DISCLAIMER: <i>I was provided a free advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher</i>

This story was cute!

Going into a self published novel, I didn't have high expectations, and given that I would say I was pleasantly surprised.

100 Days of Sunlight tells the story of a girl named Tessa who has temporarily lost her eyesight after a car accident caused her some brain damage. Her sight is supposed to return around 100 days. Before she lost her sight, she ran a poetry blog in her free time and it was her passion. After losing her sight, she is no longer able to do what she loved, so her grandparents (who she lives with) attempt to help and get her someone to write the poetry she says. Tessa decides not to follow through with the idea, but the ad still ends up in the hands of Weston. Weston is an amputee who lost his legs in an accident, but Tessa doesn't know that. When he comes to help her, he is determined to pull her out of the metaphorical darkness, all the while keeping the fact he doesn't have legs a secret.

This story definitely developed in writing style after a while. The beginning was very repetitive as a way to bring emphasis but it felt just a tad underdeveloped and unnecessary. I really enjoyed the family dynamic presented in this book. Tessa, being raised by her grandparents, and Weston, having a TON of younger brothers, I enjoyed seeing this family connection and bond they each had respectively. I also enjoyed the friendship dynamics we had at times and I wish there was more.

The love story presented felt very hate-to-lovers wannabe, if that makes sense. Then, once we liked each other it was like BOOM insta-love. I think this is written for a younger audience than myself, which is fair.

Overall, the book was good and I enjoyed it, just a it slow (or cringey) at parts and I found myself wanting more. For a self-published book and debut, I did enjoy it, though and thought it was well done.

Oh, how my heart swells! The clue is in the title and Abbie Emmon's debut novel 100 Days of Sunlight is both pure and uplifting and the perfect antidote for today's trying times. It has poetry, sunlight and victory over adversity, a character-driven plot and a story so beautiful that it makes the heart soar. Recommended for fans of Wonder, this is the young adult breakout hit of the summer and I'm prepared to stand on rooftops singing its praises.

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Dickinson can no longer see. She was involved in a car accident which blessedly took no lives but Tessa has lost her eyesight as a consequence. Her doctors are optimistic that her sight might return but the truth is that nobody knows. Keen to establish a link to Tessa's former life, her grandparents take out an advertisement for a typist to enable Tessa to continue writing and updating her poetry blog.

The problem is that they don't consult Tessa and she certainly does not approve, forcing them to cancel the ad. Still, Weston Ludovico turns up on Tessa's doorstep, unwanted and optimistic to a fault. Tessa takes an instant disliking to him but she cannot see the one thing Weston asks to be kept secret from her. Weston has a disability and unlike Tessa, his condition is certainly not temporary.

As we delve deep into Weston's backstory and explore Tessa's reaction to the world around her, we're gifted with surprisingly complex characters and intense character development. Despite this depth, the novel remains light (yes, like sunlight) and was an absolute joy to read. I really didn't want to put it down and spent a couple of late nights reading into the early hours.

100 Days of Sunlight is one of those books that makes you fall in love with life again and it inspires a desire to truly live one's best life. It is absolute, pure, sunny magic. I very much hope that Abbie Emmons has more books planned for the very near future.

I give 100 Days of Sunlight a superb five out of five stars and recommend to absolutely everyone. I'd especially recommend to those seeking superior young adult fiction with good character development as well as younger teens seeking clean YA fiction with no sexual content.

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Absolute perfection. It made my heart pang, my eyes water and gave me all the emotions. Such a creative and beautifully wrote book, the perfect summer read.

You guys this book is beautiful sunshiny goodness that every whole hearted reader needs to take a bite out of!!

Like seriously you guys my heart is a puddle of mush right now. Like it is currently melted into a puddle on the floor. Thank you Abbie Emmons for making me cry!!

I mean guys there was so many things to love about this book. The characters. Their struggles. The inspiration of it all just filled my heart and made me smile with tears in my eyes.

First off I loved the two main characters and each of their POVs. Weston is an adorable little charmer whose energy is literally infectious and you cannot stop yourself from falling in love with his adorableness. He’s also an amputee. Meaning he lost both his legs in an accident when he was a kid. This of course sparks his original fascination with Tessa- a girl who in fact cannot see that he is a boy with no legs because she is blind....this of course leads to a very intrigued me and omg this story is just so amazing. It addresses deep issues but does not lose it light heartedness and for that I love it!

