The Other Side is a very cute book that is easy to follow with lots of twists and turns. I thought that I was going to see more of a rivalry in the book, but was pleasantly surprised by how the story focused on healing. I very much enjoyed the book and would read it again. If you're looking for a nice fluffy book, I suggest this one.

i found that the romance between sadie and eric was adorable — the “will they/won’t they” was pretty intriguing, especially since we know sadie is trying to recover from her recent break-up. 

overall, though, there weren’t any conflicts or “drama” present throughout. i left the book with a lot of questions, such as why did paul break up with sadie like that? we don’t ever get any flashbacks with how paul was with sadie but it’s implied that they were actually quite cute, even though he was actually a jerk. i guess i’m just wondering how he even stayed with her for 3 whole years if he didn’t ever really like her to begin with? even though i hated paul, i think this would’ve been a great story where we get some insight into sadie’s relationship with him so the reader isn’t in the dark and we just have to blindly hate this guy (which, don’t get me wrong, i totally do — he’s A JERK). but, context is always nice. 

i also thought there was going to be more interactions between eric’s dad and sadie, because nothing says “forbidden love” like going head-to-head with your crush’s father!! i think it would’ve been interesting to have that dynamic to add another layer to eric and sadie’s romance. they flirt over text and hang out once and suddenly they’re in love, which was a little “insta-lovey,” but if i’m being honest, that first time when eric gave her the coffee and pastry, i, too fell in love with him. 

all in all, this was a sweet and easy read for younger teens looking for a ya contemporary!

Sadie has just graduated high school and is working for the summer at Gigi's Dairy Bar. Sadie and Josh have been together a long time 3 whole years when he just drops her without a care in the world. What was suppose to be Sadie's greatest summer yet might not be. Until she meets Eric a new guy in town, who seems kind, smart and genuine. The only problem his dad wants to tear down a local house and build a big fancy ice cream shop which will probably but Gigi's out of business. What will Sadie do? Will her summer turn out to be the best ever after all?

I loved Sadie, she was your typical teenage girl going through her first break up, first heart break and she just seemed kind, and genuine. The book made me feel like I was there with Sadie, feeling how she felt. It was a light, easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The book was very descriptive, well written and I would read the authors work again. 


This book was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Ohhhhh my applesauce!!! I have not had the opportunity to have some leisure reading in so long but I am so grateful to have found this story! I am a total sucker for romances. 

Can I just say that I adored Sadie. She was SUCH a genuine character; the emotional rollercoaster she went through with her breakup, a new boy entering the picture, and just seeing herself grow throughout the story made her so relatable.

It was great to see Sadie grow. She didn't realize she needed to work on herself while she was already doing so. Sadie reminds me of my teenage self when it came to not voicing things when I should have. It was wonderful to see Sadie want to keep a little part of her hometown and it added immensely to her character growth.

Aside from Sadie and Eric, I absolutely adored Sophia. She was sich a little princess. All the other characters were lovable too. Except Paul. I cannot tell you how much I whoo-hooed with that Slushie Shot Sadie got! 

I do have to say (because I'm a Sucker for Love) that the entire time I was rooting for Sadie and Eric (Seric? Erdie?) but the progression between them was just right. It didn't feel forced and was at its own pace. It was the sweetest flavor of ice cream Gigi's probably would have sold. 

This story is officially one of my favorites and am DEFINITELY going to have to purchase a hardcopy for my small library.

· “It’s okay to be alone, to not be with someone. What I really should be scared of is being with the wrong person.” ·

This book has the cutest cover possible and the plot line sounded so great that I didn’t think twice before requesting and ARC. And even thouhgh it was a very sweet read, at times I found it hard to relate to Saddie or to be on her shoes (entirely because of my personality). That is until the very end which, I must add, was very badass and made me very proud.

But let’s take a few steps back. After being dumped by the jerk (I’m sorry, but there’s just no better word for guys like Paul) she dated for the past three years, Sadie’s obviously feeling anger, vulnerable, and scared of letting anyone new close. But then, she meets Eric, the sweetest boy ever and her heart lets her know it’s still pretty much alive and willing to love someone like him. 

Only . . . Eric turns to be the son of the man who’s working to tear down an historical building in town to open up another ice-cream shop—one that’ll no doubt leave her beloved Gigi’s out of business. So now Sadie’s got an important decition to make—save the building and Gigi’s or take a chance on Eric. 

Some of the things I enjoyed the most about this book were the morals of the story. After all, Sadie’s forced to look back on her relationship only to find out what love isn’t supposed to do, but it’ll take a lot of courage for her to be willing to discover how amazing it can be. With the right person, of course.

I also loved the setting, Maddison’s character, the family dynamics, and the title (it makes for a great metaphor when reaching the end).

