The premise of this one piqued my interest. I can't resist a good friends to lover, and I was even more excited by the ex-best friends to lovers setup. This was an enjoyable fast read, and I thought the characters had good chemistry, but overall I wasn't satisfied with the wrap up to their story.

This was a fun read. I thought that the main characters, Quinn and Kennedy, were interesting and relatable. I found it refreshing how not just teenage sexuality, but teenage SEX itself, was normalized in the story — even while some of the characters struggled to come to terms with their sexual identities, sex itself was never treated pathologically or in an overly moralizing way.

All the Worlds Between Us tells the story of Quinn, a high school swim prodigy. She's always liked her former best friend Kennedy. And thus, the book ends. No, really. I had high hopes for the book, but it took me a long time to get into, and an even longer time to finish. There wasn't much of a plot point, other than two girls, one out and one not who like each other and just can't seem to get the timing right. It sounds interesting, but it just didn't work at all. There was no real 'event' here. I liked the writing style, but I just think the story was sorely lacking plot. 2.5*

I received a copy of All the Worlds Between Us from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

All the Worlds Between Us is absolutely riveting young adult romance.

Quinn's a swimmer with Olympic aspirations, but she suffers this isn't an easy thing, as instead it just complicated her life. Her closeted ex best friend, Kennedy, is also causing her grief.

It's a story of fear, denial, and confusion. A tale of hurt and anger.
My heart was breaking for Quinn.

This's a story of going from shame to acceptance and pride of who one is.

It has all the typical drama and typical characters you'd find in high school. It's a tough, yet wonderful journey and transformation. The writing is divine, full of descriptions without ever coming across as too wordy.

It's a complicated tale involving so much pain, fear,betrayal and humiliation.

All The Worlds Between Us is a terrific tale of taking what you want. I'm thrilled to have found this book.

Seventeen-year-old Quinn Hughes is in training for the swimming world championships, and can't afford any distractions. So it's unfortunate that she's still trying to cope with not making the Olympic team , her relationship with her twin brother is crumbling, and then the girl who used to be Quinn's best friend until they kissed pops back into her life.If Quinn wants to win that medal, she needs to find a way to deal with her life - or go under.

This was a well written YA read with a queer slant. The author did a really nice job of balancing the sporting element (which I'm not that interested in) with the romance element (which I'm absolutely interested in) which meant that I never got bored even though a large portion of the book dealt with swim practice/training, which could have been dull in less capable hands. I also liked the realism employed by the author, and would definitely read more from this writer.

NOTE: I was provided a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

It's so nice to be reading a YA f/f contemporary rom-com again. I'm always up for fun books about cute girlfriends, and All the Worlds Between Us was certainly that: a super cute ex-friends to lovers book about a swimming champion and her ex-best-friend turned girlfriend.

Our protagonist is Quinn, a prodigy swimmer who nearly qualified for the Olympic championships. She's incredibly driven and determined, which one does have to be if you come that close to the Olympics, but she's also your typical seventeen-year-old girl with a crush and an annoying twin brother who sometimes has no idea what she's doing. I also really liked Kennedy, who was honestly so, so adorable. I could really relate to her as well.

What I liked about this is that neither Quinn nor Kennedy had violent homophobia in their backstories. Yeah, there's some light homophobic comments, but it wasn't pervasive or over-the-top, and everyone is so accepting of Quinn and Kennedy. I'm always looking for cute, fluffy queer rom-coms, and I don't want to read about homophobia in them, and this was really great in that regard.

All the Worlds Between Us is a great rom-com and definitely recommended for anyone who's a fan of romance, especially f/f romance.

I really enjoyed this book and felt that it dealt with sexuality in a very sensitive way. I enjoyed the characters and how they developed throughout this story. Would recommend.

I'm not much of a sports featuring romance novel fan, let alone swimming as the main topic. What made me curious about the book was actually the cover. It screamed indie to me and I longed to read some great indie book again. And the writing seemed so very different from the mainstream novels there are out there, but I didn't get to fully enjoy the book as much as I hoped I would.

LGBTQIA is a huge thing in young adult novels these days. It's a huge thing in our daily life and I'm glad there's an increasement of this topic being featured in young adult and new adult novels, it's super important and shouldn't be considered as something else - it should be a given to talk about sexuality in teenage romance novels. But somehow, it's still considered special. Books concerning gay teens are still super hyped and though I'm kind of glad for it, it's for the wrong reasons. Because you still need to look at the story, at the plot, at the writing, at the characters and everything else. Just because gay teens are involved, doesn't mean the book is a masterpiece. And surely, All the Worlds Between Us was good, but it didn't fully convince me, sadly.

