Omg I enjoyed reading this book. It’s so emotional and inspirational. I’m so glad that I picked up this book. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, it really surpassed my expectations. Thank you Netgalley for giving me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Has it all. It's edgy and sad. It will tug at you heart. There are spots where you close your eyes because the reading gets rough but you don't stop. You have to know. It's outstanding. A must read. Happy reading! I

Blue Skies was not what I was expecting but in the end it was one of the most emotional and inspirational books I have read this year. The journey that Blue and Joshua have to go through to find their peace is just absolutely breath taking! It’s a journey that has its ups and it’s downs and it’s one that helps each person grow in the ways they need most!

What makes this book a little extra beautiful is that fact that you can’t help but become emotional invested in all characters! The secondary characters are just as amazing as our hero and heroine!

Ok. I’m going to start by saying I am currently feeling VERY emotionally F’d up after this. I literally got to the last page of the Author’s acknowledgments and started crying because I just wasn’t ready to let Blue and Joshua go. T.L. Martin you are now in my author Hall of Fame! Holy cow. I have not been affected by a book like this in a very long time and I need to purchase a copy for myself ASAP! This was one of those books that my mind will wander to throughout the day for a while.
I don’t even know where I want to start with this.... I expected a light romance read with your typical bad boy and good girl scenario. Let me just say, you get SOO much more. In fact that was basically forgotten after the first 10%. At first I was a *little* concerned things were going to be cheesy fast, but things really matured and it was easier to connect with the characters.
I loved Blue’s spirit. She was such a breath of fresh air. She was able to have depth and growth while sticking true to herself and her optimistic view on life. Her character traits never came off as too cheesy or forced. I loved her outlook on life, her childlike enthusiasm for new things and her serious lack of drama. She’s basically what I’ve been growing to become myself. I loved her relationship with her mother, as well. My mom is my absolute best friend and I feel a connection in my soul just like Susan and Blue.
Then there’s Joshua. At the beginning I was worried he was going to be seriously cringy, but as the story got rolling his character changed a lot. It’s nice to see the “bad boy” or outcast to be portrayed as a motivated and hard working student. I also really liked his side story lines. I knew where his big secret was going at the very beginning but honestly had forgotten about it until the reveal. This is not to say it wasn’t interesting, this book is just packed to the brim with story. I didn’t really think the fighting aspect needed to be added. It felt like it was added as a cliche and didn’t really fit the story IMO! This was not distracting in any way, though! The only other thing I was like... merp... about was the sex scenes. They were super steamy tons of chemistry and written tastefully, but they’re in high school. So there was a moment where I was like...ooo. I feel uncomfy... but everyone is 18 and I’m not going to pretend high schoolers weren’t doing this. So like, whateva.
There were multiple moments I thought were THE big moment, but then T.L. Martin would pull out another moment that ripped out my heart and stomped on it a little. Then the next page would come and she’d pick up my stomped heart and put it back together. The BIG moment, you’ll know when you read, broke my heart. My anxiety was SKY HIGH. Like my heart was actually racing and I didn’t want to read but also had to know. I knew what was coming but I felt like I was right there with Blue. All I can say is this was a viewpoint we don’t often read/hear about enough and I think T.L. Martin handled it gracefully and realistically. There’s a lot of drama in this one but the right kind of drama. I could picture this perfectly as a movie in my head as I read.
And like I said, I cried because it was over. It was THAT good. T.L. Martin I am BEGGING you to consider visiting these characters again in the future because my heart will break if I never get to read them again. I’m calling it now, this book will be BIG!