The premise sounded so intriguing and this was good, but I was left disappointed.

The book is suppose to be a thriller, but there was nothing thrilling or suspenseful. This is a good, if a tad long, story about teenage love that threw in a bit of mystery about our protagonist’s adoption. I kept waiting for the “bad guys” to show up, but it was so far towards the end, I almost didn’t care anymore?

As a Non thriller YA novel however, I would give this a solid 4 stars; still a bit too long and angsty for me. I sincerely hope they don’t end up marketing this as a thriller & suspense, but rather as a typical YA.

Posted to Goodreads: Chloe Holden has known that she was adopted her whole life and never cared. Her parents were great and she had a great life. However, when Chloe's parents get divorced and her mother moved Chloe to Joyful, Texas, Chloe meets Cash and her life starts to change. Cash recognized Chloe but not because he knows her. Chloe looks like the daughter of Cash's foster parents who disappeared almost 15 years ago. Chloe and Cash form a connection as they investigate Chloe past and what they uncover may change everyone's lives.

This book had a great premise that will appeal to teen readers however, for me, it didn't live up to other books by Hunter. The character didn't feel quite as well as developed as in her fantasy books and the villain felt a little too evil to the point of almost cartoonish. I will keep reading Hunter's books but I wish she would do back to her fun supernatural romances.

Chloe Holden has always known she was adopted, her parents love her and she has a good life. Suddenly her parents are divorced and Chloe and her Mom are left to deal with cancer and a move to Joyful, TX right before Chloe starts her senior year.

While Chloe's life is turning upside down, she meets Cash a foster kid of the Fullers who lost their daughter, Emily Fuller, 15 years ago, kidnapped under the watch of her Nanny.

What's the connection between Emily and Chloe?

The plot keeps you engaged and entertained, you really feel bad for both Chloe and Cash for their own respective hard points in their lives. There's more of Chloe's parents in this book than most YA novels so that was actually a nice change.

The characters are not very deep but the fast pace of the plot makes up for it and you do get enough into Chloe and Holden's heads that it doesn't feel like they're shallow, just that you could have left wanting more.

There's some awkward writing at some rare moments, but overall Hunter was fun to read.

It was paced fast enough that I really didn't want to put it down after starting it and I thought the ending was great.

An enjoyable and easy read, I would recommend it to those who like this sort of YA 'mystery' genre or looking for a quick read. I would pick up another book by C.C. Hunter.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I do not know much about adoption, but I was excited to dive into this book. It takes a lot of strength and finesse to cover such a tough topic and I have heard so many great things about this author. I felt like this book was a fairly smooth read - the hardest part for me was keeping up with the constant switching between POVs. It had a hint of suspense, tackled a difficult subject, and developed the characters in a way that reeled me in until the end.

**Review will be up on my blog on 3/21 as part of the blog tour, and will go up on my twitter account on the same day. Review is already posted on goodreads.**

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Maybe wounded people are subconsciously drawn to each other."

That's how Chloe feels when she meets Cash. Having to start your senior year at a new school is no picnic, but when these two bump into each other - literally - things begin to look up. But things aren't always what they seem, and when Chloe learns the real reason Cash wanted to get to know her, things start to spiral out of control. Surrounded by mysteries and lies, the only thing Chloe and Cash can depend on is each other as they try to get to the bottom of Chloe's past.

This was my first book by C.C. Hunter, and I really enjoyed it! I'm always a little apprehensive of YA mysteries, but this one was such a fun, fast-paced read from start to finish. The mystery was intriguing and kept me engaged, and the romance was sweet in a "girl-next-door" meets "bad boy" kind of way. Overall, I gave it 3.5 stars. This book is told in alternating points of view:

Chloe Holden: Chloe was adopted at the age of 3 to two loving parents. But now those parents have gone through a divorce, her mom got cancer, and Chloe's left to pick up the pieces. With her mom continuing to struggle with depression and her dad moving in with his new girlfriend, Chloe's relationship with both parents is pretty strained. What with all that and moving to a new school for her senior year, she's having a pretty tough time of it.

