I was so excited to return to the Walter family after watching the first season of My Life With the Walter Boys! Then to get to be an ARC reader...I was STOKED! While the story didn't disappoint it also wasn't what I was hoping to see. It's a cliche story from the start but I love that about it because it brings the emotional side to it as well and give it more depth. While there was a lot of emotion in the second book I felt like the story line we know, and love was lacking. It was just a bit blah compared to what I wanted. I am a big Cole fan, and I struggled to picture and grasp the different moments they had at first with the community event and his clingy ways. Then to see the constant on one day and off the next relationship that they had somewhat ruined it for me. There is figuring yourself out before the happily ever after and then there is just playing games. A lot of this started with Cole not going to college. In my opinion by taking away the love triangle adding distance to the relationship could have helped but there just wasn't enough to the actual physical story just the emotional threads. I am excited to see how they portray this out in season 2 of the show and if we will see anything different. It was still a good story, and I would recommend it since a lot of my thoughts are opinionated, but I wouldn't rave about it to everyone I know! Hopefully we will see an exciting book 3 with the future shown at some point!

I have been waiting to know how this story continues! I was so excited to be selected to read this arc! It was cute and easy to read. I love how smooth and swoon worthy Cole is. I do feel like Cole and Jackie were both still very immature and a lot of their problems could have been solved just with simple communication. However, the ending was so sweet. And I loved that Jackie found a way to show Cole a part of her.

3.25 ⭐️ – Not bad, not amazing, just... there.

Okay so, My Return to the Walter Boys wasn’t terrible, but it definitely didn’t blow me away either. It had its moments—there were a few cute scenes that made me smile, and I’ll admit, the nostalgia factor of revisiting these characters almost made me emotional a couple times. Almost.
But let’s be real... this felt more like a sequel we didn’t need but got anyway. Like the kind you read because you’re already invested and curious, not because you're dying to know what happens next.
The pacing dragged in parts, and some character decisions had me internally screaming “WHY.” I’m all for angsty tension and complicated feelings, but some of the drama here felt a little forced and just didn’t hit the way it was probably meant to.
Also—and maybe it’s just me—but the magic that made The Walter Boys fun and chaotic in the first place? Kind of fizzled out here. I missed that spark.
Still, if you were obsessed with the first book and just need to see where everyone ends up, this might give you a tiny sense of closure. Just don’t go in expecting fireworks.
Would I re-read? Probably not.
Would I recommend? Only if you’re already deep in the Walter Boys world.

I have been waiting for this book ever since I read My Life with the Walter Boys a couple of years ago. It was nice to be back in Colorado with the Walter family. Jackie and Cole’s relationship was also developed well. I loved the chemistry and banter between them. It was also good to see Jackie working through her grief and developing more as a character.



Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC!

📖 𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙡𝙞 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙠

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵? 𝘈𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

This was such a fun and nostalgic read! I loved the original book but had so many questions after the ending. This story was great for showing us how everyone changed after a summer a part.

There was a ton of back and forth between Cole and Jackie. I think it’s pretty realistic that two teens would struggle with a long distance relationship on top of Jackie still trying to cope with her grief.

I love Cole, he has his issues and hang ups but at his core he cares about his family and Jackie so much. I love how he cares for his younger siblings.

This book definitely leaned more new adult in the spice category and I really liked that!

“𝘖𝘩, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴.”
“𝘖𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘶𝘩?”
“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.” 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵.
“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭.”

Seeing all of the Walter’s again was awesome! I am so curious as to what’s going on with Isaac. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he gets his own book because I freaking love him.

If you loved the original book, it’s time to revisit the Walter’s!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
❤️‍🩹 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘴
✨ 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦
🤭 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
💌 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭
🫶🏼 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵

What a fun sequel and return to Ali Novak's acclaimed Walter Boys series! I was actually anticipating this even more after I watched the series in comparison to the book, and I will say it was pretty nice!

I thought this book was alot of fun to read, and was an appropriate continuation of what Jackie and Cole were up to next.

Pros:

- The overall vibes and worldbuilding.

These aspects were alot of fun to read about because it has improved from the first book. The scenes and location were easy to visualize in my head, and the energy gave very summery, and the innocence of young teens in high school // beginning of college.

- Fleshed out side characters.

