I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

This was a cute and sweet read.The book deals a lot with the temptations that Dash and Reagan face as they walk the road following the Lord.Reagan was difficult to like at the beginning I had a hard time with her.

"For the first time in her life, Reagan knew no matter what happened, if she kept her eyes on God, everything would be okay."

It's the first time I'm reading a book in this genre, I would definitely check more.

I picked this book up because the cover was super cute. I have never read anything by Haynes so I was curious if this book was spark a new love. Too bad for me it was a DNF. I couldn't connect with the characters. Unfortunately, this was a first read for Haynes and I was excited for it, but it wasn't working for me.

*I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I'm really sorry about giving it such a low score, but I found it too misleading.
I thought this would be a cute romance with a couple that would be alright with their religious beliefs. Apparently I was wrong.

The characters are OK and I found their own faith inspiring, but I just think I was not the intended audience.

Too boring and it had way too many clichés
But the cover of the book was really nice and I like all that blue

Whew! Pardon me a moment while I keep fanning myself from the sizzling romantic tension in this college-set novel that ended up being nothing like I anticipated. And that’s a good thing.

Both Dash and Reagan (and Reagan’s roomies) have a past that is a reflection of a life without God, one that Dash still has to take captive to the new life he has in Christ. He’s always been more than attracted to Reagan and she’s partly behind the dating sabbatical he’s in the middle of – to focus on striving to become a man she would want to date. And let me tell you – Dash focused on letting his attraction for Reagan show while still maintaining the boundaries he’s set for himself is all kinds of swoony. No, he’s not perfect, and I wanted to purse whomp him a couple of times, but his struggle is realistically portrayed and will give hope & encouragement to other people on the same journey.

Reagan has a chip on her shoulder, thanks to a lot of things, and God is the last thing on her mind. Yet, she is very much on His mind (engraved on the palm of His hand, in fact) and it’s so sweet to watch Him draw her into relationship with Him. While I absolutely loved the way Reagan approached studying the Bible (thanks to some help from Dash and James), I didn’t really care for especially Connie’s handling of Reagan’s questions. I wanted to reach in, grab Reagan and whisk her to a coffee shop and let her ask whatever she wanted with whatever emotion she needed to express. In fact, it wasn’t until she was allowed to do so by another character that Reagan’s spiritual growth really exploded.

Bottom Line: I hesitate to say ‘this isn’t your mama’s Christian fiction’ because immediately Janette Oke and Francine Rivers come to mind, authors who didn’t shy away from a realistic depiction of sin or grace. Maybe It’s You is grittier than most Christian fiction novels, but that’s because it realistically addresses the temptations, the rampant sin, the darkness surrounding many college students – and provides a grace-filled picture of redemption in contrast. Reagan’s approach to Jesus and Dash’s approach, as well as that of her roommates (who need their own stories, please!), is each as unique as the individual characters – something I very much loved. The romantic chemistry and longing between Reagan and Dash is palpable as well as is their struggle to resist. Some sections of the book could have been edited a bit more tightly, but overall this is a story that I definitely enjoyed. Looking forward to more!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

This book was so fun! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the story and the characters were very well written.

Before I give my honest review for this book, I just want to thank Christy Hayes herself, the publisher, and NetGalley for approving my request to have a copy of this eARC.

Actually, this ia my first Christian x contemporary reads that features story of two young adults who are in the middle of finding themselves. Dash, a Christian rock band lead who had a catastrophic past, and Reagan, a skeptic-slash-academic-focused woman who questions everything that has no concrete proof including her early interaction with the bible-reading community.

I love how this story unravelled the kind of struggle most of us forgets, the spiritual struggle many people are afraid to admit. I love how this book carefully laid out the two sides of religion and faith and how it greatly impacts our life from the littlest things we do up to the biggest changes we tend to plan.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and I hope books like this will have wider audience and greater reach as it is the kind of book that will help us grow in more than one aspect of life.

When I requested this book I was looking at it as a cute NA romance read. It has so much more depth than that. This focuses more on romance and a connection to God. Labeled as a Christian fiction this book does not disappoint on that front. The main character Reagan becomes closer in her relationship with God in such a way that anyone going through something similar would be able to relate.
While I enjoyed the book it wasn't very memorable for me.

This inspirational romance appropriately depicted the edgy and sometimes uncomfortable subjects of 20 something college-aged young adults. The main character, Reagan, has only one experience with church, and it’s not pleasant. No wonder she stresses out when she’s tricked into going to church. (You’ll love this part of the book.) 

Regan is more comfortable with a planned, know-what-comes-next kind of life because her childhood was anything but. Edgy Regan is a spitfire. Her, snarky attitude, blunt to the point conversations, and dedication to friendship is a lovely mix. But, she is not always in control. Her, Dash-rendered-stupid moments made me laugh out loud several times.

Dash is on a road to redemption so to speak, and has decided to get his life in order without distractions, and decided to take a yearlong break from dating. Regan was in his sights long before he turns his life around, and he wants to share friendship and faith with her. He’s kidding himself on both points. Their relationship is filled with confusion, laughter, growth, and frustration.

