Honestly, I never read this book. I requested it and downloaded it but was hit with a massive season of depression where I couldn't read anything at all. Thankfully I am on the mend and do indeed plan to read the books I had requested. I am thankful for the opportunity for advanced reader copies. I do love reading.

This is a contemporary YA story with a hint of M/M romance set in England.

Leo and Lila Hendry were unwilling witnesses to their mother's murder, and barely survived the fire their abusive father set to their home. At fifteen, Leo's had a rough life, and his outbursts of temper are causing problems with their foster placements. Getting sent to the Poulton's home is a last-ditch effort to re-home them together.

Charlie de Sousa has lived with the Poulton's since he was a toddler. He's fifteen and out-gay, always struggling to fit in in school. Though the youngest kid in this foster home, Charlie was formally adopted years ago. Still, his parents know how soothing a personality Charlie has, and they hope he can help Leo mellow out. Lila is shy and skittish, but Leo is openly hostile to Charlie's dad. Something Charlie can't understand. Both his parents are the most generous and loving people he's ever known. His mom suffers some hearing loss and all the kids can sign, which helps Lila fit right in--and unsettles Leo.

The more time Charlie spends around Leo, the more he recognizes the signs of PTSD--night terrors and irrational hatred of certain men. He does become a buffer, of sorts, sometimes coming into Leo's room to lay a comforting hand on him when the nightmares are too fierce. Also, there's an attraction. Charlie definitely thinks Leo is cute, but he'd never force himself on another boy--he has no idea that Leo feels the same. An unplanned moment of intimacy leads Charlie to make a terrible decision that nearly gets Leo arrested. Just when it looked like Leo had gotten the better of his temper issues, too.

There's a whole lot to this story that I haven't mentioned. It's dark and troubled; the kids all have tough backstories and we get a front-row seat to Leo's tragic family. The love he feels in the Poulton's home is enough to draw Leo into therapy for his anger issues, and seems to be the home he'd always dreamed of. I loved the ending of this story, and how fantastically this foster family operates. Charlie and Leo do have a wee bit of passion for Charlie and Leo, but it's age appropriate and a small part of the narrative. The bigger part is coping with one's self, and finding a way past tragedy. Charlie's such a giving kid, and his eagerness to make Leo and Lila welcomed shined through. Expect some pretty graphic scenes--including drinking, fighting and some drug use. It all felt very realistic, and bittersweet. I loved it, honestly.

I've obviously been on a Garrett Leigh binge and loving it. This time around we have a YA/NA MM story. Leo has a brutal past causing him to be a bit caustic and defensive. Leo now finds himself in a new foster home where he meets Charlie De Sousa, whom happens to be another kid who is part of the Poulton family. Which is a family with the biggest heart imaginable.

Charlie beats to his own drum and he's content with his secrets and his life until Leo makes an appearance then he wants to experience so much more.

I adored this story and loved Leo and Charlie's journey. The Poulton family is amazing and they help make the experience so much more.

This book caught me by surprise. I love Leigh’s work, so the fact that I loved this one isn’t really that shocking. Somehow, this book wasn’t on my radar until I was perusing Netgalley a while ago. I went into it knowing nothing of it and was instantly hooked. This book was a quick read — not because it lacked depth or emotion — but because the story grabbed me and because it was well written. Leigh frames the story skillfully — the prose never detracted from the story. Both Leo and Charlie are going through such difficult things, and I never felt as though it was over-dramatized, over-wrought or exploited.

Here stems my biggest kudos to this book: books about foster care kids, troubled kids, kids who have been abused or neglected — they are often turned into tropes, or are cheapened, their stories designed as a quick thrill. Basically, these stories often end up as tragedy porn. Leigh did NONE of that. Readers are gifted a view into not just Leo and Charlie’s hearts, but the characters surrounding them. Charlie’s parents were so well grounded and fleshed out, as were his siblings.