I think this book shows the characters in a more fleshed out way, especially for Issac and Nathan who are still trying their best to navigate the world in the best way they can with the inner and outer turmoils they face.

- Cole.

A typical teenage // YA hearthrob just trying his best to make a life for himself and the girl he is head over heels for. He has also improved alot for the first book, at least for his age and taking accountability for the direction he wants to go Although, I do wish he fought for Jackie a little bit harder after she came back from New York. I mean, if someone ghosted me, I would want to know why. But, the cirumstances of Jackie's life make it completely understandable.

Cons:

Jackie's attitude and motivations.

Jackie was ia bit of a rollercoaster character to read throughout this book, especially her overall motives.

At first, she doesn't want a relationship with Cole at all because of her past family trauma, but then, she wants all the benefits of being with Cole without being in a relationship? I thought this was really werid because about 50% of the time, I was like, dude Jackie. What is it you actually want and should communicate better? Don't get me wrong, the interactions of Cole and Jackie are very very cute, I just wish there was a bit more sense put into Jackie's character.

Overall, this was a 3,5 stars. I wish there was more hurdles for Jackie and Cole to overcome so more angst and tension was added to the plot, but it was a decent follow up to the first book!

Now that the show has been renewed for a second season, I was so excited when I found out that Ali Novak is releasing a second book to the Walter Boys series!!😍😍😍

After spending her summer in New York, Jackie comes back to live with the Walters at the ranch in time for the new school year to begin. The whole point of her going to New York was to get some space and spend some time in her hometown. Now that's she back, she's forced to see one person again...Cole Walter. After their goodbye kiss, Jackie does not know where things will go from here. Jackie cut communication throughout the summer because being in her hometown meant facing the grief of losing her family one-on-one, it was a lot to handle. But now that they'll be living under one roof, Jackie has no choice but to face Cole. As much as Jackie may be into Cole, what if things don't work out, and Jackie loses the Walter family altogether due to her failed relationship with Cole? Jackie feels she has to decide between Cole and the Walter family...or does she? Maybe Jackie's just afraid of falling in love after everything she's been through? As if that's not enough, there's been more chaos than usual when it comes to the Walter family. Nathan doesn't run anymore? Isaac is acting more rebellious than usual...hmmm. Is Alex in a new relationship? READ THIS BOOK TO FIND OUT. IT WAS SO NICE TO READ ABOUT THE WALTER BOYS AGAIN😍😍😍

I ALSO RECOMMEND THE FIRST BOOK TO THE WALTER BOYS SERIES IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET.

With the way the first book ended—and season one of the show—I’ll admit I’ve been DYING to get back into this world, and this second book absolutely did not disappoint. Jackie continues to be one of the strongest, young FMCs I’ve ever read, and the Walter family continues to be absolutely chaotic in the best possible way. I loved seeing how everyone had grown up in the months Jackie was gone, how relationships grew and faltered. All around, YA romance lovers will absolutely devour these books!

The second installment of the My Life With the Walter Boys series was an engaging read that paired well with the first book in the series. The emotional insight into the characters is well developed in this novel. I loved how Ali Novak expanded the depth of the characters beyond what was present in the first book. The intensity and chemistry of the relationship between Cole and Jackie increased throughout the book leading to an emotional final chapter when they finally made up. After reading this book, I am looking forward to watching the second season of the Netflix adaptation of this series!

I absolutely adore this series - I devoured this book, and it's such a cute, fun, drama-filled adventure - and set in Colorado, so what more can you ask!

My Return to the Walter Boys follows Jackie as she returns to Colorado following a summer of grieving and rediscovering herself in New York. With Alex now in a relationship and Cole wanting more from her, Jackie must once against balance her grief, future goals, and the feelings of all 14 Walter Boys in this exciting but drama-filled book.

I absolutely love this universe and was so thrilled to hear another book was coming out. Jackie feels super relatable to me, and I think a lot of the lessons she learns were lessons I needed post-grad, so it's both fun and enlightening to watch her go on this journey. I have always been Team Cole, but all the Walters are such sweethearts and I just want to live in Colorado with them all.

Overall, I had a great time reading this YA book - if you're looking for a book about finding yourself and overcoming grief alongside friendship and relationship drama, you would love this one - the gorgeous setting is just an added bonus.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks fire for the arc copy.

My Return to the Walter Boys is just as good as the first one! I loved the romance, real life struggles, and the awareness it brings in how we all struggle with difficult situations in different ways.