In spite of that, I couldn’t being myself to root for Sadie when she starts weighting the possibility of giving up the fight for what she believes in (a.k.a., saving the historical building) because she’s afraid to lose Eric (who, let’s face it, is very cute, but she barely knows him at that point). On that note, I also wished the story went into more depth when it came to the building and its heritage and when it came to Eric, too. But that’s just me being a sucker for history and love stories! 

All in all, I have to say that “The Other Side” is a story about (good and bad) endings and new beginnings, so you should expect to feel a bit melancholic ♥ but it also made for a very cute summer read.

(3.5) I see the merit in this, and the writing was great, but it wasn't for me. I could feel the words being written by an adult, if that makes sense; an odd thought, but I think people who like "Gilmore Girls" would be into this.

This is a nice, entertaining teen romance. The book focuses on Sadie, who, post sudden breakup and the realisation that all her plans for the future now have to change, spends the summer before college trying to save the ice cream stand she works at. The focus on this familiar and bittersweet time of life, on the brink of massive life changes, and the conflicting emotions that come with it rang very true to me. And, of course, the charming and sweet Eric comes along to further complicate things for Sadie and creates a romantic dynamic that is enjoyably readable. 

The relationship between Sadie and some of the other characters is touching, as well. Madison and Sadie have a supportive and caring friendship throughout that adds nicely to the story, and the closeness between Sadie and her considerably younger sister Sophia was cute and relatable. 

Overall, there was not a whole lot to the plot, and the story also continued on past the point where it felt like it should have been coming to an end. While this did wrap things up and allow Sadie's character to develop further than just the development of the romantic relationship, it dragged and seemed as though some of it could have been removed. 

This is a sweet, easy teen read that is enjoyable and suited for younger teens starting out reading YA romance.

An easy and light YA read! Ugh, breakups are one of the most difficult problems to face. The guilt, embarrassment, betrayal and self-doubt all wrapped into one kind of makes a person a total F***ed up. So for Sadie, I think she was able to handle it well on her age. I enjoyed the banters and the characters are somehow likable and relatable.

When I started this book, I didn’t have much expectation. I just wanted an easy YA read to finish quickly. The beginning didn’t grab me that much, even though the break up rang true to me - I remember being 18 and feeling like the world was over when a boy ended things. I felt like Sadie acted just like I remember! But the more we got to know the characters, the further I started falling for this book. I really loved Madison and Eric in particular, but to be honest, all of the characters were delightful. 

I wouldn’t have given this 5 stars if it wasn’t for the ending. It didn’t stop with the perfect kiss or when two characters finally realised their love for each other. Oh no. Sadie managed to prove her worth as a main character and DAMN I loved it. 

I received an ARC of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

The Other Side by Sarah Hocut is a sticky sweet as ice cream. Sadie the main character was pretty relatable and secondary characters were very likable. I enjoyed everything about this book especially that cover it is absolutely gorgeous and makes me want ice cream. The romance part of the book was adorable and slow paced but kind of instalove and usually that's not my thing but it was done so well. All in all I would totally read the other side again it is the perfect book about new beginnings and Indians and friendship and just finding who you are meant to be

The Other Side is a cute, sweet, perfect summer read for teens. It has an engaging story of the effects of a breakup and of finding new love with the pains and troubles that plague teens who are learning to live life.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Other Side by Sarah Hocut

Read: 04/15-04/16

“I think we should break up.”

Those six little words mean the summer after high school is not starting off the way Sadie Wills had planned. When her boyfriend of three years dumps her the day after graduation, she’s suddenly unsure of what the future will hold.

Serving up ice cream at Gigi’s Dairy Bar in downtown Abbyville proves to be a nice distraction. That is, until she finds out the old house across the street, which used to be the town’s flower shop, is being torn down to put up an ice cream franchise. Convinced the new store will put Gigi’s out of business, Sadie comes up with a plan. Her newfound summer resolution? Save that house and save Gigi’s.

Complications arise when she meets Eric and serious sparks start flying. The problem? Eric’s dad owns the company responsible for demolishing the old flower shop, and Eric is working for him over the summer. Even though she tells herself not to fall for him – he’s going to help run Gigi’s out of business after all, and besides, it’s too soon after her break-up to even think about giving her heart to someone else – Eric has other plans.

Torn by the arguments between her head and her heart, Sadie becomes very good at running over the summer. Running from her past. Running from her feelings. Running from love.

As the summer wears on, Eric slowly slips more and more into her life, and Sadie eventually realizes that she can’t run forever. But can she risk giving her heart to someone else?

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What I Liked:

This was a really sweet (no pun intended) summer romance book. I am a sucker for a good YA summer romance and this had a lot of key parts of that. I enjoyed Gigi’s Dairy Bar as a setting, and found myself easily becoming invested in the outcome. Sadie was a good main character for this story and it was nice to see her growth. However, the character that truly stood out to me the most was Eric. He was such an excellent character. I loved him.

