There’s something eerie about In Another’s Life’s synopsis that I was drawn to it right away. The story follows the story of Chloe Holden who was adopted when she was three years old. She then moved to Joyful, Texas after her parents’ separation and she had to start new in this new city with her mum. In her new school, she met Cash Colton, who tried to get close to her. Turned out that Cash sought her out because she looks like his foster parents’ long-lost daughter. Cash is convinced that she’s their daughter and wanted to find out the truth. Chloe, on the other hand wasn’t convinced at all until she started to remember little details, she started to realise that there are things that don’t add up.

Although I was intrigued by the synopsis, I still read the book with a degree of skepticism. Based on my experience reading mystery/thriller books, when you start a book with high expectations, chances are certain aspects of the book will disappoint. Fortunately, In Another Life was a great read.

There are many different tropes presented in this book. Cash and Chloe’s budding romance, Chloe being her mum’s main caretaker, Chloe’s fight with her dad, and put the adoption mystery on top of it – so many things are going on and somehow C.C. Hunter made it work. I love that she could make the stories flow effortlessly and her characters to develop well. The mystery aspect only appear on the later half of the book, though. While I could still feel the suspense and mystery in the book, it still felt like a primarily YA book. For some reason, the romance and family issues take centre stage in the book for me. Despite all that, In Another Life was truly an enjoyable read.

In Another Life is my first C.C. Hunter book but it made me want to read more of her books. I actually requested the book from NetGalley and didn’t get it. However, I got an email few weeks later informing me that I was given the chance to receive the ARC as I’ve read books from Wednesday Books previously. Also, if you are curious about the book, you can read the excerpt below. Once again, thank you St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for introducing me to a wonderful author!

This is an interesting g story that keeps you reading to find out what happens. This story comes some important topics and handles them well. This is a great story to make available to teens.

My feelings for this book ebbed and flowed. First I liked it, then it was just a bit meh and then, after a short break in which I questioned whether I would ever pick it up again, my interest was re-sparked and I managed to finish it. Yes, it felt a little young at times, and I certainly understand why some would say it was more of a ya romance/contemporary than a thriller (as the blurb makes it out to be), but in the end I was left interested enough to bother finishing it (even after a 2+ week breaK!??) and, to be fair, actually ended up really enjoying its suspenseful conclusion. There were certainly no twists or turns, but for a YA contemporary novel (as I think it's fairer to judge it as), it was based on a unique premise that remained intriguing throughout the book.

Good, solid read. Definitely easy to follow- a great holiday read. 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a twisty turny kind of story that leaves you on your toes. And keeps you coming back to flip the pages.

The characters are relaly well developed. And had so much depth and dynamic to them.

And the overall story really impressed me. The idea for the book has had similar versions of it used. But this one gave a really unique spin to it. And made it such an original and interesting read.

There was pleanty of mystery and drama. And I loved evey page.

A 5 star read for me

What if the life you knew was a lie? Chloe has had a pretty great life ever since she was adopted at age 3, until her parents get divorced and she has to move to Joyful, Texas, where she runs into a boy named Cash who challenges her entire world view. This was a really interesting book. It kept me compelled, though it was a little predictable. I loved the romance between Chloe and Cash, and each character was so well developed with an interesting backstory. In Another Life deals with a lot of moral questions and issues, and it was interesting to see how everyone solved their problems. It was a fast-paced read that kept me turning the pages.

I really disliked this. The characters are insufferable, the author can’t seem to go a page without talking about the main character’s breasts and the story as a whole was just... meh. A let down.

I'm an adoptee, and often find myself skeptical of books involving adoption. There are certain tropes and stereotypes that drive me positively mad. Fortunately, In Another Life by C.C. Hunter navigates those well, sensitively and smartly. Less fortunately, the writing and characterization felt flat, lacking the sort of complexity and detail that create a rich, realistic world, making this a bit of a struggle to get through. The description and marketing of this book made it seem like it would fall on the mystery/thriller end of the spectrum, but it lacked both the pacing and level of suspense a reader tends to expect from those genres. I think this is certainly a book many readers will enjoy—so long as they know what to expect going in: a YA contemporary with a pleasantly thoughtful approach to a sensitive subject, rather than a YA thriller.

“In Another Life” by C.C Hunter had a wonderful premise. Girl thinks she’s adopted, parents split, she moves to start a new life with her mom. Only, everything isn’t as it seems, so she and a cute boy set out to find out the truth.
This book is supposed to be in the mystery/ suspense genre. Unfortunately for me, I felt like this aspect was missing entirely. This was more of a contemporary YA than the mystery YA I was hoping for. In addition to this, I really did not feel any way about the characters and the storyline was a little all over the place as well as predictable at times. With all this said, I do appreciate the fact that adoption/ possible kidnapping was the subject within this book.
Overall, this book just wasn’t for me, but a friend did suggest I check out the “Shadow Falls” series and I am looking forward to it!

* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

While the story sounded interesting, unfortunately the large number of spelling are grammer issues made it challenging to read.

Chloe Holden had lived a blissful life with her adoptive parents of fourteen years. She didn’t remember much about her early childhood days, but that didn’t stop her from appreciating life to the fullest. Until her parents’ impending divorce drove her away to Joyful, Texas. First person she met accused her of something she had no knowledge of. Cash Colton, the man of the hour, left a mark on Chloe’s and seemed to follow her every move. Little did she know that Cash was actually on her case; he believed she was someone detrimental to his own foster parents’ happiness or doom.

Cash Colton’s attitude towards Chloe was deeply rooted, one moment he was furious and suspicious of her; the next moment, he’s protective and charming, making him an antithesis. I liked how both characters were described and portrayed.

In Another Life is a fast-paced, stirring, love story that will pull at your heartstrings. I loved how Cash & Chloe’s romance evolved, although it felt lacking in other department. This book was initially meant to be suspense/mystery, but as the story progressed, the mystery was easily resolved and the suspense fell short. I would have loved to see how the real villain in the story suffered under the hands of the people he compromised. Maybe I was just expecting too much. Maybe it’s just me.

This is my second CC Hunter book. The first one I’ve read from her was This Heart of Mine which immediately became my favorite. I remember crying for days after reading it. In Another Life didn’t excite me as much as the first one, but I still loved it because the topics about adoption and dealing with divorced parents were greatly justified in this book. Will definitely read all the other books by CC Hunter!

Awesome book! It's like 3 books in one...kidnapped toddler, foster system, adoption fraud,.......yikes! Great happy ending.

**3.5-stars**

When Chloe Holden moves to Joyful, Texas, with her mother, her once perfect life is in shambles. Her mother is in remission from her cancer but still very sick. Her Dad, who she has always considered her super hero, has cheated on her mom and left her for a much younger woman. They're not speaking at all and using Chloe as a go-between.

In spite of all of this, Chloe is doing her best to hold it all together. Her mom is in the throes of a terrible depression and most days, Chloe functions more as a parent than a child. With her mom's utter lack of being able to get out of her own way, Chloe is left to deal with a lot of stressful things by herself.

When Chloe bumps into Cash Colton at a local convenience store, he has an unexpected and far from friendly reaction to her.

Cash believes Chloe is lurking in town to scam his foster parents, the Fullers. They had a baby girl who was kidnapped when she was three years old and Chloe looks exactly like an age progression photograph that has been used to scam them before.

This would seem ludicrous except for the fact that Chloe is actually adopted. She remembers nothing of her life prior to being surrendered by her bio parents. Well nothing except for one vague memory that his been haunting her: her 3-year old self in a princess dress, sitting on a dirty sofa, crying and having a scary man tell her, your momma and daddy don't want you anymore.

As you can imagine, this memory frightens her so she does her best to suppress it. As her and Cash eventually strike up a friendship, then begin to grow closer, he confesses to her what he fears. As they begin to explore the idea that she could actually be the missing girl, Emily Fuller, Chloe begins to remember more details.

In Another Life is a solid YA Contemporary story. I had moments in the beginning that gave me pause but as the story continued, I felt myself drawn in more and more. Chloe and Cash's relationship was enjoyable. It was interesting to me to have two main characters who were part of the adoptive/foster care system. Both Chloe and Cash are struggling with issues stemming from that, Chloe definitely less so, and I found those topics interesting to explore.

Cash's back story was very interesting and when I would find myself getting frustrated at some of his choices and behaviors, I had to remind myself of how he perceived the world differently than myself.

I did have a slight issue with Chloe's mom. She was annoying AF and I think we had a bit too much of her. Her constant issues sucked me out of the story by taking the focus off of Chloe and Cash. I found her distracting, TBH. Also, I wouldn't classify this as a mystery/thriller. I have heard some people talking about it and I think if you go into this with that assumption, you will be disappointed -- at least if you read a lot of thrillers, which I do.

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this story and would definitely pick up more works by this author. Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity.

The plot to this felt really fresh, so I was excited to read it. It started off strong enough to hold my interest, but it quickly went downhill from there.

I didn't like the odd alternating POV, especially since it seemed to alternate from first person with the female character to third person when it was focusing on the male character. It was jarring and confusing.

As other reviewers have mentioned, there was way too much focus on descriptions of the girl's appearance (particularly her breasts). It was super strange overall. The intriguing plot wasn't enough to get past the appearance-focused descriptions and the weird POV changes.

I will also say that hopefully some of the glaring errors in the e-ARC were fixed for the actual publication as well. There were issues with names (The male protagonist, Cash, was referred to as a different name randomly in one paragraph) and some typos, though I imagine those were caught before final publication.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I love YA novels and this one was definitely one of my favorite. Christie did an amazing job with this story!! This story isn't just about adoption -- it's about family, friends, overcoming life tragedies and coming out on top!! This is the first book I have read of Christie's and now I am a huge fan!!

