Twenty-Four Seconds From Now

A huge thank you to @Netgalley and fora gifted copy of this lovely eBook to read and review - all thoughts are my own.

“The way I see it, to love me the way I love to be loved is true love”

Twenty Four Seconds from Now is a beautifully written romance novel narrated in reverse, starting with the OTP of Aria and Neon preparing to lose their virginity together, we then throughout the novel cycle back through different twenty four time periods (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months) with a focus on each time period per chapter, the main plot exploring Neon's and Arias growth, and meetings, as well as their thought processes, and Neon's various conversations with family and friends regarding 'going all the way', consent and respect.

I absolutely loved Neon as a character, and his personality really did shine through, his family were written wonderfully and came across as supportive and respectful, this was such a refreshing story to read to include the healthy relationships of young adults, but not shying away from the hardships they felt. I loved just how respectful and caring Neon came across, plus I thought the fourth wall breaks were great with Neon’s *if this was a movie* monologue. Too many stories focus on the toxicity of young love, so it was really refreshing to see both Aria and Neon focus on one another's feelings, but also feel secure enough to share their fears and worries, I also love the fact that they did not put pressure on one another, ever decision they made was discussed and spoken about respectfully, and this is a fantastic inclusion with in a book.

I love Jason Reynolds and have read several of his works, and this being his first romance novel really did broaden his genre horizons, the poetry and books format stayed true to his writing style, and the book was engrossing and fast paced. This is a fantastically written novel, that is educational and supportive to young people and first relationships, it flows well and captivates its readers, whilst taking them on a lovely journey to witness a teenage relationship develop and grow, the epitome of high school sweethearts, and I am completely here for those, this is just a wonderfully great read all round

4.5

Thank you to Faber, Natgalley and the author for being invited to read this ARC. A sweet, enduring and brilliant book which captured me from beginning to end. I wanted to stay with Neon and learn more about his family; I loved his Mum and the captivating love story with Aria. A brilliant read and an important read to show all boys and men it is ok to show your love.