Leigh worked several threads throughout, with delayed reveal of some story aspects. In some cases, it worked very well. For example, learning that Charlie didn’t speak as a child — Leigh introduces us to this in a moment where it’s really important for Leo to understand and see. At this point in the story, Leo is actively working to other himself, and seeing Charlie as a kid with a perfect family who hasn’t experienced these kinds of difficulties was a part of that. Leigh does not at any point lead the reader, or the characters, to believe that Leo and Charlie’s experiences are similar. Instead she uses this to help make Charlie relatable to Leo.

The reveal of what was going on with Leo was not as smooth as it could have been. It was built up to be a big reveal, but it…wasn’t? It’s a nitpick really. The tension of that thread wasn’t as tight as it could have been.

Leo’s relationship with all of the kids — his sister, and then Charlie’s siblings — was something I very much enjoyed. Leigh created different moments where people Leo might relate to more than adults were able to meet some of his needs. In this way, we began to see a network being woven around him. Leigh did a great job of establishing the beginnings of trust between them. Plus Leo’s love for and care for his sister was just heartbreaking and beautiful.

The subject matter is difficult but I think it definitely does a good job staying within YA bounds. I would recommend this book.

Yeah, so this was interesting.

Having read several of Garrett Leigh's books, I thought I knew what to expect: a life that hadn't gone particularly well for one person shaping an intimate relationship and navigating that with an intense emotional connection to get to a happy ending. This one takes it even further, which is just the right way to go for YA IMO.

Leo--and his sister Lila--have had a traumatic upbringing and recently witnessed his mother's murder at close range. He's hurt physically in an obvious way but more than that emotionally and mentally and with PTSD, finally diagnosed at the end. Charlie's history is relatively unknown but he's a sweet, dorky kid without a lot of backstory who has a love-hate relationship with his foster siblings, a very small social circle, and gets bullied on a regular basis.

What I liked -- the bravery of each boy as one stood up for the other. While several scenes too place with them secreted away, they backed each other publicly and founds ways of looking out for each other. The supporting characters were complex and interesting. No one was one hundred percent good or one hundred percent lacking. I very much liked the sweetness of the two boys and how Leo created emotional space for Charlie when he could have simply shut him out totally.

What I didn't like -- The criminal/legal stories were wrapped so quickly. Too quickly. There were so many more important conversations to be had about why Leo acted in the way he did and how he had to be held accountable, regardless of what happened with the police. Charlie, I think, was told too simply. He was a bit too good; a bit too understanding. I needed more from him.

Finding Home was quintessential Garrett Leigh, only in YA form. I have to admit that I wasn't super keen on reading this at first just because I don't read YA, but after the rave reviews, I completely buckled - and I'm so, so glad I did. The story packed an emotional punch, which is no surprise considering who the author is, but I was pleasantly surprised that the book being YA didn't take away from the romance at all. The connection between Charlie and Leo was immediate and intense, and I loved watching it slowly grow into a deeper, stronger bond. I also have to admit, as hard as I fell for these two babies and wanted to snuggle them forever, I fell just as hard and just as fast for each and every member of the family. Finding Home was a perfect tale of found family and unconditional love and I didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended.

Living a life of fear and abuse is difficult to imagine for most, but for Leo and his little sister, Lila, it is a way of life. After his mother is murdered by his drunken, abusive father, Leo and Lila are shuffled from foster home to foster home, predominantly because Leo bears not only the external scars but the internal ones of a life lived in terror. He wears his anger like a shield, allowing no one to touch him, distrusting everyone and hating/fearing grown males, in particular. So, when this injured pair of children comes to live at Charlie’s home, it is no surprise that Leo retreats from everyone. Charlie and Leo are the same age, but their story is both alike and completely different. Charlie was taken in, like his two older siblings, at a younger age by the Poultons, and considers the loving couple his parents. However, that doesn’t mean Charlie is unaffected; after all, he has seen kids come and go from his home, and all have borne scars but none quite so deep as Leo’s.

Over time, Charlie realizes that the feelings he has as he watches over Leo’s nightmare-ridden sleep are becoming more than just compassionate understanding. He likes Leo, really likes him, and Leo feels the same—but the past is like a third person in the room, and it is strong and manipulative and may indeed destroy what fragile feelings Leo and Charlie have for each other before they can even take root.

