Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I’m on a black girl sapphic romance kick and I’m loving it. This one focuses on ex best friends who have to work together on their cross country team. Mari has to deal with her mother always working and leaving her to watch her siblings all the time while Taylor deals with her father’s kidney disease and him being constantly sick and in the hospital. I can understand why Mari was so wary of Taylor. The way she ended their friendship was actually almost exactly what happened to me, so I get it. I don’t think Taylor was a bad person, but she for sure didn’t know how to get herself in check and understand her feelings. The dog walking part of this was very minimal but very cute. I liked seeing them interact with the doggies. Cross country seems like such a hard thing to do and I love running! Kudos to those girls.

This was a fast cozy read!! I loved the characters so much and they had really good chemistry! I even got really into the sports side of the story which doesn't happen a lot. The side characters were very enjoyable as well. It was a very good quick read.

Marie and Taylor both had some complicated issues in their lives. I loved that both characters found their path and grew closer together, eventually sparking a friendship that could lead to something more. The story showed a lot of character growth and determination, that made the book a heartwarming read. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was sweet. It had a lot of good character growth. It was such a sweet book!

This was an arc read.
Thank you to netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

While I was enjoying this one, I’ve had an extremely busy few months and I simply was not able to finish it within the given timeframe.

From what I was able to read, it was a cute YA sapphic romcom. I would like to get my hand on this one again to finish it up.

Thanks for the opportunity to read.

<b>4.5🏅</b>
As a black sapphic girly that’s ran track (sprinter) It was only right I tuned into <b><i>Step into You</b></i> by <i>Ciera Burch</i>! And thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and Ciera Burch. I was able to

From the start, the rivalry and the yearning is felt! The similarities of running and chasing for sport vs their relationship is just <b>good food!</b>

Reading this made me so giddy as if I had my own friend to crush. And the yearning throughout the rivalry is so so good.

How they express their memories of each other to theirselves or to the other is so lovely and soft and all consuming how they feel regarding each other.

<b><i>‘I don’t know why this sleepover feels different, this hundredth sleepover of ours, but Mari is pre— I mean Mari is beau— I mean Mari is my friend.’’</b></i>

<i>I feared I kicked my feet</i>

<b><i>‘I lean forward, just a little, slow enough that she can move back and I can shut my eyes and go to sleep and pretend it didn’t happen. But she doesn’t move away so I don’t close my eyes and then my lips are on hers, and she still isn’t moving away, and her hand is still on my cheek and everything is so, so purple.’’</b></i>

<i> See purple color haters?? Purple is the color of good, softness, and loveliness (said biggest purple fan)</i>

The medical representation and the health anxiety (so real), the pressure of the older black child having to take on parental duties so young. All so well and clear that’s it’s easy to digest especially since this is <b>YA</b>.

<b><i>"We wanted her to rate the last person she kissed," Khyris clarifies from across the circle. She's a haze through the fire, light brown hair glowing almost copper.
"She gave you a seven," Kerri adds.’</b></i>

<b><i> She laughs, locking eyes with me as she takes another greedy bite of her snack. "Maybe I just like girls who are easily manipulated."’</b></i>

<i>The hell? How did Mari even allow herself to be involved with this girl, forget the benefits she’s messed up! And why’d she just disappear with no repercussions after her meddling of our besties/ship??</i>

<b><u>Departing Thoughts</b></u>
Some of the chapters, specifically the last chapters before #46 being short lived was unsatisfactory and resulted into my immersion flickering. I feel the emotions and actions between our two mains and their situations could’ve been depicted a bit better so it wasn’t just 10 pages with a single paragraph leaving us with only 2 full chapters. Felt like a rush to get past the meat and to the end, perhaps unfinished in ways?

Wanted a glimpse of them in their senior year or first year of college. While I appreciated the friendship rekindling and felt it was natural and well done, I do wish we were with them as a couple more, after all that yearning and angst we deserved more of them just sappy and in love. This could’ve been given if our 10 pages of single paragraphs were used differently and fleshed out.

Also would’ve appreciated Mari and her mom’s dynamic being more fleshed out as well; it is on Mari’s side but not so well on her mom’s, some more depth and energy with that and her would’ve done so well!


<b><i>The Styrofoam cup, even half burnt with a crisp black void inside instead of noodles, is easy to recognize.
I sigh in relief and then try not to hack my lungs out.
I glance at Moses, who's still waving his towel in the air. "You forgot the water," I say. It's not a question.’</b></i>

<i>This was too funny, but one of the only ‘black experiences’ I’ve never experienced lol. Like howww?</i>

*4.25 Stars*

I really liked this book. Both the main characters were layered and interesting and I actually got into the competition and sports part of the story. The plot grabbed me from start to finish. It was such a fast and good read. I enjoyed the side characters as well, the friends and the family. I liked seeing the characters grow too. So yes, it was a really good read.

This book wonderfully illustrated and conveyed a story of two ex-best friends and their journey to becoming best friends again while also finding out more about themselves in the process. I empathized with both, their journeys, their struggles and how they overcame it all or at least took a step in the right direction. I loved the little hints at their romance and angst, it hit me every time and I loved how it ended/began again. Will keep this short and sweet to avoid spoilers. Overall, this was a wonderful YA platonic/romantic story!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and Ciera Burch for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Publishing for this ARC! This was such a fun light read. Although there was something some moments that got me a little misty eyed, I enjoyed Mari and Taylor’s relationship. The growth of having a friendship breakup and finding that friend years later to rediscover what that relationship looks like and how different it can be is beautiful. Even down to the light romantic elements which were so sweet. I enjoyed how they found themselves and found their way back to each other.

