The representation in this book regarding chronic illness is so refreshing. So many times I would get tears in my eyes because I went through the exact same thing or could relate to the main character regarding her experience with chronic illness. Even if you don’t have lupus but have any form of chronic illness you will find yourself relating to what the character goes through. I also felt so seen by how the author highlights how doctors are dismissive of young people and their pain when dealing with an invisible illness. Even the doubt the you start to feel about your symptoms due to doctors dismissing you. There are so many sentences and paragraphs I highlighted in this book because of how much I deeply resonated with what the main character was feeling or going through. This is one of the most realistic fiction books regarding chronic illness that I have ever read. The authors note mentions that author has chronic illness and you can truly tell that this book is coming from someone who understands what it is like.

Underneath the Sycamore Tree is a love story of strength and purpose. The harsh reality for this teen is simple but breathtaking as she discovers the second chances she never thought she'd have in life. You'll fall in love with her fight, her compassion and her love that is everything. This book is all the feels!

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the complimentary copy.

Thank you to Bloom Books for providing a digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐ 2🌶️

I think I'm in the minority on this one because I have mixed feelings about this book. I knew going into this that it was supposed to be an emotional read (and I love books that emotionally ruin me), but I honestly felt nothing while reading this. I really wanted to love this book, but sadly this just didn't work for me.

This follows nineteen-year-old Emery whose life has been nothing but difficult and filled with tragedy. She was diagnosed with Lupus when she was thirteen, the same disease that killed her twin sister ten years ago. Emery's mother has never been the same and Emery can see that her presence is a constant reminder of her sister. In order to give her mother space to heal, Emery decides to move in with her father, who left shortly after her sister's death and started a new family. The story starts off with Emery moving into her dad's house. It's there that she meets Kaiden, her brooding and damaged step-brother. The two form a connection and Emery finds solace and begins rebuilding her broken relationships.

❌ I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters or the story. Despite the heavy topics in this, I just didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters. I'm not totally sure why, but I think it was because there was too much telling and not enough showing. It felt like we got a lot of highlights and snippets of things happening that weren't enough for me to feel fully engaged. We also got a lot recaps of things happening through Emery's inner monologue (which we get a ton of) instead of actually watching it all unfold. I also found Emery's inner monologue to be very repetitive and not all that compelling. I feel very guilty saying all this because of Emery's situation and everything she's been through, but there it is.

🆗 Kaiden (H): 3⭐. Kaiden was too hot/cold for my taste. He's obviously dealing with some anger and grief of his own, although we don't know why until later on. He was pretty mean to Emery in the beginning, which I wasn't a fan of, and then he would do these random nice things like cook her eggs. I wish we could've gotten his POV because it felt a bit insta-lovey when he finally admitted his feelings for Emery. But once he did, I thought he redeemed himself. I liked how he cared for Emery and how attuned he was to her and would call her out on her bullshit if she was trying to hide her pain.

🆗 Emery (h): 3⭐. I have a huge amount sympathy for Emery and everything she's gone through. She's had such a difficult life and I can't help but respect her for not being totally broken by her situation. By the same token, I almost found her too accepting of her situation at times. I was surprised she wasn't more angry, especially at her mother. The fact that Emery had to be the one to make the hard decision of moving away for the sake of her mother, that just didn't sit right with me and I don't know how Emery was so level-headed about it. But then I found it incredibly stupid of Emery to ignore her symptoms later in the book. Was she in denial? Maybe, but for how mature she seemed it made me angry. Overall, there were things I liked about Emery as well as some things that annoyed me.

🆗 I wasn't totally sold on the romance between Emery and Kaiden. I wouldn't say the two of them hate each other in the beginning, but there is definitely some dislike. Kaiden is very cold and standoffish towards Emery in the beginning, even acting a bit like a bully towards her. And while he sometimes acted in ways that indicated he cared, he still acted like an asshole while he did them. I felt like we never actually saw his emotions start to soften, never got to see a different side of him. Even though I knew it was coming, when Kaiden finally admits his feelings to Emery, it seemed out of left field and felt a bit insta-lovey. On a side note, the dirty talk wasn't cringey but felt a little out of place.

✅ Although the relationship between Emery and Kaiden is taboo since they are step-siblings, it never felt gross or uncomfortable. It never felt forbidden and neither of them fought their feelings because of it. Since they didn't grow up together it felt more like they were roommates. There also wasn't really any drama about others finding out or judging them about it. So if you're on the fence about this because of the step-brother relationship, I would say this is pretty light on that aspect of the story.

✅ Although I don't personally have a chronic illness, I thought (as an outsider) that the chronic illness representation seemed very well done. It was woven into every aspect of the story and I thought the author did an excellent job portraying the challenges of living with a chronic illness. There were so many moments (big and small) that made me appreciate just how difficult it would be to live with a disease like Lupus. It's every day and it's hard and it's painful, not just physically but emotionally too. After reading the Author's Note, it appears the author wrote from personal experience and I'm not surprised at all because it was so thoroughly explored in the story.