Garrett Leigh is a gifted author and does wounded characters better than many in this field. In her latest novel, Finding Home, she plumbs the emotional depths to build not just one but two rich, fractured characters who resonate off the page with realism and beauty. Leo and Charlie are both injured souls, but Charlie has had years to slowly heal and come to terms with his abandonment. For Leo, it is all so very fresh and horrifying. After all, a father who tried to kill him and his sibling after murdering his mother as they hid in a cubbyhole beneath the stairs is not something anyone will likely recover from any time soon.

However, it’s the narrative aspect by Charlie and his own emotional roller coaster that enriches this novel and captures the imagination thoroughly. Charlie has such empathy for Leo, and yet he is a typical teen who also views the two new kids in the house as just one more intrusion into his carefully crafted life. Charlie barely gets along with his sister Fliss, and having another prickly, emo influence in the house doesn’t sit well with him. But, once again, this author displays those exceptional storytelling abilities by carefully dropping small hints where we, as well as Charlie, are privy to the incredible pain Leo hides behind his anger. It’s these moments where Charlie’s heart just melts. Slowly, feelings rise to the surface that Charlie just cannot always deal with nor wants to acknowledge. It’s not that he hasn’t ever thought about being gay, it’s just that he struggles enough with fitting in at school and dealing with his own feelings of abandonment.

The story is so well paced. There is no sudden, huge emotional glut leading to some version of insta-love allowed, but rather, a slow and steady reveal of the needs that hide inside both Charlie and Leo. These are teen boys, through and through, and their feelings/thoughts/misgivings and naïve thinking is spot on. The story is a beautiful one of slow and bumpy healing and acceptance. Charlie and Leo are not instantly well adjusted or even nearly happy with the life they have been given, but their struggles, while vastly different, are genuine, and small victories are definitely hard fought.

As a YA novel, Finding Home excels at illuminating the thoughts and feelings of teen boys who struggle with emotions and life circumstances they never should have to experience. You are drawn inexorably into their tangled lives and find yourself emotionally enthralled. Finding Home is a rich, compelling novel of redemption and healing, and one that any YA reader will want to have in their library.

Such a sweet YA gay romance! Leo is right on the brink of going bad, and there was plenty of angst as I worried what would happen to him. But of course it comes right in the end and I think it was done in a very realistic way. Charlie is the sweetest character, and I loved their sisters too.

As much as I wanted to love Garrett Leigh’s latest release, Finding Home, it fell short for me. There’s no denying this author is a wonderful writer, so there were some good parts. But overall, I thought this plot was way too ambitious for such a short book. I thought the series of events that brought Leo and Lila to the Poulton household were in the too recent past for Leo to really start to recover mentally or even to have a major character shift in the story, and it really did make it hard to see where this could go.

Charlie and Leo did have chemistry, but for some reason, I was never able to buy the depth of their feelings for each other. The biggest problem for this book, in my opinion, was the time jumps. I was reading along, and there was one part where one of the characters was thinking about the months or weeks that had passed, and I was so shocked. Very little had happened, and there had been no written progression of Leo and Charlie’s relationship. It felt like there was no meat on the bones here. We were given the structure of the story, but nothing was filled in. As for the highs of this story, I loved how protective Leo was of his sister. It only made sense to me that while he’d always had to protect her at home that would intensify once they were thrown into the unknown. I also liked the portrayal of the foster parents in this book. Yes, there are terrible people out there who take children in for the wrong reasons, but there are good people out there who are kind and caring and really want to provide a good home, and I feel they are often overlooked. I love that this author highlighted that.