This inspirational romance deals with the struggles of newfound faith and how to instill it in every aspect of life, be it dating, work, friends or your own inner thoughts. I enjoyed this book very much because it did not skirt around real life issues, however at times it became too preachy. That being said, I still recommend this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and CAH LLC for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Reagan Bellamy and Dash Carter's story is interesting. Their story is easy to presume simply from the details Hayes gives in the first couple of chapters. However, their story delves past their own personal grievances. Hayes wrote a contemporary story that had one key factor, Christianity. One of the major themes was coming as you are. With questions, concerns and hope to find one's place and purpose in life.

The characters and their development were well written and well thought out. However, what should have been a plot-driven story with a steady pace, I felt instead that Hayes stretched out the story just a bit too long. Mid-way through, I felt like I had a good understanding of the story and I was ready for faster progression. Unfortunately, it felt like I was dragging through certain chapters and that took away from the story.

I recommend this to readers who enjoy a slow steady burn and the inclusion of Christianity with a contemporary feel. However, this is not the book for me.

It took me quite a few chapters before I could get into this book. It never really was able to capture my attention fully. While it did pick up eventually it just left me a little bored.

This book isn’t exactly what I expected. But I’m glad I read it. The book as much depth to it, it’s not a surface read. I don’t a lot of YA anymore but this one is one you shouldn’t miss, as I noticed this one doesn’t glorify the partying and sex aspect of college life.

The story shows us how some friendships are formed then fail and that romance isn’t all about sex and lust. And that finding God, is a good thing and how it elevates your life.

Our h is Reagan who lets certain experiences define her life, and they aren’t good ones. She doesn’t particularly like her hometown. She doesn’t have great family relationships. At college she does have great college roommates and is hard working and deviated to her assistant position.

The H is Dash and he lives next door. When he enters her life things take a turn and crash. We find that he took the college extreme experience to the max which almost cost him. I loved this growth throughout the book.

Watching the two come together was great. Their chemistry is just right. I love the snarky, and tender moments as much as their bad moments. I love how they navigated their own separate journeys to come together.

This book is not about religion or a shove down your throat. It’s just a sweet book about the journey that some of us take and how meeting certain people take us on a great escape to finding completion.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest view. Thank you to them, the author and publisher.

This book completely took me by surprise. I knew going in that it was a Christian based book with romantic elements but the surprise was how much depth was in the book. Most NA authors gloss over most aspects of college life and give us just the partying/sex life that goes on. Ms. Hayes, however, chooses to show us how friendships are formed and sometimes broken a bit, romance doesn't have to be all sex, all the time and that finding God in your life isn't all that bad. It only enhances the life that you have.

Reagan has a bunch of things in her life that has defined her and not in a good way. She hates her town that she came from, she doesn't have that great of a relationship with her mom and her only salvation are her 3 roommates. She is dedicated to working and getting that assistant position with her professor. Throw in her neighbor Dash and her classwork and she quickly spirals downward.

Dash is a great character that partied too much and it almost cost him everything that he had. At the beginning of the book, Ms. Hayes shows us his old lifestyle and how much it hurt him. Most people would be turned off by this but for me, it showed us how much growth he had gone through and how much he still needed to do.

Watching Reagan and Dash find a relationship with each other is a joy to behold. They have their snarky moments, their sigh-worthy moments, the moments of utter frustration with each other. That's life and Ms. Hayes nails it with aplomb. Reagan's relationship with the women in the bible group is wonderfully written. Skeptical at best when it comes to God and the women show her that allowing God in her life will help her in the long run with relationships, school and even in the romance department. No one is perfect and Ms. Hayes shows us that in the secondary characters.

This is NOT a preachy book by any means. Its a heartful journey of two people that need that little push in their life to fulfill their wants and desires out of life.

I highly recommend it.

I haven’t felt so capture by a book in such a long time. That aching feeling when you have to stop reading and try to have a productive day even though your thoughts are all about when you’ll be able to read again.

"Maybe it's you" was just so compelling.
First of all, it wasn’t what I thought it would be whatsoever. It was so much deeper, so much better, so much more.
This book is about Love and the fact that -We love because He first loved us- (1 John 4:19). But most of all, it's about Faith and that personal journey that each and everyone of us has to deal with to find inner peace. Because without that peace, we can't really love one another.

Needless to say, if you’re not Christian, you won’t probably get or appreciate the intrinsic beauty of "Maybe it's you". As a believer, I found Dash sometimes a little too much bigot (shoving Raegan into his world and expecting she would convert right away, accepting and sharing his belief), so I can't even imagine what it would be for a non-believer to read.

At the end of the day, I really liked the story and how it developed throughout the book, and I'd love to read more about the second characters (like Reagan's roommates or Dash's bandmates) and their own stories.

Thank you for the book to review Netgalley! The characters were likeable and the story was easy to read. I like that it showed christians as they really are, sinners and real people who make mistakes! I'd recommend it to a young adult audience.

Maybe It's You was an interesting book and not what I was expecting. While the story-line was exactly as the synopsis described, how the story was written was the surprise.