Enjoyed the overall story and the relationship between the main characters. Taylor’s family story was one of the strongest and more interesting parts of the book, and it has me quite tense until the very end. I liked how even though it has romance in it, it’s very much so about their friendship, what losing it meant for them and how they try and sometimes fail to fix their mistakes. As the description said, they were each other’s whole world, so seeing them learning to trust each other, and getting to know the other all over again was done really well. And also dealing with the feelings they kept hidden back then that are present still. I do wish there was a deeper exploration into their past friendship, more flashbacks I think. I also would have liked Mari and her mother’s relationship to be more fleshed out. Also, i was hoping for a look farther into both Taylor and Mari’s future, since that’s part of what Mari’s plans were about; really wanted to see what their lives would be like after high school. Or at least in senior year. And of course, I just wanted more of them together, in love🥰

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Out of Step, Into You is a story of two ex-best friends reconnecting because of their track team. The story is dual point of view and uses flashbacks throughout the book to show their falling out in comparison to their relationship today. The two girls are paired up as punishment for their behavior by their coach, resulting in some fun forced-proximity situations.

The book is described as a young adult contemporary romance, but in my opinion it’s a story of two friends rebuilding their friendship after a falling out. The romance is very much a slow burn set on the ground of friendship, with them realizing they do have feelings at the end. In my opinion, there’s no major (romantic) climax, but nevertheless the story is really beautiful. The main characters, Mari and Taylor, are leading different lives with their own challenges, which tackle real issues, such as medical problems and family dynamics.

Overall this book wasn’t what I expected but I enjoyed reading it. I also really liked the ending where the chapters were quite short (a page at most) & switched point of view to juxtaposition big events in each of the girls lives. This was such a cool way to drive the story.

Thanks so much for the ARC from NetGalley! 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this story! Even though I never ran cross country, I did other sports, and jumping back into the world of highschool sports, the drama of captionship, rivals, was all so familiar.

I did feel like the plot skipped around a little, and there were a couple of small plot points that confused me.

The ending was ambiguous, but in the best way - I don’t want a HEA from high schoolers, and I found the ending satisfying.

I’ll be checking out future books from this author!

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I have a soft spot for queer ya novels and especially when it’s black girls! I loved how they both have very destiny POVs and I knew immediately whose head I was in in the flashbacks. I am a sucker for second chance and I very much enjoyed it. They both had their own familial issues that I think were very realistic and portrayed well. Although I didn’t love Mari’s mom, I’m happy things got better between them by the end of the book. I am also happy Taylor was able to get her own unique happy ending. Her dad getting better and finally feeling like she can do things for herself. All in all it was an amazing ya book and I wish I could have read it when I was in high school!

Ciera Burch really won me over with this one. Something Kindred didn’t really win me over, but I saw a lot of potential, and was excited to pick up another book from Burch. Out of Step, Into You was ABSOLUTELY the proof of improvement with a sophomore novel. These characters are dynamic and interesting, and the world they’re involved in is complex and wonderful. Even though I was never in cross country, I was easily able to slip myself into this and understand what was happening. Even though the two main characters were absolutely flawed individuals, I was enamored with them and rooting for them every second. My only real critique is that there’s all those dogs on the cover, but they only come into play in the second half! More dogs!

Ciera Burch’s sweet second-chance romance has a lot of grit and a lot of heart. You’ll be rooting for not only the romance, but for the Jefferson team to qualify for the Ring, an important cross-country championship. The perfect summertime read.

Out of Step, Into You was fantastic! One of my favorite tropes is friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, and this story did it flawlessly. I was frustrated by the stress and miscommunication, but that’s also the intention for stories like this, making Taylor and Marianna’s reunion more satisfying.

I ran cross country in high school, which also drew me into this story, and I can never get enough sapphic romance. All in all, I think Burch did it well. Will recommend this book and would read more from this author!

Thank you to Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers / Macmillan for a chance to read an arc this book! 🖤

3⭐️ the beef was real and angsty! | tropes: black fmcs, friends to rivals to lovers, angst, sports romance | digital

Overall Thoughts 💭:
This book surprised me with the depth and care that went into growing these characters and their connection. Mari and Taylor were childhood best friends from different economic backgrounds dealing with their familial issues, later using track/cross country as a way to deal with those issues. It was easy to feel empathetic towards Mari. She is a parent-fifed child balancing work, school, track, and watching her younger siblings. Though she made mistakes, I understood and loved her character. I understood Taylor, she's dealing with a lot of insecurities and her father's illness, but I struggled to empathize with her character at times because of how she projected and lashed out at others. Her character development in the later half of the book was satisfying and I liked the direction the book went with that. The pacing of this book was frustrating at times. They had a lot of hurdles to jump through and there was a lot of push and pull. The romance aspect was very slow burn and the tone was more angsty than I imagined it being.

I live for friends to enemies to lovers, and this book did not disappoint. Each and every time, the characters realize their misunderstandings and each and every time I lap it up. This book was adorable and I loved seeing the story play out, and the dogs just made it infinitely better!

I enjoyed this sapphic friends to lovers book with a rekindling of a friendship that turns into more. Set against the backdrop of cross country, i thought it was cute. Maybe needed a bit more plot development but a good start IMO

Anytime a book is about rekindling a lost friendship, it immediately piques my interest. Make it gay and i’m so there. Out Of Step, Into You was a gorgeous and insanely fun read about love, platonic, romantic and familial love. Taylor and Mari were such fun and I loved the dual POV.

This book was so cute! I related a lot more to Mari than Taylor but I enjoyed both of their arcs. I especially loved the little doggy trouble makers. With Mari and Taylor, I loved that they solved their issues?”, grew their friendship, then decided to be more than friends instead of just a love to hate to love.