I've really cut back on my YA reading over the last few months, but I can't resist a new Miranda Kenneally book. I love her writing style, her characters and, perhaps most of all, the sex-positive vibe she brings to the table. It's been a long time since I've been a teen, but somehow her books make it easy to put myself back in those shoes. Her characters are real and flawed and I love rooting for them as they really come into their own.

Coming Up for Air was delightful. Of course, I am total sucker for friends first books. Throw in a friends with benefits/tutor storyline and I'm all over it. Maggie and Levi were just wonderful, both separately and together. I loved their friendship, so I was a little conflicted when things started moving in another direction for them. I loved the idea of them as a couple — if it ever got that far — but I was also worried about one or both of them getting hurt and their friendship suffering. I also understood where Maggie was coming from and why she would turn to Levi for, uh help. Getting personal for a minute, I wasn't the most experienced girl amongst my friends while I was in high school. I can remember how I felt when I thought about going off to college as an innocent. Of course, that's exactly what I did and it worked out pretty well... but I applaud Maggie for taking the steps she did. It worked out pretty well for her, too, as Levi was super swoony.

I was hopelessly addicted to this book and these characters from the very start. I loved how important swimming was to these two and it was really enjoyable to read about from the perspective of an athlete. (Or two.) When it came to friendship and then everything that came after, I was all in. It was a fun read, but it wasn't without depth and feels — good and bad. But it was all good in the end and I enjoyed the ride, even through the bumpy parts. I mean, it's those bumps that makes Miranda's books so realistic to me. I loved this one so, so much.

I can't believe this is the end of the Hundred Oaks series! I've loved it since I discovered Catching Jordan — and that book and those characters have a special place in my heart — so it really was fitting that the epilogue revisited Jordan and Sam. Boy, did that ever cause a few feels (and tears). It was the perfect wrap up to a YA series that will forever be one of my favorites. Safe to say I'll be rereading these books in the (relatively) near future.

FAVORITE QUOTES

"I like this. But you're the best thing in my life. The only thing in my life."

"There has to be some way we can swimming and us."

"You're the best kisser I've ever had. The best hugger. The best hand holder. The best everything. It's because of you—because we're right for each other."

This was a fitting close to the Hundred Oaks series, which I have really enjoyed reading over the last few years. I loved that Maggie - like all the Hundred Oaks heroines before her - had an honest struggle with growing up and navigating the inevitability of change and how it affects her relationships and/or the other ones around her. I loved the romance in this, and I thought the book was funny, sweet, and thoroughly enjoyable. *Note: I did read the digital ARC of this on Kindle, and the formatting was pretty funky, which made the story feel a little difficult in terms of flow and just pure readability. But the story and writing itself was great.* 3.5/5

This book is more for older teens. There's a lot of cussing, and some sexually explicit scenes. Older-more-towards-adult teens would enjoy this much better.

This book is more for older teens. There's a lot of cussing, and some sexually explicit scenes. Older-more-towards-adult teens would enjoy this much better.

Although this was my first read in the Hundred Oaks series, Coming Up for Air absolutely read wonderfully as a standalone. Since it combined two of my favorite tropes, friends-to-lovers and sports romance, I enjoyed this book so much! Both Maggie and Levi were well-written, well-developed characters and I felt their dialog and interactions were so realistic. Although I am far from an expert on the sport of swimming, Miranda Kenneally did a great job explaining the intricacies of the sport so a newbie like me could follow and understand. A great YA read!

Plot • Maggie has always been focused on swimming–whether it's to earn a college scholarship or to qualify for the Olympics. It's the type of dedication not many people understand but luckily for her, her best friend Levi is swimmer too. They're each other's biggest cheerleader and their friendship has always been platonic. But when Maggie goes away for a college weekend visit, she realizes just how much of the normal high school experience she's missed out on due to the pressure of all her training and the swim team. She decides that she's going to have some fun her senior year, namely to make out with cute boys, and she feels Levi is the boy she should be kissing. (For the record, I completely agreed with this!) But what starts off as a "no strings attached" kind of deal immediately becomes complicated for all parties involved.

Characters • Maggie is the type of character I would love to become friends with. I admired her dedication to swimming and her straightforwardness to approach Levi with what she wanted. But I also related to her more vulnerable moments as she realized her feelings were changing and when she was psyched out by another person or an upcoming meet. She just felt so real. Likewise, Levi is officially one of my top three favorite Hundred Oaks guys. He's just as a dedicated to swimming and flawed but he's also a sweetheart who loves to read YA (dream guy right there) and cares deeply for his relationship with Maggie.