An interesting concept for a novel - who is Chloe really? And how does Cash fit into her narrative. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC.

This was very easy to understand why it’s labeled as a ya book versus older genre, with it being more ya versus adult, I truly was captivated by it. I thought it had an important premise and loved the mysterious layers beneath. Overall, I thought it was a intriguing read, which had some nice layers of mystery/suspense build up for the reader to enjoy.
I will make sure I let Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s release!

Despite being a dinosaur so this story could have maybe induced a case of déjà vu thanks to The Face on the Milk Carton, I was still all over requesting it because I have been digging the YA mystery vibe this year. What I didn’t expect to find upon starting was . . . . .

“Every girl in school has tried to get his attention and failed. You get here, and he gets punched when he’s checking you out.”

Oh yes, the ol’ fallback “Bella Swan Syndrome” and yet another case where a storyline (despite not being particularly fresh) with so much potential immediately falls off the rails. And things just kept getting worse. From a “bad boy” in the foster care system who has been brainwashed into thinking everything is a con, to a potential kidnap victim who was adopted by people IN. THE. SAME. DANG. TOWN. where she would have been taken from, to said potential kidnap victim being THREE YEARS OLD when she would have been taken and somehow NOT saying, “yo dudes, thanks for wanting to give me a home but I already have one like one subdivision over and my name is Emily so why don’t y’all just drop me off there, huh?” to a mother with cancer (and an almost 18 year old that doesn’t realize you need to be cancer free for like YEARS before you’re really considered cancer free), to a cheating dad with a new live-in half his age, back to mom because I forgot to mention the severe state of depression she’s in. Ugh.

This thing was so schizophrenic in themes it had no chance of succeeding. Not to mention the writing was just terrible. Really the only thing that could have made it a bit of fun for me would have been if Edward Cullen’s Cash the dreamboy’s daddy would have been the kidnapper.

Like I said before, YA mysteries have improved tremendously over the past couple of years. I highly recommend checking out Karen McManus or The Goldfish Boy or All These Beautiful Strangers or People Like Us if you want a teenie bopper whodunit.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Though it took awhile, I did eventually find myself rather invested in the story of Cash and Chloe. In fact, their budding relationship is what kept me reading. While romance isn't generally my thing, a love story that is written with palpable chemistry definitely is. Cash and Chloe had that in spades.

Of course, the point of the story isn't entirely the development of their relationship, but also the uncovering of Chloe's past - that mystery being what brought them together to begin with. Admittedly, I solved that particular mystery rather early in the game, and as I think it was the foundation on which the story was built (rather than the major point of the story - this is NOT a YA mystery or thriller), that's perfectly fine. It was an interesting way to highlight the complexities of parent/child relationships and work through the question of "identity" most typical teenagers grapple with, even under the best of circumstances.

Chloe's circumstances were certainly less than ideal. Her dad left her and her mom for another woman, her mom then got cancer and is now depressed, they had to move, and NOW she finds out she might have been kidnapped rather than put up for adoption. Chloe's life is a dumpster barrel on fire. And she handles all of that a lot better than I would and is much more forgiving.

While I wanted to ring her parent's necks most of the time, I really did love Chloe and Cash. If you like contemporary YA with a decent love story, this book is worth a look.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, Wednesday Books & C.C Hunter for the free advanced digital copy! This book is available now!

🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟

▪️MY THOUGHTS
✔️I loved the concept of this book and it reminded me of the show Finding Carter - so I was automatically drawn to the story. I was hooked right away trying to find out what happened to Chloe and who exactly were her parents. I thought the book did a good job in talking about adoption, foster homes, depression and acceptance. Ultimately I felt that love was the main theme and it was quite evident in many of the different relationships. The story however, felt a bit rushed at the end but other than that I was entertained throughout.

▪️OVERALL RUNDOWN
✔️I thought the story was really well written. The relationships between Chloe and her parents was a difficult one at times and I thought that it was written in a very realistic way. I just found the ending a bit hard to follow because it felt rushed. Overall I enjoyed it! If you’re looking for a mystery/with a side of teenage romance this book is for you. Especially if there are any Finding Carter fans out there!

▪️TITLE RUNDOWN
In love
New kid
Adoption
New love
Open
Teens
High school
Emotional
Relationships
Lying
Interesting
Feelings
Exciting

Thank you Wednesday Books for gifting me an E-Arc in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I rate this book a 3 out of 5 Stars.

I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and fun. I don’t necessarily agree with it being labeled as a Mystery or a Thriller as it was very light in both. Even saying that, I think the book still flowed well. I am not a big romance reader, and when I do, I like it to have some dramatic elements to it, and this one definitely had them. I think maybe this could be considered more of a Romantic Suspense.

This was my first C.C. Hunter book, and I did like it, and I thought she did a good job writing a story about adoption, and capturing the emotions of teenagers. I’m impressed, and I definitely will read another Hunter book in the future!