While Finding Home was not quite what I was hoping it would be, Garrett Leigh is one of my favorite authors, and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Have you ever read a book and found yourself wanting to be friends with the characters? People that touched you in a way that you just wanted to get to know them better? Although I adored Leo and Charlie, I was in awe of Kate and Reg. They were so incredibly good at not only fostering, but truly loving, caring and accepting, plus they just seemed to sense each child’s limits and needs. They were the core of this amazing family and they expected nothing less from each member. To me, that’s a huge part of what made this story work for me. *sigh*

I’ve mentioned before that Garrett Leigh has a talent for totally breaking a character and then slowly put the pieces back together, while taking the reader right along with them. There’s always hope though and that’s what keeps the pages turning, for me anyway. Readers witnessed from the very first chapter the pain that both Leo and Lila went through. Even before the tragic day that left them without parents, their life wasn’t easy. Home had little or no meaning to them and trust wasn’t something that they could give easily. Finding the Poulton family was their hope, it just took Leo a while to figure that out. Except for his connection to Charlie. I love that connection.

Charlie was a good kid with a good heart. He loved and respected his family – even though they drove him nuts sometimes – and trusted them. Leo wasn’t a bad kid, he was just a kid who found himself in a bad situation. To him family was Lila and he would and had been doing everything in his power to keep her safe. He refused to depend on anyone else because he’d learned the hard way… over and over again… that it was him and Lila. He was physically and mentally hurt and broken and angry and then he met Charlie.

I love the way that their relationship grew. Charlie did his best to prove to Leo that the whole family was behind him. Leo did his best to keep his distance from everyone but Charlie, but the Poulton family was a force to be reckoned with. I loved each and every one of them. Kate and Reg proved over and over again that although they were the parents and they had strict expectations for each of their kids, they respected the kids just as much as the kids did them – their opinions mattered.

I hope I’ve made it obvious that this book touched me in a way that few others have in a while. If you’re a fan of Garrett Leigh, but not a fan of the YA genre, I still recommend that you read this one. It’s not always easy and it’s not exactly angst free, but this author held nothing back and ended up finding both Leo and Lila the home… and family… they deserved. ❤

Worth a read, but it didn't quite hit the right emotions for me.

This novel did live up to its blurb, but whilst I know that Leo was traumatised from the horror of his recent past, and by the sound of it, much of his childhood, the author didn't manage to make me see behind all of this enough to like him. He was a teenager, so yes, I expected lip and trying times, but he seemed personality-less. And, Charlie didn't have much, either.

The main characters for me in this were the older daughter and son of the foster parents, who went out of their way to welcome Leo and his little sister, and that for me was heartwarming. The foster parents themselves didn't really register enough.

As to the budding romance in the novel? It was very, very low key and non-explicit, but it made me feel a bit ick that it was going on between effectively stepbrothers, in the same home in which both were spending their formative years. I'm not sure that UK social services would have been OK with it. Overall, however, the tale did what it said in its blurb.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Riptide Publishing, for my reading pleasure.

It’s not very often that I pick up a YA book, but with Garrett Leigh at the wheel, I just had to give this one a spin. I was not disappointed. This is a story about foster kids, so of course it is going to be a bit sad, but it is well worth it to see them get a second chance and the love and family they deserved.

Leo and his little sister, Lila, have been dealing with a hideous father their whole life. Abuse and miserableness are nothing new to them where family life is concerned. When their father breaks a restraining order, they must watch from the cupboard they hide in as their mother is murdered, their house is on fire, and then their father barricades them in. Leo somehow manages to get them out, but not without injury to himself. Needless to say, the physical ailments are the least of his problems.

After their current family gives up on them, they are thankfully sent to the Poulton home. The Poulton’s have mostly grown kids of their own, but have taken fosters over the years, though they make sure it is a family decision and that the health and well being of that core family remains intact. Charlie is one of the kids they ended up adopting and is close in age to Leo.

As you can imagine, it is very difficult for Leo to trust anyone, especially men. He starts to open up to Charlie slowly but surely, and their bond and attraction grows. Charlie’s warmth and understanding goes a long way toward showing Leo that he can find happiness when he never thought he deserved it. They still go through some major bumps, and it is anything but easy to get there, but this beautifully written story captivated me and had me cheering Leo (and Charlie) on to reach out and grab hold and to not give up. He was lucky to find and couldn’t have asked for a better home with the Poultons – people who really do care and are doing it for the right reasons.

I loved watching Leo and Charlie finding their first love, sharing and exploring with kisses and cuddles and would love to read about them again some day in their future to see how their lives actually turned out further down the road. This was another winner from Ms. Leigh, and I can easily highly recommend it.