Tessa is also amazing. She is a sixteen year old poet who runs her own blog and therefore know the ins and outs of making online friends and expressing her feelings through writing. Since the accident and her blindness she can no longer write on her own and is in need of someone to assist her (aka be her typist) but she’s angry. She’s so angry in fact that when Weston comes into her life she takes it all out on him. She’s stubborn, driven, shy and at times a little scared and anti social (but like what sixteen year old girl isn’t at times??) but so so strong.

Thats one thing these two have in common how strong they both are!! And AHHH OMG THE ROMANCE THAT DEVELOPS IS SO SOFT AND FLOWERY ITS LIKE FALLING INTO A SOFT MEDOW OF DAISYS!! The way Weston never gives up on her and Tessa never gives up on him *queue the endless swooning*

Also Westons endless snarkyness and protectiveness is such a deadly combination I was like THIS BOY YALL HE IS GOLDEN! GOLDEN!!

I also really adored Weston and Rudy’s friendship. The two of them together throughout the years truly encompasses what real friendship is all about. I loved them. Their banter and fights always put a smile on my face, Abbie Emmons really nailed it with those two characters.

I also loved Tessa’s Grandparents and how much they nurtured both Tessa throughout her recovery and accepted Weston as if he was another member of the family as well. The only thing I didn’t love about this book was that I thought there was almost a tad too many flashback scenes when it came to Weston and his story (but this may be just a personal preference thing) and also the ending felt just a tad abrupt?? I could have used a few more pages or a little more discussion between both Tessa and Weston but I still very much loved it!

This book is so very good you guys. I truly have not read a book like it and I thought it was about so much inner love and overcoming obstacles but in the cutest, most flowery way of all! Such an inspiration, great young love, and overall a really really enjoyable read! I read this almost all in one day haha!

Oh my, this book gave me all of the feels.

Tessa is a 16-year old blogger that is hit by a drunk driver and suffers a brain contusion, causing her to temporarily lose her sight. As she falls into a state of despair, her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper for someone to come transcribe her poetry, but Tessa begs them to take remove it prior to going to press. Cue Weston, the 16-year old son of the owner of the local newspaper. As a double-amputee, he feels that people treat him different due to his disability, and he's seeking normalcy, all while hoping to help Tessa along the way.

Let me tell you, Weston IS sunshine. The story alternates between his perspective and Tessa's, and he shares his story from the day of his accident. He is such a brave, strong soul, and I found myself cheering for his triumphs throughout the book. This, combined with the sweet romance between him and Tessa, is the reason that I gave '100 Days of Sunlight' five stars.

I feel that the target audience (young adult) is extremely appropriate, and I would have no qualms recommending this to someone with a preteen or teen. That being said, the themes of overcoming obstacles, not letting your problems define you, and healing make it a novel that transcends generations, and can be enjoyed by older readers as well. This book is a feel-good read that I couldn't put down. I'm sure that it's not the last we'll be reading by Abbie Emmons.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Cute and feel good, but I felt like I’d read so many of these tropes before. This was fun and quick but not particularly memorable.

Tessa loses her vision after hitting her head in a car accident. The doctors think her sight will come back. But she is wallowing in her misery. Depressed. Feeling no purpose. How is she suppose to blog or write her poetry? Weston comes into her life to write her thoughts for her. He has suffered his own loses. After all, he has no legs due to his own mistakes. Tessa initially rejects his help but with time she learns a lot from Weston.

This is a very cute, heartfelt young adult book about overcoming loss and healing. Well written. In fact, I'm impressed that this is the authors first book. Interesting storyline showing a lot of personal growth from both characters. Uplifting and sweet. Its a very easy read. Perfect for the younger teens as its pretty clean.

**Advanced copy obtained from Abbie Emmons via Netgalley**

Really fun YA Romance with a deeper examination on disabilities- both permanent and temporary. Great representation of the handicap community. I found Weston's story really compelling, and I wanted to keep reading for more! Definitely worth recommending to teens who like romance.