"I wonder if that's all life really is, just smears of color. A collage of sweeping moments in different shades and hues of emotions. Times when you're happy, sad, angry, scared, and when you're just faking it."

Cash Colton: Cash is a foster kid, and has been living with the Fullers for the past 3 years. Seen as the town's resident 'bad boy', while Cash is a little rough around the edges, he's got a good heart, despite his harsh childhood. When he meets Chloe, she looks just like the Fullers missing daughter, Emily - who's been missing since she was 3. Determined to protect the Fullers, Cash sets out to find out if Chloe is running a con...and ends up discovering so much more.

"You get so angry because people judge you, but then you judge yourself harsher than anyone."

Cash, I loved from the get-go. He's your typical bad boy with a troubled past who has a heart of gold, and I was all mushy for him from page one. It's obvious he loves the Fullers but doesn't feel like he deserves their kindness - but he's still willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. I also loved the way his relationship blossomed with Chloe - I loved these two together. I feel like they really brought out the best in each other, and I thought it was such a heart-warming and realistic portrayal of experiencing your first love.

Chloe and her parents, I had more issues with. Chloe has been essentially acting as the adult in this family. She was her mother's sole caretaker throughout her cancer treatments, even while dealing with her father's infidelity, and her father never really seemed to see why she'd be upset about this. Her mother couldn't hold back nasty comments about her father in front of Chloe, essentially fueling Chloe's anger with her own father. So I recognize that Chloe, as a high school senior, is dealing with way too much. BUT. Chloe also annoyed me slightly. I think her attitude towards her mother's illness and depression is part of what got me. Although in reality, this is probably how a high schooler would actually feel when put in her situation.

"Hands full, chest heavy, I leave my onetime superhero and my broken heart scattered on the sidewalk."

The way her mother's depression was portrayed kind of irritated me as well. Chloe was expecting a pill and a walk a day to just magically give her mother back...which in the book, it did. I completely understand Chloe wishing her mother could be the way she was before - after all, Chloe's the child in this situation, but she doesn't get to act like it. But there's no quick fix for depression, and I was a little uncomfortable that it felt like there was one in this situation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I read it pretty much in one sitting. The mystery was super captivating and I adored the romance between Cash and Chloe. There's no big WOW moment, but I felt like the ending wrapped up this story in such a satisfying way, and I honestly loved it. If you like YA mysteries with a sweet romance, this is such an entertaining and quick read, and I will definitely be reading more by Hunter in the future!

[I do also want to add one caveat: I read this in an eARC format, and the formatting was really distracting. There was no break between changes in POV - you would just kind of have to figure out that now Cash was talking instead of Chloe. I tried not to let this effect my overall rating, but no promises. This is why I have become a little apprehensive about electronic ARCS - if the formatting is bad, it definitely effects my reading experience.]

In Another Life is releasing on March 26, 2019.

*Quotes have been taken from an ARC and are subject to change prior to publication.

I mostly loved this book. It was so fascinating and it give me a little bit of the The Face on the Milk Carton vibe. It's not a perfect parallel but the feeling is there.

There is some very real instalove, which I found unrealistic (would you fall for someone who's potentially essentially your stepsibling?)  but my biggest problem is the way that Chloe felt about being adopted. I'm also adopted and she keeps thinking about how her birth mom got rid of her. And I know that there are people who have bigger problems with being adopted than I do, but I also don't know of any adopted person who calls their birth parents their "real parents." So that rankled a bit.

But neither of those things affected my enjoyment of the book. It's a fast, fun read and I very much enjoyed it. I can't even imagine the realization that you weren't actually adopted; you were kidnapped. It was the most fantastic concept and I liked the execution, as well.

Like with CC Hunter's others, this is a really fun escape from the real world.

This was my first time reading a book by C.C. Hunter and I am definitely intrigued and would love to read more! I am always drawn to mysteries, but sometimes YA mysteries can be a hit or miss for me. However, I really did enjoy this book so much, and although I had a few issues with some of the characters, I really think fans of young romance mixed with a hard-hitting mystery would enjoy this book.