Writing • What's to say about Miranda Kenneally's writing that I haven't said before? It's compulsively readable. I immediately cared for the characters and the relationships. As always, her plots are sex positive and focus on these young women making choices about their bodies. I love that her characters are flawed but innately good people. Basically, if it's written by Kenneally I'm going to read it.

Overall feelings • Loved it! It honestly made me want to go back and re-read every book in Hundred Oaks

Cute and a quick read.

Maggie lives and breathes swim, but she feels like she is missing out on what it's like to be a teenager-like kissing and having an orgasm. So she asks a friend for help. But will it get in the way of swimming and ruin their chances of an Olympic bid?

I did enjoy this book, and loved the details on swimming. I have never read any of the other books in this series, but I liked that I didn't need to read them to follow along.

(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley.)

“I want you to teach me to hook up.”

This was a YA contemporary romance featuring a best-friends to lovers storyline.

I really liked Maggie in this and I felt really sorry for her when she was bullied by another swimmer. I also liked Levi, and the chemistry between them was really good.

The storyline in this was about Maggie asking Levi to teach her how to hook-up, and them then discovering that their feelings for each other went deeper than friendship. The romance was really sweet, and Maggie and Levi made a great couple. I also liked how there were a couple of funny moments in the book too, like when Maggie’s dad caught her buying condoms – talk about mortifying!

The ending to this was pretty good, and I liked that things worked out for Maggie and Levi.
8 out of 10

Happy release day to Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally! I’ve only read two of Kenneally’s previous Hundred Oaks books so far (Catching Jordan and Racing Savannah) and I have to say I have come to expect a cute contemporary that gives me all the feels and Coming Up for Air did not disappoint. In fact, I think this one is my favorite one yet! This is a short and sweet review because it was so cute I just can’t think of what to say except:

BUY IT. Just buy it and thank me later.

Maggie has been swimming for as long as she can remember. Her entire childhood and now teenage years have been dedicated to perfecting her craft in order to qualify for the Olympic trials. Because of her rigorous swim schedule and workouts, she’s missed out on the whole dating aspect of high school. She has a close-knit group of friends: Georgia, Hunter, and her best friend, Levi. They all seem to be more experienced than her but swimming is her life. Can she afford to take a little detour to explore other aspects of the high school experience?

I’ll just cut to the chase. I love Maggie and Levi. They have one of those long standing friendships that make you jealous. Best friends, there for each other no matter what, the works. They also have some crazy chemistry which I loved seeing blossom. Their story had tension, depth, frustrations, love, and was just so well-rounded and I felt like their situation was so realistic. It was awesome. I totally ship them.

The secondary characters were also written super well, too. Each of Maggie’s friends had their own battles and issues they had to face and I enjoyed not only getting to learn more about them but loved seeing the four interact as a group.

Aside from Maggie and Levi’s evolving relationship, the plotline of Maggie’s swim dreams was so enjoyable to read. I’m a huge summer Olympics fan and I could watch the swimming heats all day long. Kenneally said in her acknowledgments she loved swimming but didn’t know enough about it to write this story. She certainly did her research and did it well. I loved getting to see what it’s like for someone striving to get to the Trials and watching Maggie compete for her dreams and conquer her inner self-doubt too.

Overall, I just really enjoyed everything about Coming Up for Air: the characters, Maggie and Levi’s relationship, the Olympic dream and what it takes to get there, and everything in between. I read this in one afternoon, y’all. I would’ve read it in one sitting except I couldn’t let my dog starve sooo.

TLDR:
Super cute story with a super cute friendship and all the messiness that comes from testing the waters of being something more. Interesting plotline about what it takes to be a swimmer with Olympic dreams. Highly recommend for a perfect summer read.

No one writes more realistic, sex positive contemporary YA than Miranda Kenneally. And her abilities in this area are a huge reason why I not only love her Hundred Oaks series but why I think this series is a must read, especially for teenage and adult women. She always manages to capture what it was like to be in high school, at least what I felt like in high school, and her latest book, Coming Up for Air, is no exception. I immediately connected with Maggie - she's driven and dedicated to swimming but she also has normal feelings and curiosities like every teenager. The friendships she had were such a highlight in this book, both with Levi but also with her core group who meets every Friday. I found these weekly meetings so endearing and reminiscent of being in high school. I also loved the descriptions of swimming -- the practices, the competitions, the traveling. This book was just so well developed in its plot and characters that I couldn't put it down. I am sad to see this series end (this is the last book) but this book contains an amazing epilogue and I can't wait to see what Miranda writes next! I can't recommend this series enough and I know I will re-read all of these books often.

