*I received an arc of this book on NetGalley*

It All Comes Back To You- 16 year old Anna is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. But she’s smart and resilient. She takes college classes as a high school student where she is paired with Gabe- an older guy from the right side of the tracks.

I

The two spark a friendship, and you watch Anna come of age.

This book! This. Book. Beautifully written. Emotional.
You’ll be rooting for Anna!

It got a bit slow in the middle, otherwise this would be a 5 star!

A love story like nothing I’ve read before.

It All Comes Back To You tells a gripping story about Anna, a young woman who is doing everything she can to leave her current life behind and Gabe who has pretty much everything Anna doesn’t. The story jumps through time over 15 years with one common denominator throughout Anna’s life, Gabe. But they both have things they have hidden, leaning you to wonder if it really does come back to them in the end

This is a beautiful story about found family and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had me smiling and crying. I felt for the characters and enjoyed it so much I read it in one sitting.

I’m so lucky to have received an e-ARC through NetGalley and Forever publishing.

Review has been posted on Goodreads and Instagram

This is a slow burn, friends to lovers romance. It starts as a small age gap friendship between a high schooler and a college student, but fret not, because the friendship they have is SO wholesome and the romance does not begin until they are both adults.

This story, while the romance is still central, is really a kind of self-discovery journey for our FMC, Anna. I think her personal journey was the main theme and the friendship-turned-romance elevated the story in a beautiful way.

Anna had a very difficult life as a child and teen, but when she is partnered with hotshot college senior Gabe in her early to college class (as a high school sophomore because she’s a genius!), she finds a deep friendship and discovers a family unit that is truly one of the best fictional families ever.

This book then journeys through Anna’s life, with a few time jumps over the years to show her life changes, her maturity and her overall growth - as well as the development of her relationship with Gabe through it all.

So I say this focuses more on the life journey because so much of this story is about Anna’s search for her mother, and all of the many emotions that go into having an absent parent and feelings of inadequacy in, well, almost all areas of life.

At times, I grew a little tired of Anna’s constant self-sabotage. I know it was all rooted in a deep trauma that she avoided processing fully. But it did feel a little repetitive when the relationship with Gabe spun in circles for a good portion of the book.

There are also so many deep, dark, and traumatizing topics mentioned in here. There are discussions of domestic abuse, women’s rights, prenatal care/pregnancy (non-FMC) and child birth. As well as child abuse and neglect, drug addiction, and abandonment.

Note: At the time of reading this ARC copy, there was no epilogue included, so I do not know anything about the epilogue that I believe was added later.

4.5 🌟

From the very first page, this book pulls you in with its captivating story and beautiful writing. At its heart is a deep and transformative friendship between Gabe and Anna, filled with both heartbreaking moments and tender, hopeful ones. The author beautifully explores what it means to be someone's person—offering unwavering support through life's challenges.

The emotional depth of the novel is striking, capturing both the sorrow and the love that define relationships. Family plays a significant role in the narrative, reminding us that love can come from unexpected places and that, even in the hardest times, growth and resilience are possible. The Weatheralls were truly exceptional.

Anna’s story takes place over many years, and I wish we had gotten a bit more at the end with an epilogue to see where Anna was after realizing that she didn’t need to continue to run away. Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

It All Comes Back to You by Melissa Wiesner is going on my top list of all time favorite books. It reminded me of my favorite book of last year, In the Likely Event, by Rebecca Yarros. Gabe and Anna are not just two love interests, their lives are completely intertwined in all the best and most complex ways. This story had me in a vice from the first pages, and it consumed me entirely until I turned the last ones. Even now I can feel this story overtake me when I think of it, which is often.

Gabe and Anna meet when they are assigned as project partners for a college level economics class. Gabe needs it for his major, and sixteen-year-old Anna talked her way into it with her enormous brain. They become unlikely friends during that semester, and their relationship frames the rest of their lives in ways neither of them expected.

Anna would tell you her life is fine, but as the two of them grow closer, Gabe begins to suspect things aren't as straight-forward as Anna would have him think. Though he knows it will damage her trust in him, Gabe takes steps to give her the helps she needs but does not want.

He saves her.

Anna's relationship with the Weatherall's (Gabe's family) is the balm for our souls. They're not perfect, but they are close and loving and the exact opposite of Anna's early life. They welcome her in like one of their own, and give her a soft place to land whenever she needs it.

This story takes place over many years as Anna and Gabe flash in and out of each other's lives. Their friendship is a pillar in both of their lives, and though their bond is undeniable, they both know it would be a mistake to take it further with Anna's past continually haunting her.

I am in love with this book. I want to carry it around, nestled close to my chest so I can have it close to me, always. I'm not ready to let it go. It's the kind of story that slithers under your skin and sinks deep into your bones. It's not a book to read for a little escape, or a weekend of entertainment...it is a full body EXPERIENCE, and one I hope you'll undertake as well.