This book follows two POVs: Chloe and Cash. Chloe has a strained relationship with both of her adoptive parents. Her father had an affair and is dating someone new, while her mother is a cancer survivor struggling with depression.

Then there’s Cash, a “mysterious” and “tough” character who enters Chloe’s life when he suspects she might be someone else. Cash is also a foster child living with a married couple, the Fullers. Chloe and Cash’s worlds come together when Cash recognizes Chloe in a missing person’s age progression photo. He thinks she may be the Fuller’s missing child.

This story had a lot going on from the get-go: Chloe and Cash have an insta-love budding romance, Chloe is her mom’s caretaker, Chloe is constantly fighting with her father, Cash has a strained relationship with his foster parents, and then there’s the big mystery of who exactly is Chloe Holden?

While this book starts off feeling more like a contemporary, it quickly turned into a mystery as pieces of the adoption and kidnapping came into play. I also really appreciated how such hard-hitting topics were woven into this story. Cash has an extremely tragic past, and even though he’s with a wonderful foster family, he feels immense guilt for being there.

I think what made me lower my rating a bit on this book was how much Chloe had to act like the adult and caretaker for everyone. Not only was she still struggling with her parent’s divorce and her father’s infidelity, but she also became the sole caretaker for her mother during her cancer treatments. And while I completely understand depression is horrible, I was so mad at her mother for how she treated Chloe. Her mother clearly needed professional help but kept piling her anger toward her ex-husband on to her child. I just… felt really, really uncomfortable reading those scenes.

But I really did love Cash so much. He was trying so hard to do the right thing, and I really liked how his and Chloe’s relationship bloomed. And I really felt for Chloe. I couldn’t even imagine being in her position, let alone finding out I might possibly be a kidnapped child? Like, how would I even begin to process that information?

I really enjoyed how the mystery played out and I was second-guessing a lot of things until the very end. And I found the ending soooo satisfying!

Trigger/content warnings: Cancer, divorce, infidelity, kidnapping, child abuse, depression.

I unfortunately could not get into this book. I made it 20% of the way through and had to give up. I found myself easily confused about what was happening and which character we were on at that time.

Chloe was raised knowing she was adopted at 3 but she has no idea who her biological parents are. She loves her parents but they are now divorced and the bickering is becoming too much for her. Her mother is always picking fights with her father and now her mom is growing deeper in depression and not doing much about it.

Cash was in the foster system for 3 years before he found a good home, but scared of rejection he doesn't want to let his foster parents in. When he meets Chloe he's shocked in recognition. This has to be his foster parents missing daughter! But is she hanging around for nefarious reasons or is there something more?

There were some romance elements between Cash and Chloe and then there's the mystery aspect with Chloe's adoption and looking exactly like the Fuller's missing daughter. This was a fun YA read that gave us some serious social issues to think about such as adoption, foster care, and divorce. While Cash didn't have it truly awful in foster care, it was nice that the author touched on it. I was hoping for a bit more with the epilogue but overall it was a good read.

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. The premise sounds quite good but upon reading it I think In Another Life felt like it was geared toward a younger audience. I found the main character unbearably, unrealistically childish for her age & I found it difficult to continue on with the story because her interactions with others were just so grating. I suppose this was to make the story more angsty; it just made it more difficult to read.

In Another Life by C.C. Hunter is a young adult thriller in which a teenager questions her adoption. Chloe was adopted as a toddler and has very few memories before her parents adopted her. She’s had a wonderful childhood ever since but always felt a bit of a loss in her life anyway.

Cash has been in and out of foster homes for years but has found a good home with a loving couple that honestly care for him. That couple had suffered a loss when their biological daughter was kidnapped. With a composite sketch of what the girl would now look like Cash is sure its Chloe.