This is YA m/m and deals with topics of abuse. Always a tough read. But fortunately an HEA.

The boys were so good together. You could feel their chemistry. The story hooked me from the very beginning and I couln't stop until I learned how it all resolved.

Great addition by Garrett Leigh.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
15-year-old Charlie meets Leo when his parents foster Leo and his little sister, Lila. The story is told from both Charlie and Leo's points of view but it is very much Leo's story. Leo has been left traumatised after his father murdered his mother and burned their house down. He is slow to warm up to life in the Poulton house and is very distrustful of his foster father, Reg. Over time, Charlie and Leo develop a friendship that leads to more, providing them both with some happiness.

While I liked Charlie right from the get go, I didn't find Leo a particularly easy character to like at first, but the longer we spent with Leo the more fond of him I became. In the end I was so wrapped up in his story that when Leo got in trouble and things started to go pear shaped, I was in tears.

Finding Home is a very well done story with difficult subject matter and, even though it is bleak at times, it is an engrossing story. I feel richer having spent time with Leo and Charlie.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This book pretty much ripped my heart out. It was a little bit too close to home. I read it while we were trying to settle a new teenage foster child into our family. Sadly, Leo and Lila’s situation hit me hard because it was so horribly ordinary.

Garrett Leigh captures the experience of kids in care with detailed accuracy. Leo’s bluster. His defensiveness. His fear of men. His protectiveness of his sister. His need for control. She captures the minute triggers (like Lila’s cereal box) that can send children into a rage that is bewildering for carers.

If I have any criticism about the story it would be that the Poultons are maybe a little bit too perfect. The kids are a bit too well adjusted and the parents are a little bit saintly at times. But this is told from Leo and Charlie’s perspectives and Leo’s fears and his behaviours are terribly familiar.

As a romance, this is low steam young adult. The boys are young and the connection between them is a friendship with a heavy dose of sexual attraction. This is more the story of Leo finding a place for himself in the Poulton family. Charlie is a very special character and I can only hope that there is a teenage boy like him out there somewhere.

As an adult foster carer, the child’s perspective here was a refreshing but heartbreaking reminder of the many thoughts, feelings, and memories our own new teenager is struggling to manage and unable to communicate.

I really appreciate the research Garrett Leigh has done for this book. I feel like a difficult topic has been handled with respect and sensitivity. I love the strand of hope that has been woven through the book and I would love to read more young adult from this author.

I've read a few Garrett Leigh books, and I have absolutely loved all the ones I have read (as in, they have all made me cry) and I was super excited to find out that Finding Home is a YA book. What makes this book stand out is that both characters are 15-years-old, which we really don't see as much of in YA anymore. A plus is that this book is also set in the UK, rather than the US. As per Garrett Leigh books, this isn't what I would call a light read. It's still very angsty and the prologue itself is violent. Trigger warnings include drug use, domestic abuse, and homophobia.

The story is told from two third-person POVs - Leo Hendry and Charlie de Sousa. Charlie lives with his older sister and his mother and father, with his older brother already out living on his own. His mother and father, Kate and Reg, haven't taken in any foster children in a while, but want to do so again for Leo and his sister, Lila. Leo and Lila are a special case that would make them the best choices to stay with Charlie's family. Kate is hard of hearing and can read lips and speak, but does use sign language. This would be a good thing for Lila, who is deaf.

Leo has been through a lot. Him and his sister have already been through a number of foster homes and he's been known to get violent in school. Charlie's family thinks that they can help Leo and his sister out, so they decide to welcome the two siblings into their home.

Charlie is a sweet kid, kind and loving. And Leo needs that. He needs a loving family and people who will love him and his sister. The journey Leo has in this book as we see him slowly develop love and trust, is one that is tentative, but full of feels. Leo's past is haunting. This book absolutely put my heart through the wringer. This book highlights foster care and adoption and I love that we see a loving relationship between Leo and Lila, as well as how darling Charle's family is.