After a summer in New York, Jackie returns to Colorado unsure of what her future holds in her relationship with Cole. When she returns, she is met with surprising reactions from a few of the Walter boys. Jackie must confront her grief of losing her family head on, as well as navigate the relationships with those that are close to her.

This is a great, quick read that left me wondering what will happen next!

The next chapter in My Life with the Walter Boys is almost here! My Return to the Walter boys comes out on Tuesday and I got the chance to read it in advance.

I knew about this book because my daughters love the show on Netflix and can’t wait for the next season to come out. We watched it together and so when I saw this available on Net Galley, I requested it right away.

Jackie is back on the ranch after spending her summer in NYC with Danny. She tries to readjust and navigate the murky waters of grief and relationships. Her and Cole have that same magnetic push and pull towards each other, and we start to see a sweeter side of his come out in this story.🥰

I primarily read romance novels, so this was like a fun palate cleanser- YA but it explores some harder themes, and had a little borderline spice I’d say- I was surprised it talked in detail about a few sexual encounters- nothing terrible, but it was a little more than I expected.

I am looking forward to seeing season 2 on Netflix! According to google, it should be coming out this year! 🤩

Themes:
❤️ Found Family
❤️ First Love
❤️ Coming of Age
❤️ High School
❤️ Small Town
❤️ Grumpy-Sunshine


Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 2

Thank you to Ali Novak, Source Books Fire, and Net Galley for the ARC copy!

At first, I was really looking forward to reading this book because I enjoyed the first book and the show. However, this one fell a little flat for me. The writing fell flat and was very surface level. I love Cole and Jackie, so reading about them was definitely rewarding, especially after the first book. I really wanted to love it, but the writing was subpar and took away from my overall enjoyment of the book. I would rate it a 3/5 stars because the plot was good, but the execution fell short.

Jackie & the Walter boys are back!.

I watched the tv show and then read book 1 (which was great) so obviously I needed to read book 2 as soon as possible. This book is perfect for young adults or adults looking for a good easy read that is heartfelt as well as exciting! This isn't my typical genre I would normally go for but I loved this series and can't wait for season 2 of the show!

This book is exactly the follow that I needed after the first one (and the series!)...and now I need ANOTHER follow up! I loved the characters in this book as much as I did in the first. The twists and turns of an adolescent relationship that may have staying power made my heart so happy and invested! We need another one, Ali Novak!

This follow up to My Life With the Walter Boys sees Jackie return to Colorado after being in New York for the summer. When Jackie left, she and Cole Walter had just admitted their feelings for each other, but returning to her family apartment in NYC brings up unresolved grief for Jackie, and she's not sure how to navigate her sadness and her feelings for Cole, causing her to shut him out for most of the time she's gone. When she returns, things are just as crazy as ever at the Walter house. Will Jackie be able to manage her feelings for Cole, her fear of losing another family, and her grief all at once?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book!

This book felt like it picked right up where the first book left off. It was a great way to wrap up the story of Jackie and Cole!

Like many readers, my first introduction to Ali Novak's Walter Boys was the Netflix series based on it. I had no idea that it was fanfiction which had then been published after finding success online and likewise had no idea that fans of the original work had been clamoring for the sequel for so long. I'm glad I didn't have quite so long to wait.

Novak's writing has been polished in the intervening years and it was nice to return to Jackie and her complicated life. I am so eager to see My Return to the Walter Boys adapted and I hope that the ending leaves room for more Jackie in the future.

Full disclosure: I watched the Netflix series instead of reading Book 1. I could tell there were differences in the narratives, but I don't think that affected my enjoyment of My Return to the Walter Boys. This book was really cute! Great dialogue, some very funny moments, and the ups and downs of the teen romance kept the story moving. I particularly appreciated what a sulky little twerp Cole was at times, as I'm a sucker for flawed characters. I did think it ended a little abruptly--an epilogue would have been satisfying--but it left me wanting more, which can only be a good thing, right?

i think i would’ve enjoyed this book a lot more when i was younger, but at 22 it just felt very frustrating. obviously their relationship was more on the immature side because they’re literally teenagers, but a lot of it was just too geared towards a younger audience for me to enjoy. i like ali novak’s writing, and the book wasn’t bad, i’m just outgrowing YA romance 💔