100 days is approximately the amount of time that Tessa will be without her eyesight. After a traumatic car accident, Tessa Dickinson temporarily loses her vision. Her grandparents attempt to place an ad in the local paper for a typist so Tessa can continue her blogging and keep her connected to the outside world but the person who shows up turns in to so much more. Weston Ludovico has a stunning smile, endless optimism and no legs. The two form an important friendship and show one another that not only does a disability not define you but that even at your lowest point, there is still love, hope and sunlight to hold on to.

I really enjoyed the overall premise and story of the book. There were times that I absolutely felt myself rolling my eyes at all of the teenage feelings but then I reminded myself that this IS a YA book and I was able to quickly move on. At the times the story felt a bit disjointed and I wanted the connections of the story between Tessa's blindness and her friendship with Weston and his own story of losing his legs and overcoming those obstacles to flow together a bit better. The story and information was all there but I wasn't impressed with the way they were joined together to make the story feel cohesive. The characters were also a bit underdeveloped and I would have loved to know more about Tessa pre-blindness.

I would definitely recommend this book to teen girls that love warm and fuzzy stories. I do love that it touched on teens with disabilities and instead of seeing them from an outside observer perspective, you were put right there in their thoughts and feelings. 100 Days of Sunlight was an unexpected but enjoyable read!

I feel like this was a good and solid debut novel. I loved reading about Weston, I totally adored his personality. The flashbacks showing us what happened to him and his great strength were what I appreciated the most. I also really liked his friendship with Rudy.
I must admit that I wasn’t Tessa’s biggest fan, at times I really found her annoying. But it was very nice to see her relationship with her grandparents and how deeply they care for her.
One thing I did not appreciate was how the two characters came to meet each other. I don’t like it when people look up other people’s home address and show up at their house, it’s just not my thing. Can characters please not do that? Other than that it was quite an enjoyable read.

A wonderful read. It is a book about love and it’s strength it is also a short book therefore a quick read. Thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book had a lot of great qualities, unfortunately I feel like this book just wasn’t for me. It reminded me almost instantly of “The Fault in our Stars” which I loved. I found the plot was intriguing and I liked the dynamic between Weston and Tessa. I tried but unfortunately I was unable to finish it. I feel like this book is perfect for a young adult audience. In the end it just wasn’t for me but I know so many teens are going to fall head over heels for this book!

I'll admit I judged this book by its cover. And what a beautiful cover it is. It fits with the inspirational, uplifting story it protects. I think a lot of people will like this book, but it wasn't necessarily for me.

Let's get into the characters. Weston is definitely the star of this book. Despite getting dealt some pretty tough cards, Weston is probably the most optimistic person in the world. Luckily it's balanced out by some snark, self-deprecation, and humor or else I would really hate him. Tessa, however, I wasn't so enamored with. I struggled to relate to her and found her attitude pretty infuriating. Realistically, I'm sure I'd act similarly if I suddenly went blind, but it just wasn't fun to read. For the majority of the book, she acted quite childish.

The storyline moved quickly which I appreciated, and I enjoyed the differences in time and perspective because if it had been just Tessa all day long this would have been a boring book. I'm seeing a lot of complaints in other reviews regarding swearing and teen romance and I'm a bit baffled. I didn't realize this book was considered Christian (Christian faith is mentioned peripherally) and I honestly don't recall a single swear even though I just finished the book. I guess I'm used to much more explicit books! I actually thought the romance was lacking and the ending really threw me for a loop. I'm an epilogue, fully fleshed out HEA girl at heart and this provided none of that.

All in all this book was a sweet, uplifting read. I think it's targeted audience will love it. I just wasn't that audience!

I was able to read this book early thanks to #NetGalley

This was a quick little read, that was quite enjoyable. Tessa Dickinson was a bit bratty and harsh, but it's understandable. I think this book will be good for YA readers at the HS I work at.
#ARC

I love all of the stories being told in some of the young adult novels I have read recently. It is so important for teenagers to read novels about characters who are like them. This novel is about two teenagers who are dealing with disability. Tessa has lost her eyesight after a car accident. The doctors hope it is temporary, but Tessa isn't sure, and in the beginning of the novel, she is very depressed and angry, focusing on all she has lost, even if it is just for a short time. She no longer wants to write poems and update her blog, which before was very important to her.