Blown. Away.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Anna was 16 years old when she met Gabe Weatherall in a college economics class. They are drawn to each other, but Anna has a difficult life and she doesn’t want anyone to get too close. When Gabe and his family finally understand what a struggle Anna’s life is, they want to help her. Years later, the girl Gabe called “kid” is all grown up, and their attraction is undeniable. But they both have secrets they’re hiding from the other that threaten to tear them apart.

Fans of friends-to-lovers stories will love this heartwarming found family novel. Anna is a scrappy, strong heroine who understandably shies away from trusting others. Even though Anna is only 16 when she meets Gabe, their relationship is platonic and wholesome and doesn’t become romantic until quite a few years later. When they finally do start dating, they are really cute together! The Weatherall family is charming – warm, supportive, and giving Anna a safe haven – and my favorite aspect of this sweet and emotional story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book.

It All Comes Back to You


Best friends to lovers, found family, slow burn romance, great banter, and a story that spans decades.

3.5/5 ⭐️
0/5 🌶️

It All Comes Back to you was a book that I was very excited to read. The description of this book portrays it as a heart-wrenching story where two people are destined for each other, as long as the secrets that they are holding don’t tear them apart.

While I enjoyed the story overall, it was very slow. The books jumps from one time period to the next (with years in between) for what seems like every chapter. I became lost and unable to easily remember what age the characters were and where we were in the story. I think if this was a longer book with more detail put into the time jumps, it may have been easier to follow. Plus I would love more of Anna and Gabe! Their chemistry is undeniable. Their banter will have you laughing out loud. However, we barely see any romance between them until the very end of the book. I love seeing how they became best friends and Gabe’s family took Anna in as their own. The author did a great job at showing the family dynamics and how protective Gabe is over Anna. The characters are top notch. But for a romance novel I would have expected more romance. This again leads back to the fact that I believe this book feels rushed when you read it due to the amount of time jumps. The spice is also non-existent. So that is definitely something to keep in mind. I would still recommend this book as a nice easy read. It is a great book to pull out while you’re drinking your coffee out on your back porch this summer. Or while traveling. That’s the vibes I get from it. Because it isn’t very long, it can be read fairly quickly.

I really did love the character development in both Anna and Gabe. You get to see Anna blossom into such an amazing woman despite all that she’s been through. At the same time you watch Gabe go from a stereotypical frat boy to a man who is fiercely protective of his younger friend. The author did a great job at making you fall in love with the side characters as well. Anna’s whole family is amazing. I wish they were real so I could go have dinner at their house and sit on their front porch swing.

Overall, this was a good read. It kept my attention and had me wanting more at the end. I wish we could have at least had an epilogue to see a glimpse of Anna visiting her mother and her future with Gabe. Fingers crossed that that may happen in the future. 🤞🏼

I believe this book will be a great edition to anyone’s 2025 summer reading list. Just be ready to fall in love with Anna and Gabe, laugh, and also have your heart break a few times. 🩷

If you’re considering reading this book, don’t hesitate. Just read it, it’s wonderful and you won’t regret it.

Wow! If I didn’t choose to start this book over a busy weekend I would’ve finished it in one day, it was that good and so hard to put down! I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy to read the new epilogue!!! This book made me laugh and cry, it made my heart break in sorrow and soar in joy!

Anna and Gabe’s story grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let you go. My heart broke for Anna and the situation she was in. It caused her to keep everyone at arms length and weary of ever really trusting anyone. Her friendship with Gabe saved her life and the magnetism between them was undeniable. I loved watching that grow over the years and seeing how regardless of the circumstances, Gabe was always there for her.

2.5/5- Mehhh. It’s a cute feel good story. No sparks though. I’m not sure where the two broken hearts come in (they never lose each other and there’s a HEA) or the two terrible secrets (one is minor and one is meh in the context of the story). Fans of Slowburns, HEA, and virtually no angst will love this book. I did not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is the third book I have read from Melissa Wiesner and by far my favorite. I really enjoyed Gabe's family and how they welcomed Anna in to it so easily. I also thought the age gap was done really well considering how young Anna was when she met Gabe. Their friendship and relationship blossomed beautifully. The "secret" seemed to have a huge buildup throughout the book but once it was mentioned, the Author kind of blew past it. I felt like it should have been more of a bombshell considering what it was. Overall I really enjoyed this one and tore through it in a day. Looking forward to more from this author!

I had the opportunity to read it early and I really loved it! I loved the story line and how it all adds up to the end. I read this is one day, 8-9 hours of straight reading. I could not put it down, period. It was that good of a book. I liked how the characters were in the beginning and at the end, I’m glad they found their happily ever after and most important was getting the answers Anna needed. Highly recommend reading it! 10/10