was pretty slow, but wow did it pick up and take my breath away! Absolutely loved it!

Honestly this is a 4.5 star for me but it won’t let you do 1/2’s. It would have been 5 star if the beginning wasn’t so slow…. But overall an amazing book!