I'm probably taking my anger out on the author, that's not fair. I'm not even sure what I'm angry about. I can't put my finger to it. So let's point out the positive things - Quinn is anything but a clichee. She's very self-confident, but there's still some uncertainty to her character. She's still getting to know herself, even though she has experienced some relationships with girls yet. But when it comes to Kennedy, there's shyness. Probably because the two of them used to be best friends before Kennedy moved away. There's this kind of intimacy between them - apart from the sexual tension. They just know each other so well. But things have changed and Kennedy has become someone Quinn doesn't recognize anymore. That is before she finds herself crushing on her.

It was exciting to follow Kennedy's path of coming out. Quinn has been there, her friends have been there, but since Kennedy still isn't sure about her feelings, the reader gets sucked into her world more than in Quinn's, I found so, and cheers her on to come out, to just stand up to her friends and shout it out. And I think what's best is that she'd doing this for herself. Not for Quinn. That wouldn't have been the right reason. Ugh, I actually hated Quinn a bit for forcing her secret girlfriend to finally come out. Sure, she had been patient long enough, but some things she said to Kennedy just weren't fair. On the other hand, I wanted Kennedy to ditch that bitchy friend of her as well.

But what about that Liam (Quinn's brother) story? I didn't get that at all. It seemed like the author wanted to add more drama. It came out of nowhere and made no sense to me. Especially since Liam had seemed interested in Kennedy after what the reader found out. It was confusing as hell and didn't add up to the story. I would have liked to skip that part, but also, if this hadn't been involved, Quinn would have easily forgiven Kennedy and well... The book would have ended.

Again, I like how fierce all of the characters in All the Worlds Between Us were. No matter if it was Quinn or Kennedy or even just their friends who made a short appearance. I liked that. And I also really liked the ending, because it seemed so real, so true. My heart felt heavy and light at the same time. This was like a telling, not just a thought-up-story.

Anyway, the sport took up a great place in Quinn's life and in the book, too. She put that above everything else, but I liked to see things beginning to shift at a certain point in her life, because that's what teenagers do - they start questioning things, questioning intentions. So maybe all my hard words in the beginning of this review were too harsh. I didn't mean to take it out on the book or the author. But I won't delete them either, because I still long for this natural, uncomplicated LGBTQIA novel. All the Worlds Between Us was good, I'm not doubting that. I just expected something different, maybe.

Quinn is a senior in high school. But she is not your typical teenager. She has a strict training schedule outside of school because she is swimming athlete going for Olympic qualification. Kennedy is a popular senior at the same school. She has been ignoring Quinn since she arrived back in town their Sophomore year. She becomes a distraction for Quinn that could jeopardize her Olympic aspirations.

The story had a nice flow that took us through the entire final year of high school. There were plenty of angsty moments to kept me engaged. Kennedy and Quinn had a slew of friends that played parts in this story. Gabriel was my favourite. The relationship between Quinn and Kennedy was initially surprising as it is rooted with some backstory. This made it feel authentic.

I struggled with the tone of the book overall. I felt like this should be YA as it deals with high school. But there were explicit sex scenes. All the usual topics addressed: Crushes, Coming Out, Bullying, etc. The ending was... meh. I recommend to those who like to read romance, high school stories, angst, and croggling.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

All The Worlds Between Us is a young adult lesbian romance (with some quite adult sex scenes and a lot of swearing). Quinn, the narrator-protagonist, is an out lesbian world-class swimmer. Kennedy, her main love interest, used to be her best friend, but the friendship fell apart when they shared a kiss at thirteen. Now they are slowly drifting back together... or are they?

It's an interesting and well written book, and it's always good to read some queer romancing; however, I have some reservations about this novel. The level of angst and pining might be too much at times. There is quite a bit of bullying -- ostensibly not about Quinn's queerness, but with (I think) some undertones of that. There is quite a lot of panic of being outed / out on the part of Kennedy. And if you're looking for a clear happy ending -- unfortunately, you won't find it here.

SPOILER!

The part of the book I found most problematic was when Quinn and Kennedy were in a super secret relationship for a few months. I understand Kennedy's being afraid of coming out. It is difficult, and stressful. Still, Kennedy insisting on the secrecy was really unfair to Quinn, with the potential of it being abusive.