In Another Life was a fairly quick moving tale. The author apparently has written a few romance books previously and it’s noticeable in the fact this seemed a little light on the mystery side and more about the relationship with Cash and Chloe. I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily bad but I did expect more suspense than just being led to the conclusion. Overall I rated this one at 3 1/2 stars and enjoyed the fast paced read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Uhhh this was a giant no for me.

In Another Life tells the story of Chloe, a teenager who was adopted just short of her third birthday. Chloe’s parents have recently divorced and her mother has picked up and moved herself and Chloe to the town of Joyful, Texas. What happens from there is anything but joyful. Chloe is immediately noticed by a boy named Cash who can’t stop staring at her because she looks exactly like the daughter of his foster parents who was kidnapped just short of her third birthday. Dun dun duuuun… Could Chloe actually be this long lost child? Together Chloe and Cash set out to uncover the mystery of Chloe’s true parentage.

Problem number one with this book is that it is overly dramatic for my taste. Characters are always “spiting” or “yelling” things at each other instead of speaking in any kind of rational manner, and Chloe’s mother is the biggest offender. Having just survived cancer in the wake of her divorce, she rightly has reasons to be angry at the world, but the way she handles that anger is over the top and takes away from Chloe’s story. I was just waiting for one of the frequent point of view changes to suddenly be Chloe’s mother, although I’m sure that would have only consisted of her sitting angrily somewhere spouting about how much she hates her ex-husband and his “whore” girlfriend. She sure did enough of it in her scenes with Chloe.

And then problem number two. The constant POV changes drove me crazy. Maybe the formatting was just off in the ARC I read, but there was no indication that the POV was changing other than Chloe’s was in first person and Cash’s was in third. And then randomly toward the end there was a sudden addition of another third person POV for the shady guys who worked at the adoption agency that handled Chloe’s case. It was just all extremely messy, and I’m pretty sure the only reason one character got a first person POV and the other got third was because if they were both in first, it would be impossible to tell them apart. There is some character development, probably more so for Cash because we get a back-story about how awful his father was and how he used to make Cash help him run cons before he died and Cash ended up in foster care.

The third problem is the mystery/thriller aspect that the marketing team seems to be going with. I guess there’s some level of mystery with the idea that Chloe may be someone’s long lost daughter, but it’s pretty easy to see early on what the answer to that question is, and instead of any actual sleuthing, Chloe and Cash spend most of their time either making out or fighting. They hardly dig up any info, making the entire book even more frustrating.

This book might appeal to somebody, but for me it was just overly sloppy and too dramatic.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I was intrigued by CC Hunter's novel from the description that Chloe might be Emily Fuller, a girl kidnapped fifteen years ago. I was a huge fan of The Face on the Milk Carton growing up, so I was hoping that this would be just as good. This was a quick read that I very much enjoyed. Chloe meets Cash who is the Fuller's foster son, and he is shocked at how much she looks like their missing daughter. The pair fall in love and decide to solve the mystery of Chloe's identity. Their journey left me on the edge of my seat as I wondered what was going on and what would happen to this pair.
Thank you net galley for this ARC

I liked this book! Good plot and characters! Sometimes predictable but still good! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for Ann honest review!

Short and Sweet

When Chloe was three years old she was adopted and became Chloe Holden and she's had a pretty good life. Fourteen years later Chloe's parents are separated, she's left her friends behind and her mother has moved them to Joyful, Texas. Now Chloe is the new girl in school and she has met Cash Colton. Cash takes an interest in Chloe because she looks like the daughter his foster parents lost. Now Chloe's past before the adoption is starting to haunt her and she wants the details to her adoption, the more Chloe learns about her adoption she starts to realize something isn't right.

Characters

Chloe: Chloe is just trying to live life as normally as she can. Her mother is in remission and she has to be the parent to her mother and make sure she's okay. Chloe also has a lot of resentment towards her father because she feels like her just left her and her mother. Anyway I thought Chloe was an okay character she cares a lot about the people closest to her. Chloe was indecisive she wanted to find out more about the adoption but she would change her mind, or if she did end up being the kidnapped child she wasn't sure if she wanted the truth to come out.