Coming Up For Air comes out tomorrow on July 4, 2017, you can purchase HERE. I cannot stress enough how amazing and important this series is - it is a must read for teens and adults alike.

What if fooling around with Levi is fueling stronger emotion that may or may not be real? Once it happened, feelings started blooming, as if I threw a bunch of seeds over my shoulder, and a month later, wildflowers were all over my yard. They are beautiful, but not what I had planned. Is that okay? Or will it all grow out of control and mess up our friendship?

I actually didn't realize when I started reading that this was the final Hundred Oaks book. In fact, it wasn't until I got to the epilogue and read an update on many of our favorite past characters that I realized that Kenneally was wrapping the series up with this one. I'm sad to see the series go, but I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read these books! (By the way, they can all be read as standalones, so if you haven't dived into the series yet, feel free to jump in anywhere.)

What Fed My Addiction:

Feel-good reading.
This is one of those romances that just makes me happy, you know? Kenneally always manages to tug at my heartstrings and make me swoon, and the book feels like perfect summer reading when you just need a little pick-me-up! There are all sorts of little details that Kenneally handles so well (one example---I love that she casually throws church into her book without making the story revolve around religious tensions).

Friends who become more.
I've always loved the trope of best friends who eventually become something more, and this book was no exception. Levi and Maggie are perfect together because they know each other so well and they already love and respect each other. The romance is almost secondary to the connection that they already have (which isn't to say that it's not swoonworthy---it is!). Of course, this also means that when things go a bit sour (which, of course, they do for a while), the hurt is that much deeper. I kind of wanted to strangle Levi at one point in the book, but once Maggie forgave him I managed to do it too. :-)

Swimming!
Swimming is the one sport that I kind of, sort of get because two of my kids are on a club team. Even though they're both new to the sport and they're nowhere close to the competitive level of the characters, I still felt like I could relate to the swimming talk a bit more than I usually can to other sports talk in books. And I feel like lots of people at least have some frame of reference when they're talking about Olympic trials, etc, since we just had the Olympics last summer.

Take It Or Leave It:

Casual Sex?
So, at first I was a little bit worried that this book was going to be a little too liberal when it comes to sex for me---that maybe the idea would be that Maggie actually needed to practice hooking up and having sex in order to fit in with her peers or at college. I find that message a little off-putting. But that really wasn't the central theme at all---in fact, Maggie comes to realize that she doesn't want to experience those things with just anyone. She wants a connection with the person. So while Maggie's overall attitude about sex is a bit more casual than I thought I'd appreciate at first, in the end, I felt like there was a healthy balance---the idea that a girl can choose what she wants for herself but that she certainly shouldn't feel pressured to go at any certain pace or have a certain level of "acceptable" experience.

As always, Kenneally had me hooked from almost the first page with this book. With complex characters that are easy to love, this is the type of romance that leaves me smiling. I give it an easy 4/5 stars.

For elite swimmers and Olympic hopefuls, Maggie and Levi, the pressures of high school, getting into the right college, proms, and dating must take a back seat to early mornings and endless training sessions. Maggie knows that she needs to keep her head in the game if she wants to qualify at the state level, but the lure of dating and relationships begins to get in the way of her focus and her friendships.

Many high school students will relate to the pressure that surrounds Maggie and Levi and the being pulled in many directions, trying to figure out what they want.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the ARC of this title.

Will there ever be a Miranda Kenneally book that I don't like? Probably not.
This book was a perfect addition to the Hundred Oaks series!

There are several reasons why I enjoy these books as much as I do, such as, how sex positive they are and Kenneally perfectly paces the story between sports, family, friendships, and love.
I enjoy reading the passion behind each character's specific sport and Maggie's love for swimming was admirable. She truly breathed swimming day and night and she LOVED that this was her life. I really liked that about her. She was determined to reach her goals while still being a teenager, which made her feel relatable.

Everything was great in the story (her family and friends, everything in between), but of course, the romance played a huge role so let's talk about that.. It was sweet and swoony like every other Hundred Oaks book (well - no one will ever be as amazing as Henry). I liked Levi. Best friends to something more has easily become one of my favorite tropes.
.. But here's the thing, I became so protective of Maggie because she was so vulnerable and I hated to see her get hurt. And that made me a little irritated and distant towards Levi and his way of showing how he truly felt for her. So, that made me not completely love their story - I didn't hate it, though!