I didn't like Reagan at the start of the story. In fact, after I read the first couple of chapters, I went back to read the synopsis again, afraid that I had agreed to read a book for a tour that wasn't the clean story I had thought it was... Then I saw that, yes, this is New Adult Christian fiction and I even saw a review by an author I respect, Sarah Monzon. Whew! Okay to continue.

Edgy is a good description for this story. Dash had been quite a mess before the story opens. He was into drugs, women, and was on the road to destruction. He came to his senses and was now following the Lord. Reagan was almost as unchurched as you can get. She had made some bad choices and thus the first two chapters which had me squirming.

The book deals a lot with the temptations that Dash and Reagan face as they walk the road following the Lord, primarily related to their attraction to one another. It is frank in its portrayal and may cause the reader some uncomfortable moments.

There was a situation where Dash inadvertently corned Reagan into accepting an invitation to a Bible study. The way that he tried to redeem himself and to help her not walk in totally ignorant of the Bible was pretty cute, and even a little clever. I wonder if the author has ever employed this method. . .

I appreciated getting a fresh perspective on what it is like to be unfamiliar with much of anything related to the Bible or Christianity and then be thrust into the world of the "churched".

Readers who enjoy stories a little rawer than what I typically read may enjoy this more than I did - it was good but not a good fit for me. The story is clean yet is very open about lust and drunkenness, more about the attempt to make right choices than why they are bad choices.

I would not recommend it for a younger audience.

Reagan was walking across Addison State University campus. There wa sa predawn sky and Reagan was walking the walk of shame. Reagan had drank a of of shots the night before than her roommates and best friends let her leave the bar with her worst nightmare and freshman mistake . Than again her junior mistake. She finally got to her apartment complex and headed to her apartment when she seen Dash. He was the last person Reagan wanted to see feeling her worst. A wave of nausea plummeted her shaky stomach , dash asked if she was alright. Than he added get Pedialyte and it would help her headache. Reagan had never disliked Dash more. When home Layla- one of her roommates and best friends- told Shelby as well as herself had tried to drag her out of the bar but reagan refused. Reagan thought of how she had slipped out of a naked Chad Fergusons bed this morning. Chad had taken her virginity in her freshman year and after that acted like he didn’t even know her. Reagan hated not knowing what to do or how to act after spending her whole life walking on eggshells around her volatile mother and she men who waltzed in and out of their lives as her mother's boyfriends. Reagan had a plan for her life, she stuck to the plan and everything she did was according to the plan other than last night. Dash thought about all the times he had turn to music to start over as he turned his guitar. Dash had a newly formed band called Evergreen. Dash had spent most of the last year watching Reagan and forming an image of her in his mind. Dash knew how to handle cynical reagan with her mocking glances and whispered insults but nice Regan? Smiling Reagan? Eager for another turn on his motorcycle Reagan? That Reagan could cri[[le dash. She had saids she would go to a gig with dash as a thank you for the times he had helped her. He had never felt this way about any other girl- integral, challenged, and turned on by her brain as well as her outrageous curves. Dash took Reagan to church with him as that was where his gig was at but he didn’t tell her first and she was angry. Than had had to leave her as he prepared the band for the service. Reagan is cornered in to going to bible study to top everything else off at Professore mark adkins house with his wife Connie. Reagan was Professor Adkins Research Assistant. Both the Professor and his wife go to the same church as Dash. Reagan found herself going back to church the next week.
I loved this book. I felt it was a great book based a lot on the characters faith or lack of. I felt bad when Dash felt he couldn’t be with Reagan as she didn’t have faith. He didn’t know how Reagan had changed and found God. Although for liking Reagan so much he sure dated a lot once his year was up which hurt Reagan. I was happy to see reagan was worried about Dash as he played his last gig with his old band. How she tried to keep an eye on him to make sure he was ok. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend it.

Honestly, it has been a while since I read any Christian fiction, and I didn't realize that's what this book was, so I was skeptical, to say the least. I appreciated the message of inclusivity and featuring nonjudgemental Christians without compromising the heart of faith. Regan's journey independent of her budding romance with Dash was heartfelt and honest, and her struggles to accept and understand the impossible story of the Bible was heartwarming and kind. Regan and Dash's romance was definitely a draw throughout this story, but I would've loved more backstory to really understand Dash and Reagan. There were a number of parts with vague references to their past without explaining the difference in them between then and now.

This is not your grandma’s (or even your mother’s Christian fiction). Maybe It’s You is sometimes gritty but true to its characters. Reagan and Dash attend a liberal school and are part of that culture.
I appreciated that Dash is fairly new in his faith and Reagan spends most of the book searching for truth with her academic brain. But more so, I appreciated that Christy Hayes did not steer away from true-to-life situations for her characters.

Be warned, this book has alcohol, drugs, and talk of attraction and sex—all real challenges for Christian college students. It also has the redemption message, tons of character growth, and strengthening relationships. And a little bit of romance too!

While some sections of the book could have been cut a little shorter, I applaud Hayes for giving readers truth for today and not diluting it.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.