Her grandparents, who are raising her, decide to put an ad in the paper to hire a teenage girl to transcribe her poems for her. Tessa is very angry about this plan, and insists they do not run the ad. They abide by her wishes, but not before Wesson, the teenage son of the editor of the paper, hears about the ad. He decides to go and insist Tessa accept his services, because he feels he can help her.

Wesson has no legs and walks on prosthetics. He lost them in a careless and freak accident. We hear his story interspersed with the present, and his own struggles are just as poignant as the relationship that develops between Tessa and Wesson. Though he does help her, she also awakens something new in him, a value in himself.

Wesson is a terrific character, and I found myself smiling at the end of this novel.

Review publishing 2nd August 2019.

The choice to request this book for review was deeply personal to me. As you may or may not know, a couple of years ago my husband suffered a catastrophic injury at work and broke his back. After two months in hospital, he came home in a wheelchair. I myself am also suffering from a regular and gradual degradation of my vision, so I identified quite strongly in this novel about a temporarily blind girl and the amputee that teaches her life doesn’t really suck, you know.

I don’t regret an instant reading this book. The relationship between Tessa and Weston, which does hit you quite hard over the head of ‘destined to fall in love’ even though Tessa can’t stand Wes and his annoying optimism at first, does seem to me to be one of those instances when you toss any sexually attracted teens together and watch them fall in love (thanks Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series), but apart from that, this novel was so sweet and innocent and wholesome that I can barely even deal with it.

So Tessa was in a car accident where she hit her head so hard that part of her brain swelled and has caused temporary blindness that will last approximately 3 months. Tessa is homeschooled, and a writer (with an apparent massive and loyal following on her poetry blog and Instagram), and her grandparents, thinking they know what is best for her, try to put an ad in a local newspaper asking for a personal assistant to come and do some typing so she can get back to writing again.

Look, I get it. I’m a blogger, too. I’d be really frustrated if I wanted to blog but couldn’t. But if someone tried to hire me a personal assistant without asking, to force me to write again, when maybe I didn’t feel like writing because I dunno, I could be depressed or whatever on account of losing my sight, I’d be really pissed, too. I get it.

Anyway, Weston overhears, after Tessa finds out the plan, throws a tantrum, and gets her nosy, over-protective grandparents to butt out of her business by cancelling the ad, because his dad is the paper editor. Weston takes it upon himself to force optimism into this girl’s life because he is a double amputee who lost his legs a few years ago, but he managed to overcome that because he didn’t suffer any kind of mental illness as a result of his life-changing disability.

If my tone is coming off as kind of pissed, yes, this part of the novel annoyed me. No one trusts Tessa to know what is best for her. She’s just some dumb teen girl who needs a handsome boy (but she doesn’t know it because she can’t see!) to come in and change her world like some kind of manic pixie dream boy.

I think the thing that annoys me the most is that everyone else knew what was good for Tessa but in the end she agreed with them! I absolutely hate it when other people push their will on characters, especially vulnerable characters, and it really annoys me when men boss women around like they’re helpless ducklings. Not only did Wes do this to his first kind of almost girlfriend, but he did just this to Tessa, completely ignored her wishes, and infuriatingly continued to force her to do things she didn’t want to do… until she admitted that she did. I don’t know who I’m more annoyed at: Weston, for being a bossy bitch; Tessa, for later admitting that other people do know what’s best for her; or her grandparents, who initiated the whole damn exercise.

OK, now I’m going to talk about some good things. I loved Tessa’s fierce online girl gang and I wish they had more page time. Similarly, I wish we’d seen more of Weston’s brothers, who seemed like a wicked little gang. Weston’s friendship with his best friend was, although unconventional, very supportive and complicated. I was completely sucked in to this book as I was reading it, because the language used flowed very well, and the use of flashbacks was perfectly timed to present the information as and when I needed it most. The focus was very much on the romantic with next to no sexual suggestions, so it is also a very ‘clean’ novel. Tessa’s grandfather is a preacher, so maybe this had something to do with it. The whole thing felt very innocent and sweet. Even Weston’s insults to his best friend, although politically incorrect, are kind of innocent.