The bond that forms between Leo and Charlie is slow and full of tenderness. The characters are both fifteen, so this story ends with a HFN as they find their way forward together. Leo and Charlie are precious. And the secondary characters, the family and even Leo's friend Wayne, are the most wonderful people. There's no big shocking plot point, I think, but this is one that's instead full of character growth.

This is a heart-wrenching story that manages to still be full of tenderness and so much love. This is a wonderful YA book that's good for teens and adults. I can only hope that we see more YA books by Garrett Leigh in the future!!

Garrett Leigh’s new young adult romance, “Finding Home,” is as complex and eloquent as her adult erotic romances. 
 
Readers accustomed to highly compassionate characters won’t be disappointed when her teens’ empathy is coated with insecure sneering.
 
Fifteen-year-old Leo Hendry shields his four-year-old deaf sister, Lila, from watching their dad kill their mom, and then set their home afire. After several foster homes, the children land with Reg and Kate Poulter, recurrent foster parents, who have adopted two of the children. Kate is also deaf, and the family knows sign language, a plus for Lila.
 
But Leo, whose burned arm is a constant reminder of what they escaped, feels dead inside. He’s suspicious of affection and concern, and aggressive when adult men touch Lila. Leo even bristles if he’s called “mate.”
 
As Leigh notes, “The fire had taken everything – home, things, Wendy’s still-warm body. In this strange house, surrounded by strangers, Leo’s name was all he and Lila had left.”
 
Charlie, the Poulter’s gentle fifteen-year-old, (who they took in at four) prefers to draw, or melt into the woodwork. His history includes double abandonment, first by his parents and then his prior adoptive family. Besides, Charlie knows he’s gay, and doesn’t want more rejection.
 
When Kate tells Charlie about their plans to foster Leo and Lila, she hopes he’ll help his new foster brother. “‘You’re a good balm for a quick temper, Chicken. I should know,’” she tells him. Like any teen, Charlie is baffled by this perception of him. 
 
He identifies with Leo’s pain, but wary, sensing it bites extremely deep.
 
“Finding Home’s” secondary characters are well developed, Kate and Reg, as seen through teens eyes, are more powerful than they, themselves feel. Andy, the oldest child from Reg’s first marriage, is solid and reassuring. Fliss, Reg and Kate’s first adoptee, who is Charlie’s nemesis and hidden admirer, deserves a book of her own.
 
There’s a lovely off-handed exchange between Kate and Andy, foreshadowing the main conflict. Andy is discussing their cat. “’I think she’s evil.’” Kate replies, “’I don’t believe that, sweetheart. She just needs some love.’” But Reg has made it clear. Leo can only stay as long as his behaviors don’t hurt their adopted children.
 
As Charlie slowly entices Leo out of his emptiness, readers know there must be an explosion. Will these parents see past Leo’s aggressive turmoil, to help the wounded child Charlie can perceive? Or is Charlie too naïve?
 
Leigh specializes in slowly developing trust, won through the small things we do for one another, like when Charlie plays Xbox with his Leo, or makes him toast for breakfast. As Reg notes, “’Routine is good for all of us in times of great change.’”
 
Appropriate to a YA audience, Leigh keeps Charlie and Leo’s attraction to “snogging.” Yet she still manages an erotic arc. We wonder what part of the boys’ increased intimacy, (kisses or self-revelation) is healing.
 
Are these deeds mere distractions, moves to avoid the tough emotions and choices of adolescence, of those overcoming trauma? There is sublime tension as Leo uncoils and Charlie is faced with speaking his own truths.
 
I found myself inclined to read “Finding Home” twice, first to find out what happened and then to appreciate the small details which brought about big results.
 
For a plot that is as sweet as it is horrific, “Finding Home” is completely captivating, realistic, and revitalizing. 
 
By exploring an extremely difficult subject with great sensitivity towards her characters and young readers, Leigh earned my first five stars for a YA novel.

4.5 stars This title is loaded with heavy emotions and a heavy subject. Beautiful heartfelt story. Heavy content written in a bearable way. It was somewhat endearing.