AND THE EPILOGUE YOU GUYS! IT WAS EVERYTHING!
*sigh*
*swoons*
*cansomeonefindmeasamhenrypleaseandthankyou*

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had everything I love about contemporaries - great self discovery, good family/friends dynamic, fun plot, and swoony romance. If you're a fan of these books or if you're looking for the perfect summer read then pick this one up!

Y'all know I have a phobia of reading the last books in series, so when I heard this was the last Hundred Oaks book, I almost put it on the back of my TBR. But this one was about swimmers and I needed to see what the gang was up to one last time.

Maggie's life has been the same for as long as she can remember: Swim, Eat, Sleep, Repeat. And she wouldn't have it any other way. She's shared this life with her best friend Levi and they make the perfect team. It isn't until Maggie visits a college camus that she realizes how much she's really missing out on her life.

As per usual after reading a Miranda Kenneally book I have ANOTHER new book boyfriend. Levi has a super hot swimmer's body AND he reads and just OMG can I have three please? lol He's also really sweet and I love how he treated Maggie. He did mess up, but really, who doesn't? As for Maggie, I loved her too, but I thought she overanalized things too much like her coach. I was glad that someone in the book recognized it. But otherwise I thought she was a perfectly normal teen with anxiety, so I could definitely relate.

Then there was the sbuject of swimming. In the acknowledgements, Kenneally mentions that she knew nothing about swimming which surprised me. I assumed she used to be a swimmer by how much she knew. I have a family member who used to swim, but was a lot like Jason. They only did it in high school because they "needed something to do over the summer" and as it turned out, they were really good. They were just like the characters and ate all the time and got some of the same advice from their coaches, and spent all their time in the pool. It was such an accurate description I had to call the family member and tell them to pick it up!

Lastly, as usual, I loved her writing style. It swet me to the high school and the pool. And it was SO FUNNY. I spit my water TWICE while reading this. (At Superman undies and at the Quick Pick!) Normally when reading I only crack a small smile. But with this one I flat out laughed out loud. It is absolutely hilarious and exactly what I was in the mood for.

Although I hated to see this beloved series of mine end, I was so happy to have been on this journey with Kenneally and her books.

If you know me, you know that two things are true: 1) I don’t usually get along well with fluffy; and 2) I will read anything that promises me swimming. So I was on the fence about whether I should read this, especially since it was part of a series that I’d never read. But alas, it was such a fabulously pleasant surprise! First, if you haven’t read the other books, it is absolutely not a problem. I had been told this, but I had a pretty healthy level of skepticism about it. Also, if you are (or were) a swimmer, you’ll be incredibly happy to know that the swimming references are on point! I’ll delve more into that in a second. Let’s talk about what I adored, shall we?

Maggie was awesome. She seemed so realistic to me, especially as a person who did devote my whole high school career to athletics. Look, I was not Maggie-level Olympian hopeful or anything, but I was really serious about it. So I understood her so much, understood how important swimming was to her, and understood how sometimes it is really, really hard to balance having a swimming life and any kind of personal life, especially when you include the responsibilities of high school, and preparing for college. I loved how realistically the author portrayed Maggie’s situation- and I think so many teens would be able to relate to it. Even if you aren’t/weren’t an athlete, no doubt you’ve lived through the stress of juggling something.
As I said before, the swimming references are so, so well done. The author clearly did her homework, not only with the basics of the sport in general, but in actual habits and mores of the athletes. It brought me back to that intense swimming life, and I loved it. The book discusses things like “swimcest” (which is when a swimmer engages in teammate romance), coach-swimmer interactions, issues with jealousy, pre-meet rituals, and so much more.
The romance was so ship-worthy. I love the friends-to-lovers trope, which made it a huge win. Levi is her teammate, of course, and so he understands Maggie’s priorities and her time constraints. Plus, they just work so well together, they play off each other perfectly!
It was just an overall fun book to read. The book showed such a realistic glimpse into so many of the struggles that a young scholar-athlete goes through. There was romance, friendship, and I loved that the characters were so driven. They weren’t perfect by any means, but I liked that they tried so hard and were invested in their futures.
Bottom Line: Definitely one of the best fluffier books, and one of the best swimming books I have ever read. I loved the story, the romance, and the characters, and now want to read the rest of the series!