To sum up, an interesting story with some problems.

All in all not a bad read. An easy read and got straight into the story.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books inc for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I voluntarily read and reviewed and advanced copy of this book, received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have been reading a lot of YA books about lesbian romance since there are quite a few of them around lately. I'm not sure why is it, but I'm glad that I can finally enjoy a variety of reads about girls loving girls. While not my typical read, the premise of a high school romance between a hopeful olympic swimmer and her childhood best friend caught my attention from the first moment.

The pace of the book is very good. It flows seamlessly, without feeling too rushed or boring, there was a good balance of happy and dramatic moments. The character's development is also really good. The fact that the story is told from Quinn's point of view let me become engrossed on how she feels at all times, whether it is how hurt or angry by the bullying or giddy and happy around Kennedy. I also really liked Quinn's relationship with other characters, specially Gabriel. I might be wrong, but for me there was something very fraternal between them -past hook ups aside- that was missing from Quinn's relationship with her twin brother Liam. And my favourite part: being in a relationship isn't Quinn's main goal, for her, it is just something that happens along the way.

On the other hand, I felt like the bullying part was quite strange. There is this popular girl who makes fun of Quinn and belittles her every chance she gets for missing the cut to the Olympics for 3 seconds. Or that's what it seems, there is very little reason to it. And, while not necessarily bad, I would have liked to see more of the swimming aspect. For me, this was something that set this book apart from other YA books and I was kind of disappointed not to read more about Quinn's competitions.

I enjoyed this book, and if you are a YA fan, chances are you might enjoy this too.

Trigger Warnings: Forced outing. Homophobia. Underage Drinking. Consensual sex (quite descriptive for a YA read).
I personally don't like this type of romance but it was well written, with very few cookie cutter characters. Quinn is an excellent lead, and Kennedy is a great love interest who is complex enough on her own to give Quinn a run for her money. Recommended for teen romance fans of all ages.

I’m not a big fan of YA books but I wanted to give this a shot because it’s a debut and I’m always interested in discovering new authors :) for me, the more the merrier !
So i enjoyed the storyline a lot as the topics discussed are very interesting. Makes me thank god every day that I never went through a bullying phase or bullied anyone ! I also liked the sports aspect and thought it added a lot to the overall storyline..
so Quinn I connected with, but Kennedy not so much to be honest! I felt something was just off with this character..
my only issue with the book was the ending. I just needed a little bit more. Just a glimpse of the future maybe ?

I recommend this one but don’t expect fireworks!

So my rating is 3.5 but I rounded it up to 4 as this is a debut novel.
“I was provided an ARC for an honest review.”

This was kind of a boring read for me. I always get super excited to read f/f books (and I was extra excited since it’s Pride Month!), but I’m so often let down by them. I truly want to enjoy f/f books more, but the plots never pan out for me. I feel like every single book I read about a girl loving a girl ends in them breaking up because they are moving away from each other. I’m obviously exaggerating but… it really does feel that way to me. The relationships can never just be.

The characters in this were not my favorite. Quinn was definitely a bit of a badass and I loved her commitment to swimming. Main characters in LGBTQ+ are often written completely around their sexuality &/or relationship, and I’m always grateful when they are written like normal human beings. However, I didn’t like Quinn much as a whole. Something about her just didn’t sit the best with me. I felt like she had a tendency to be a bit self absorbed at times (especially when it came to her leading on her ex, ditching her friends and teammates, etc).

Kennedy was also very hard for me to like. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with waiting to come out to your friends and family until you’re ready, but that truly does not mean that you get to pretend that your girlfriend doesn’t exist and let your best friend be completely rude to her. To me, this was just a big, red, blinking sign that read, “Kennedy is not a great person”, because girlfriend or not, you should never stand by or excuse bullies.

Since we’re already on the topic, lets talk about that bullying. What the hell was that even about!? Quinn is an amazing swimmer and has gone to the Olympic trials! Yeah, she didn’t make it, but who in their right mind would think that making it to the Olympic trials makes her a failure? The mean girl in this (I can’t even remember her name because this book really hasn’t stuck with me) is always making fun of Quinn for it and no one ever stands up and says, “Hey, if that’s such a failure on her part, I’d love to see you attempt to make it that far”. I know the girl hate was centered heavily around jealously but… come on now. If I knew someone who made it to the Olympic trials, I’d applaud them endlessly.