A foster family with three kids, Andy, Fliss and Charlie, are gathered together to discuss an important matter. Kate and Reg, the parents, want to take care of two kids Leo and his little sister Lila, who are both in the foster system and heavy traumatized.

Like the blurb said: Broken and burned! ....Leo, fifteen years old, is Lila's protector.....Kate, the caring mother and deaf like Lila, can communicate with her.... But Leo distrust Reg deeply... He won't let him near Lila....
Leo thinks of Charlie, who is at same age, as the most gorgeous boy ever...
They like each other...a lot... and more....

Some heartbreaking and heartwarming moments pass the view....Charlie and Leo both foster kids find deep friendship and love...

Charlie doesn't know exactly what trauma Leo been through. But circumstances forces Leo to open up...with heart and soul. He loses control and he feel so broken and rejects all help...only Charlie can reach him....and through him Leo can find his home.

Some devastating passages you will find but all with a perspective (thank God).

The story felt whole, enough convincing situations to make it acceptable. All family members were written down with their own personality. It was emotional and also sweet...Leo and Charlie's love and trust for each other was the light in the darkness.

I would love to take a peek in the future and see how the boys are holding.

This is proof that Garrett Leigh can not only write adult romance that breaks your heart, but is also able to write YA. Though - in true Leigh-fashion - this is not a fluffy story. It has sweet elements, and I really adore Leo and Charlie, but she stayed true to her brand. With the exception that this has overall less sex than her other books.

I'm not typically a YA reader, or not anymore. But I couldn't not read this book because Leigh is one of my favourite authors. She has time and again written books and characters I've come to love, and Finding Home was no exception.

She broke my heart with what poor Leo and Lila had to go through.
I loved the bond between the siblings. They had been through way too much at their young age, and especially Leo had to grow up too fast too soon. But I was glad that they had each other. And it added a bit of (needed) sweetness to the story.

I loved the slowly developing relationship between Leo and Charlie. Both of them are portrayed in an intricacy that I've come to expect from this author. Her characters are never simple, but written with both positive and negative character traits. And Charlie and Leo are perfect for each other - they balance each other out. They help each other when needed but also sometimes behave in a typical irrational teenage way (as they're supposed to).

I also want to mention how much I loved how the relationship between Leo, Lila and the rest of the family grew. It all seemed organic and natural. Starting with Leo's hate toward Reg, to his unlikely friendship with Fliss, and how he ultimately trusted everyone. It all happened in its own time, sometimes faster than with others, but as I said, it all felt really natural.

As with her other books in which we have characters with Tourette syndrome, some with PTSD, drug addiction, chronic illnesses and amnesia, I found that Leigh handled the themes of child abuse the accompanying trust issues and Lila's hearing impairment with her typical care and diligence. She did a wonderful job writing a story that with fantastic characters that just shine. There is no unnecessary drama because the characters with their fears, hopes and motivations drive the story. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. I hope we'll see more YA from her, because I definitely would pick that up!

5 Stars!!!

I have to admit I don't read all that much YA, however, the cover, the blurb and the fact that this is a Garrett Leigh book made it impossible for me to resist and I'm very thankful for that.

15-year-old Leo and his 6-year-old sister end up at the Poulton's house after their mother was murdered by their father. Leo is angry and on the verge of losing control, but he can't help feeling something for Charlie. Leo is protective of both Lila and Charlie, to the point of violence at any perceived threat.

Charlie is 15, as well, and can't help the attraction he feels for Leo. He knows he's gay, even if he's never admitted it to anyone. After a confusing incident, Charlie gets in trouble and Leo helps him out, bringing them closer to each other. When Leo lashes out at someone that he perceives as a threat, Charlie will need to show him the way back home.

This book was angsty and sweet and realistic. My heart clenched inside my chest as I read everything Leo and Lila had to go through. Especially Leo, since Lila was too little to really know what had happened. Charlie was very sweet and his parents and foster siblings were great. I loved how they all rallied to help Leo when he needed it.

Finding Home is a fast-paced, well-written read! It was captivating and I just couldn't put it down until I finished. Definitely a must read!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer via NetGalley by Riptide Publishing, a review wasn't a requirement. ***