I love Miranda Kenneally’s books, and Coming up for air isn’t an exception, this book is funny, lovely and inspirational.
I loved the characters, all of them are well portrayed, and the friendship and loyalty between them is the best part of this story. I think friendship like this is what people need, not just to go through school but through life.
I enjoyed the dialogues there are effective and help to move the story at a good speed. Although in some points, the story turns a little repetitive and slow, especially in some telling parts, there are so may step by step that it seemed I was reading a diary. Also, I think Maggie’s thoughts seemed to be all over the place, she was back and forth with the same ideas, but then I realized that is the way a teenager’s mind works, with spontaneity.
The romance feels real, it was beautifully built from a strong friendship.
Besides the romance and the friendship, the author added interesting aspects, like; the importance of the equality between girls and boys, the necessity of finding a balance in order to enjoy the best of life, also that hard work, discipline and passion can help you to make your dreams comes true, and how important is to know yourself and what kind of person you want to be.
In addition, I have to mention how fantastic the epilogue is. It’s the best ending for and amazing series.
Finally, there is something else I always enjoy from Miranda’s books. Her acknowledgments. In all her books, the writer gives us a message, an encouragement to try to be the best of ourselves. She talks to the readers with beautiful emotive words.
I recommend this book 100%. This is a story you aren’t going to be able to put down.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1830854968

Sweetly engaging, heartwarming, emotionally charged friends to more romance that kept me reading late into the early morning. This journey took me back to my own high school years trying to figure out balancing friendship and budding love.

Maggie is so sweet and real super easy to relate to. Levi is her best friend and emotional rock, so sweet and funny just adored him. Both super intense focused athletes and extremely talented swimmers with bright futures. Their struggle to balance home, swimming, friends, family and an attempt at a social life is beautifully written. Looking forward to more from this author.

I wasn’t aware going into Coming Up For Air that this was the last book in the Hundred Oaks series. This series has been such a comforting and pleasant presence in my reading life, so I’m sad that it’s over. For me, these books have consistently grown better and Miranda Kenneally’s strength as a YA writer has only improved. Coming Up For Air was a satisfying conclusion, though I’m going to admit, it wasn’t my favorite book from the author for a couple of reasons.

I don’t quite get why friends-to-lovers romances aren’t as prevalent in YA. They always make for a sweet trope, and we get that here in Coming Up For Air. Maggie and Levi have a great friendship between them, that evolves into chemistry when Maggie propositions Levi to help her gain some experience when it comes to flirting, boys and sex. The foundation of their relationship was solid enough to have me rooting for them. That being said, the romance could be so stressful. Both of them are struggling with these new heightened feelings for each other, and there was some push and pull, that I’m not used to seeing in Miranda’s books that I wasn’t very much of a fan of, to be honest. I guess I just wanted them to be a couple and do coupley things without giving me a headache. Coming Up For Air is also quite sex-positive, which is a trend with Miranda Kenneally’s books, one that I’m always grateful for, because she handles it with finesse. I liked how both Levi and Maggie were portrayed as these teens who had urges and were frequently horny. The sexy times scenes were touching, and done beautifully, in my opinion, not explicitly, but written in a way that was sensitive and not all gratuitous.

For the most part, I liked the characters in Coming Up For Air. Both Maggie and Levi were likable characters, and you want to root for them. Both their passion and struggles with swimming were one of the highlights of the book for me. Speaking of swimming, I loved how focused the book was on swimming – it’s one of the only sports I happen to enjoy. Anyways back to the characters. Though I did like them, I didn’t feel they were particularly memorable, mostly because they lacked a bit of depth and development. They weren’t terrible, but just not up to the standards I have come to expect from Miranda Kenneally. I did love all the friendships here, and how supportive these kids of each other. It always makes me happy to see characters with good friends, being rocks to one another.

Coming Up For Air ended with a splendid epilogue that was an absolute precious gift to fans of the series – it was seriously PERFECT. While this installment wasn’t my favorite, I’m never not going to recommend this series. They are truly amazing coming of age stories with great characters. I’m excited to see where Miranda Kenneally takes readers next.

Maggie's story is one that delves into the topic of giving up everything else in your life in order to achieve your ultimate life goal. Maggie always knew that she wanted to be a competitive swimmer and hopefully make it to the Olympics, and she is perfectly fine with her life until she goes on a college visit and realizes what she had been missing.
When she asks her best friend Levi to teach her how to make out, her life changes forever as well as his. Can they remain friends? Will they become more? When one of them hurts the other because of being afraid, can the other one forgive? A true coming off age story.