A dislikeable character, but the writing was compelling. It can be hard to get through a book with a main character that I can't relate to or don't like!

Sway is a young adult contemporary romance by Kat Spears. I have had this book on my review book TBR for forever! It was one of my 2020 goals to try and get my netgalley percentage up, and a goal to try and read older books of mine, so I kind of ping ponged back and forth between reading newer books on my netgalley TBR and some of my oldest books. This was the oldest unread book I had on my TBR, and it came out in 2014!! (I know! You can totally shun me in the comments below!)

Sway was an interesting read with really interesting characters. But it didn't blow me away. My lukewarm feelings about this book primarily had to do with one of the main characters- Jesse. I just didn't like him. And I struggled with that because I know he is supposed to be this kind of morally grey, prickly unfeeling cold guy. I know he was that way for a purpose and that purpose was supposed to make his romantic journey all the more satisfying. But he still mostly just bugged me the whole time I was reading. Which bummed me out because I was absolutely in love with Kat Spears writing and story telling abilities.

Jesse is a rough character that felt super realistic to me. He is also a drug dealer so there are drug references and strong language throughout the story in case that is a trigger for anyone. I appreciated Jesse falling for a girl and going through what that meant for him- whether he wanted to change any aspects of himself or not. It was all really interesting to me because Kat Spears does a great job not only not shying away from the grittier, tough issues that young adults face (not everything is sparkly and pristine in their lives). She really made the characters come to life for me. My favorite characters were Jesse's friends, Joey and Carter. They even redeemed Jesse in my eyes a little bit. I really appreciated that he had friends like them in his life. 

Overall, I appreciated the story and the writing, but I couldn't connect with Jesse as a reader, and that really hindered my ability to get fully invested in his story. Simply put, he rubbed me the wrong way. I think this will be a hate it or love type of book for many readers, so if you are a fan of gritty young adult realistic fiction and morally grey characters, then you might fall in love with Sway. This was an ok read for me, but not my favorite.

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.