What I Didn’t Like:

The plot went pretty quickly and ended up being a little anti-climactic. I would have liked the book to be slightly longer with more relationship building between Sadie and Eric. It was hard to be fully invested in their relationship at the end of the book because there was so little of it developed in the story. A main portion of the plot seemed to revolve around Sadie trying to save Gigi’s but then that part kind of disappeared. It would have been nicer to see Sadie put more of her time and effort into instead of just being told that she had worked really hard on it.

Overall, this was a light and fun summer romance to read that will be perfect for a day at the beach.

Rating: 6/10

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Sadie had it all planned out. She has graduated high school with her boyfriend of three years and they are going to the same college in the fall. She has her job at the best ice cream stand in the world. And she has her best friend by her side for one final, fun-filled summer.

Until her boyfriend breaks up with her and starts a new relationship less than two hours later. 

Then the empty building across from the ice cream stand suddenly has a sign announcing a new store for a national ice cream chain is coming soon.

And now she meets a boy who is the complete opposite of her ex-boyfriend, who just happens to be the son of the guy who bought the storefront and will be installing her stand's competition. 

Summer plans are now up in smoke. 

Sadie's got some new plans to make, some thinking to do, and a future that must be decided. 

Final thoughts: This is cotton candy and has some good points to it. Sadie's constant internal battles and imagined confrontations are very realistic and kind of fun to watch from the outside. However, there is a perfect ending point about 75% in that could have been it and then Hocut keeps going. Granted, she does seal up some plot points that could have been holes if they had been left alone, but it just feels out of order. That perfect ending should be at the end, not the three-quarter mark. It's not horrible, but it does come off a little odd when you think you're done and then find out the final act hasn't even started yet.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Sadie Wills has been dumped a day after graduation by her boyfriend Paul. She's naturally devastated and we see her tackle some major obstacles throughout the summer.

I really did like the romantic aspect and Sadie's slow realisation of what an influence Paul was on her. Eric seemed majorly sweet and so were the other secondary characters. It is very cliche and made me feel abit queasy at times. 

The books main character Sadie was quite hard to stomach at times and was very whiney and annoying

I wanted to love this book.  I am truly a fan of romantic YA books and I felt like this book had all the potential for a good one.  A girl is cruelly dumped by her boyfriend right after high school graduation.  She meets someone new within weeks and of course his dad is the one who threatens to put her friend and employer out of business. 
 Unfortunately the story was pretty predictable from the very beginning.  I think it will fit well in any library's YA collection, but I don't think it will stand out.

I don't read many YA books, but I absolutely loved The Other Side. Sadie and Eric's love story was so sweet and pure. 18 year old me completely  identified with Sadies internal dialogue. I grew up in a small town as well and related to everyone being aware of wha was going on in your life.

I also really loved the relationship between Sadie and Maddison. Thats exactly how best friends should be, Always supportive of each other and there to make everything better when you feel like your world is falling apart. 

I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a sweet quick read.

I really loved this book! 1st of all, as a book cover junkie, the cover is just adorable! Once you get past that and jump into the plot it's perfect. Sadie graduates from high school expecting to enjoy a killer summer but life has other plans when Paul dumps her. I really felt for her, and the author did a good job of making seem so sudden and unexpected. I mean, 3 years is a long time in high school years right?!  Sadie's broken heart get's distracted when she meets Eric, but a Romeo & Juliet theme arises when it turns out his dad is behind the company that will demolish the old house, and her place of work, Gigi's. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it's worth checking out for sure. 
Another aspect I really loved about the book is that Sadie had Madison in her corner, the friendship was really well written and it reminded me of some of my high school relationships. Overall, this was a cute, and quick read, perfect for the YA Reader. This would also make a great Netflix movie. I feel like it could be the next "To All the Boys I've Loved Before".

Main character Sadie's boyfriend of three years dumps her right after graduation, and all the sudden her summer after high school is just not going as she had planned.......and Sadie is not sure what she is going to do.  Quick, cute read about Sadie and her summer job serving up ice cream at Gigi's Dairy Bar.  All is well until an ice cream franchise is going to be put in across the street from where she spends her free time.   Sadie decides to get involved and try to stop the future franchise from becoming a reality and she meets Eric whose Dad is involved in demolishing the old house where the new place will be built.  Super cute love story follows, as sparks fly between Eric and Sadie even with a few bumps in the road of course, as expected & Sadie learns a few life lessons in the process.  Quick teen romance read!  Thanks for the ARC!!

“Remember, when things end, that just means there’s a beginning somewhere nearby.”

I read this ARC thanks to NetGalley and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Some parts were your typical teen romance and some parts really tugged at my heartstrings. This was a quick read and I'm glad I discovered it. Also, I really loved Frankie and Sophia!

Wasn’t sure about this at first, but I quickly found myself falling for it. The protagonist and love-interest were very likeable, not to mention everyone else that lived in the small town. It was a fun, short read that I would have enjoyed at any time of the year, no matter what mood I was in!
Also want to add that I LOVED the relationships between the protagonist and the older members of the town - so cute!!