Cash: Cash has had a hard life, his dad would involve Cash in his criminal activities, this has obviously scarred Cash and has made him feel like he's had to prove everyone wrong and prove that he's not his dad. Cash is really hard on himself. Thinking back Cash was also an okay character he could have been better, I didn't really like how he treated the Fullers they just really wanted to involve him in their family but sometimes he was just so short with them and would leave when they tried to have a conversation with him.

Romance

Chloe and Cash: So it would seem like the main reason that these two got together was because Cash was trying to figure out if Chloe was actually Emily, but he didn't drop that bombshell on her until later so I suppose that they had feelings for each other. They did spend a lot of time together. It was a an instalove thing and they did say I love you and they didn't even know each other for that long.

My Thoughts

~ We get to read from both Chloe and Cash's POVs, I didn't have a favorite one to read from I feel like both were okay and both had their flaws. Chloe had a lot of drama surrounding her parents and Cash was obsessed with finding out about Chloe and like I said I didn't like his interactions with the Fullers.

~ Cash recognizes Chloe from an age progression photo that his foster parents had because they never gave up hope and at first he thinks Chloe is trying to scam them but he learns that she has no idea that she could have been kidnapped.

~ More about Chloe and her parents. Chloe's mom is depressed and is in a funk and is also very bitter she talks a lot of trash about Chloe's dad. Because Chloe is around her mom so much she also gets annoyed when thinking about her dad and will also start trash talking him but to his face. This all was a little too much for me this happened a lot in the book there was just so much bitterness when it came to her parents.

~ Chloe befriends her neighbor Lindsay. I loved Lindsay she was a good friend and was there for Chloe and was someone she could go to talk to I honestly wish there was more of her in the book.

~ So about 60% through the book that's when things start to go down. Chloe and Cash are learning more about her past and things start to get more suspenseful. We also get a new POV and this time its the culprit.

~ I could not stand the culprit I thought he was too impulsive and paranoid. The culprit is one of those people who has a gun and shoots it but not because they needs to but just because they have a gun. The culprit was honestly so annoying I couldn't stand it.

~ I wanted more from the ending I just felt like there could have been more surrounding the culprit and the adoption or kidnapping but everything just ended so quickly and I didn't like it.

Overall

In Another Life wasn't what I was expecting it to be I thought there would be more of a mystery aspect to it but there wasn't much it was more like how did this happen. I think the book could have been better, the ending wasn't that great either everything was wrapped up but I was just left wanting more. I love C.C. Hunter and her books but this one isn't one I would say I loved.

This was a decent YA novel with a little flavor of a mystery woven in. This was the first book I have read by this author but I plan on checking out more of her books.

In Another Life is my first C.C. Hunter book but it is certainly not my last. In Another Life highlights Chloe and the shocking information regarding her adoption. It drew me in from the initial chance meeting between Chloe and Cash.

I enjoyed the romance aspect between the main characters. It added to the suspense for me. If the information about Chloe ends up being true, how with this affect her and Cash’s relationship?!

Overall, the story was a bit predictable but it is still fives stars for me. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in about a day.

I thought ths book was pretty decent. It was a quick read and something I didn’t hate. I thought the romance was cute and the mystery aspect of it was cool, but I feel that the adoption process and illegality of it got a tiny bit complicated. Regardless I think this was a nice afternoon read and one I don’t regret.

Chloe and her parents have just moved to a new town. Her first week there she meets a boy who acts as though her recognizes her. His negative behavior towards her is a puzzle. She discovers that she looks like the little girl his foster parents lost many years ago. He fears that she is someone who will pretend to be the long lost daughter. Chloe has always known that she was adopted and her parents are very supportive of her. She is compelled to investigate the circumstances surrounding her adoption as much as she fears what she may discover.

This was definitely different than Hunter's Shadow Falls series.

I enjoyed it as it was fast paced and unpredictable. I really didn't know what was going to happen next and I wanted to keep reading. I felt sympathy for the characters which means they were developed well. I'm glad I read In Another Life.