Sweethearts

4.5/5 stars.

Sweethearts is just absolutely wonderful. It has LGBT representation which I loved, featuring a lesbian main character which to be honest made it even better, as I feel I don't see much femalexfemale relationships within books. It was so adorably gay and refreshing to read.

I FLEW through this book, honestly, I didn't put it down once and read it in one sitting in around 90 minutes? It was so easy to read, I loved the characters and the relationships within this book. The characters were so realistic and made you fall in love with them instantly.

There was so many great moments in this book, funny quotes included which made me laugh out loud. I did cry a little tiny bit at some point throughout, not gonna say why but I will admit to the fact as I truly cared for the characters immensely. It did kind of remind me of Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda in ways throughout the book - which of course is a complement as I ADORED that book.

My only slight negative about this book - which is why it didn't make it to the 5 star - is I felt the ending was kind of rushed. I felt like Gemma could've added a few more pages on and end things a little better.

I truly recommend you pick this one up. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Gemma Gilmore.

"We question each other's reality; we make each other look into things just that little bit deeper."

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This definitely did not go the way I expected it to, but I'm actually okay with it. Almost coming to terms with this.

Long story short, this book is about a girl named Ingrid, a high school senior who refuses to acknowledge that she may actually be a lesbian. It's something that's hard for anyone to admit, especially if they have always been hiding their true selves from the rest of the world, so I understand that. It's the way she lashes out that confused me though. The object of her obsession - yes, an actual obsession if we read it correctly - is a girl at her school named Amber, who just so happens to be a really amazing singer. It's at the point where Ingrid knows Amber's YouTube upload schedule and will be the first person to watch her video and leave a rude ass comment for Amber to see. That part didn't make sense to me, but Ingrid ends up explaining it later on. Why is she so rude to Amber when she can't get enough of her? Ingrid's two best friends, Summer and Jackson, even try to call her out on it, and try to get her to accept that she may very well be into girls.

But she constantly punishes herself for having such thoughts. She refuses to identify as a lesbian, even when she finds herself at a gay club full of beautiful women that she is so clearly attracted to. The thing that makes her finally admit it is seeing her best friend Summer be brave in finding out that she's pregnant, and her actions to make sure that she keeps her unborn baby healthy and safe. Seeing her friend show strength made her want to do the same, and Ingrid's life starts to change.

I think the main character flaw that Ingrid possessed was her using alcohol to deal with her problems. It was like she was an addict, and maybe she really was. Anytime that she would start to battle against herself, she would resort to getting wasted, going to Cloud Nine to drink her problems away and dance to lose herself in the music. The dancing I get. I sometimes do the same, but the constant drinking wasn't healthy, and her friends told her that as well.

"I feel like you're relying on the alcohol."

It wasn't good for her, and she needed to come up with some other method of dealing with her problems, her rejections, anything else that she ended up overthinking about that caused her to freak out.

There were also times where I would think that the book would have a happy ending or at least a happy outcome that everyone was waiting to hear about, and then it would be completely different. It was like life. Nothing ever went the way we think it will be, but we have to keep going.

This wasn't the typical book that I would read, but I appreciated it. I liked that the people in Ingrid's life didn't shun her for finally accepting her sexuality, or push her to make a decision when she was struggling with it. They were happy for her no matter what, and they just wanted her to be true to herself. It was good, it was the way I would expect anyone to be if they had a loved one struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. I appreciated it so much, that I feel like it influenced my rating to be what it is. I liked this book, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Sweethearts is the first book I've read from this author and also my very first f/f read. I absolutely loved it! You have a group of high school teenagers who are learning to cope with and deal with life changing decisions. Those issues are what made these characters relatable and interesting. I enjoyed all of the characters; Ingrid, Summer, Jackson, Kat, Leon and Amber. I love that these characters made mistakes and had flaws but they did the best they could in the situations they were in. The ending was sweet and the story and friendships came full circle. I definitely look forward to reading more books from this author.

Wow, this novel took me for a ride! At first I thought it was going to be just another teenage novel, pregnancy, friend drama and underage drinking, but it was sooo much more than that.
Ingrid's journey of self discovery is inspiring and so real. Gilmore has created characters that don't seem ficticious at all, they seem as real as my friends and family. This is Aussie writing at its best, as an Australian myself, I loved every aspect of this novel. The writing is fluid and allows the reader time to digest the big things in the scene while still giving enough interesting information for the book to continue without rambling.
A great summer read!