The relationship between Quinn and Kennedy could be very cute at times, so long as they were alone and literally no one was around them. Their whole ‘we used to be best friends as kids and now we are in love with each other as young adults’ thing was sweet, I’ll admit it. There are some pretty explicit scenes in this, though nothing too bad. Everything was consensual, albeit underage (I think??? Maybe one of them was already 18, I’m not sure actually). Still, proceed with caution if that type of thing is not for you (I personally could’ve done without it in this book).

Looking back over this review, I feel like I talked very little about the plot, but this was really very character driven. The characters kind of make up most of the plot. The background characters were pretty much just that… background characters. I will say that I loved Quinn’s parents and their unconditional support of their daughter, though I would’ve definitely liked to see more of them throughout the novel.

“All the Worlds Between Us” follows the journey of two young individuals trying to seek their identities in the world. Through the story, the two girls, Quinn and Kennedy, face different trials and tribulations to eventually find each other.

The plot was meaningful and highlighted the various struggles that teenagers go through during high school. I couldn’t put my kindle down!

The ending felt like a cliffhanger and I would have preferred if there was an epilogue to show the point where Quinn and Kennedy’s lives are in the future.

All in all, I’d definitely recommend this book to others!

This book took me straight back to all of my gigantic teenage emotions and got right down to the heart of me. I'm not a swimmer and I wasn't out in high school, but I swear I was right there with Quinn as she navigated her life as a competitive athlete and a queer kid in high school. Experiencing love and betrayal and triumph through her story was bananas. Morgan Lee Miller, you ripped my heart right out with this brilliant book.

First love.

Quinn is a senior in high school. But she is not your typical teenager. She has a strict training schedule outside of school because she is swimming athlete going for Olympic qualification.

Kennedy is a popular senior at the same school. She has been ignoring Quinn since she arrived back in town their Sophomore year. She becomes a distraction for Quinn that could jeopardize her Olympic aspirations.

The story had a nice flow that took us through the entire final year of high school. There were plenty of angsty moments to kept me engaged. Kennedy and Quinn had a slew of friends that played parts in this story. Gabriel was my favorite.

The relationship between Quinn and Kennedy was initially surprising as it is rooted with some backstory. This made it feel authentic.

I struggled with was the tone of the book overall. I felt like this should be YA as it deals with high school. But there were explicit sex scenes.

All the usual topics addressed: Crushes, Coming Out, Bullying, etc.

The ending was... meh.

I recommend to those who like to read romance, high school stories, angst, and croggling.

I dont see to much FF YA books and so this one came up and I requested and fell so in love with it. I want to see more stories like this. The MCs were amazing and beautiful and just what I wanted.

I’m so glad I’m not a teenager anymore, when everything is so important, so raw, and more often than not feels like a matter of life and death. This book took me right back to that time, although in my real teenage years I didn’t have to deal with half of what Quinn has to deal with.

At 17, Quinn’s whole life is swimming. She hopes to qualify for the Olympics in Rio after failing to make in to London when she was 15 and is working her ass off to bring a medal or more from the World Championships in Russia. That should be enough to impress anyone but it doesn’t stop the high school mean girl from bullying her and no one seems to be able to stand up to her, least of all Quinn’s twin brother, Liam, who’s one of the cool kids. As if that wasn’t enough, Kennedy, Quinn’s former best friend and the first girl to ever kiss her, suddenly finds her way back into her life, after having ignored her for the better part of high school.

It’s probably the first time I read a second chance romance where the main characters are teenagers. And the way this one goes, Quinn and Kennedy might need a third chance later on.

What I like in YA novels is the rollercoaster of feelings: discovering oneself, not just one’s sexual orientation but who one is or will be, is a complex journey for most people. My favorite YA novels are the ones that make me cry one moment and feel that life is going to be good the next. This one definitely delivered on that front. I’m not a fan of the ending, but that’s on me. I always wish for the ending to be HEA or at least HFN but what I wish for is not always what fits best in a book. So while I was a bit disappointed here, this ending is completely realistic and logical.

I wish the author had gone deeper into the relationship between Quinn and Liam, but I really liked the friendship between Quinn and straight friend Gabriel and everything about Quinn’s swimming. I also like how the book deals with coming out, falling for someone who is not out, the various ways parents react to their kid coming out… I’m writing this a lot these days, but I’m so impressed with a lot of debut novels at the moment, and I’m really looking forward to what’s coming next.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.