The book was very well edited and the formatting was really gorgeous for an ARC. I don’t read many self-published novels these days, but I could just tell that this book was a labour of love and that plenty of time and effort had gone on not only the plot structure, the characterisation of the two leads, and the story, but the presentation itself. I absolutely loved the way this book was split into five parts all based on the five senses, and how that related back to the plot. The whole experience of reading it was very enjoyable.

Just when I feel like I'm ready to completely give up YA fiction, a book like 100 Days of Sunlight comes along to remind me of the beauty of the genre. After a car accident, Tessa is left blind, though her doctors think its only temporary. Into her life strolls Weston, a double amputee determined to lift Tessa out of her depression and help her see the joy in life. The catch, he won't let anyone tell Tessa that has has lost his legs. A brilliantly sweet and endearing story that I read in one sitting, bawling my eyes out at times. For the story is really about Weston - not only how he lost his legs and how he put his life back together but also about his eternal optimism and inner fears. A poignant read, this darling love story is perfect for teens and adults.

This is a super cute read. I really loved the overall idea of it, but the book didn’t end up clicking with me. I wanted to give a YA book a chance because I loved them when I was younger, but I am not the intended audience for this book anymore. That being said, I think it would be great for a 14-16 year old girl who enjoys cutesy books.

The character development of Weston was a great touch, and I liked being able to know what his life was like prior to meeting Tessa. I wish that Tessa had the same development. Even though she had her own chapters, I feel like they were redundant and didn’t add much to her character development. I wanted to know more about her.

The flow of the plot was slow and became boring at some parts. I did enjoy how to book was broken up into different sections based on the difference senses that Tessa still could use during her 100 days. That was adorable.

100 Days of Sunlight

Thank you to Net Galley for the E-Arc!!
I keep dancing around on the rating for this. I would go between liking some chapters and their development and annoyance at everyone. It was cute, but it could have developed a lot slower.

What I liked:

-This book has some seriously cute moments. It’s cliché a times, but I overlooked a lot of it. The premise and a lot of small moments in the book are interesting and cute.


What I didn’t like:

-All the characters in this book treat Tessa like a little girl who can’t make her own decisions. People are constantly telling her that they know what is best for her better than she does (in those exact words, too.) Even Weston, who is her age. I feel like, especially at the beginning, they treat her like a petulant 7 year old.
Granted, Tessa does seem to act a little too young for sixteen, imo (but so does Weston). She seems extremely sheltered. (Her grandfather is a pastor, so maybe she was.)

Awkward/dated dialogue
-Pansyass was used too often. It sounds like something an 80 year old man would say. Teenage boys have a reputation for being crass. This book tried to tell me that Weston was crass, but he’s pretty tame.
-writing
poetry
like
t h i s
That is something that might have been bigger around like 2012 tumblr (if my internet memory serves me correctly.) A lot of modern poetry has it, and it’s such a meme on nowadays. The seriousness came off as dated.

-No one ever thinks about speech to text. It’s not mentioned at all. That would be one of my first thoughts. Her grandparents not thinking of it was in character. They put out a newspaper ad, so I don’t think they’re internet savvy. But neither Tessa nor her online friends nor Weston ever think of it.

-The book tries to be self aware about language but makes some fumbles. Tessa says she found something, then thinks that “find” is a weird word to use when you can’t see. No it’s not? Find just means to discover/recognize, it’s not tied to sight at all.

-Another issue is that this book jumps to ideas without doing the proper build up, especially with Weston’s characterization. He has some complex about being seen weak/strong that isn’t really unpacked until near the end, and even then, not enough. He also doesn’t have a good enough reason for wanted to help Tessa in the first place. And the adults around him don’t question him about why. It raises some red flags.


All in all, the target audience for this is probably American Christian teen girls who like a cleaner book. (Though many of the reviews take a star off for the language, it seems as though most of these reviewers are of the Xtian variety. I am not. The language was awkward to me because it was too clean for the teenagers I knew/know.)

To each their own, I guess. I found out about this book from the author’s youtube channel and requested an arc. From her videos, I had NO IDEA that this book would be so religious.

Loved this so much! So so good. The writing, the story, the characters. Just *heart eye emoji*
Love these sweet contemporary romance stories.
Especially ones that encourage you to overcome your fear and be brave. Definitely recommend if you love sweet, summer romances