❌ I felt like the book tried to cover too many things and ended up not doing any of them really well. Of course, there's Emery's lupus and her daily struggles living with it, as well her acceptance of the fact that it could be terminal. And then there's Emery's broken relationship with her mother, her broken relationship with her father, and the sort-of bully romance with Kaiden. I didn't think there was enough time spent on any of these story lines to feel like the characters went through a believable emotional journey. In the end, everything felt a bit forced and the ending itself felt very abrupt (even though I had guessed what was coming). The epilogue also seemed out of place and a bit pointless.

Overall, this has some very heavy topics and themes that have the potential punch you in the gut. Though I appreciate story being told, sadly, I didn't find myself connecting and this just wan't for me. I'm really sad that I didn't like this as much as I wanted to.

Am I glad I read it? 🔘 I suppose
Would I recommend this book? 🔘 Maybe, to the right audience.
Would I read this book again? ❌ No
Will I read more books by this author? 🔘 Not sure.

Genre/Tropes:Women's Fiction ◾️ Chronic Illness Rep ◾️ Taboo ◾️ Step-Siblings ◾️ High School ◾️ Loner x Popular ◾️ Bully

POV: Emery's POV in first person, present tense.
Pacing: The beginning felt slow but things pick up in the latter half.
Sadness: Very High.


❗❗Content Warnings (Spoilers)❗❗
* Chronic Illness (on page)
* Terminal Illness/Death (off page - significant to story though)
* Death of a Loved One (on page - through memories)
* Grief/Depression (on page)
* Suicide (off page - not a MC)
* Taboo relationship (on page - step siblings)

⚠️Safety Info (MAJOR Spoilers)⚠️
Age Gap: No (h:19 | H:18)
Explicit Sex: Yes  [Multiple explicit scenes (~2 scenes) that are somewhat detailed. Mild dirty talk.]
Sharing: No
Virgin h/H: Virgin heroine
Cheating: No  
OW/OM Drama: Some.  [A little bit of mean girl drama from the H's ex.]
Sex with OW/OM: No
Separation: No
NonCon/DubCon: No
Sexual Abuse/Assault: No
H/h Death:Yes
Ending: Unhappy ending

[ Review time ]

Title: Underneath the Sycamore Tree
Author: B. Celeste
Genre: New Adult/Heartbreak
Publisher: Bloom Books
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Maybe we should rename this book to
~ Underneath the Big Pile of Broken Pieces of my Heart ~

Something like that is a better fit to this story I would say!😍🥹🤩🥲😭
What do you say B. Celeste??😎

I’m not gonna say more that this book was amazing, soul shattering, beautiful and raw!
AND - very, very important.

Go read it now my sweet friends❣️

(Quick input: If you ’enjoyed’ the book A Thousand Boy Kisses you are going to like this one💔)

A big thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books and of course B. Celeste for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

Anyone struggling with or who has a loved one with invisible illness needs to read this book. It beautifully portrays the every day struggles and long term effects of living with a chronic condition. The emotion and insight into the main characters struggles can be very relatable to really anyone who has dealt with loss or depression. 10/10 would recommend.

I figured this was going to be sad going in but I didn’t know just how much this would pull on my heartstrings. My sister has a chronic disease so this hit close to home. This book was tragic and beautiful at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emery’s twin sister Logan died from an autoimmune disease at a young age. Their mother struggled with the loss of her child which was made more difficult when she looked at Emery saw Logan. Years later when Emery discovers she has the same disease, she decides to go to live with the father who left the family 10 years earlier. Emery’s dad has a new wife named Cam and she has a son named Kaiden who is the same age as Emery. Kaiden is a popular jock at school and starts out being mean to Emery. They soon realize that they have both lost someone close to them and are able to share things with each other that they have kept inside. This bond is the beginning of their friendship and more. While I enjoyed the fact that Emery finally got the family she deserved and a best friend she could confide in, I hate that her mother was so selfish and couldn’t realize the fact that Emery also lost Logan and heeded her mother to be there for her. Emery felt that she couldn’t say how she really felt because of how others would react so she kept so much inside. This book was such an emotional read with many touching moments.

Thanks to @NetGalley for the e-arc copy

I normally don’t get emotional when I read but Underneath the Sycamore Tree nearly broke me. This was not an easy read, the amount of heartache shook me to the very core. Em & Kaiden, an unlikely duo. She’s just trying to live and Kaiden is just running. They find companionship in each-other and it was beautiful and oh so heartbreaking to read. I was dreading the end and the epilogue brought me to my knees sobbing.

B Celeste's words are haunting yet beautiful, raw, pure and such poetry. You know a book is perfection when it get's an emotion out of you and Underneath the Sycamore Tree did just that. With this being my first book by B Celeste I will definitely check her backlist.

Underneath the Sycamore Tree is a full length, standalone, na novel by B. Celeste. Underneath the Sycamore Tree is the first book I read by this author and oh boy, I'm so glad I gave it a try. This book is everything I love in a great read.
Underneath the Sycamore Tree tells Emery and Kaiden's story. A heart wrenching, gutting story that put me through a roller coaster of emotions. This book is unputdownable, believe me.
It's told in a mostly single pov.
Underneath the Sycamore Tree is one of these books I didn't want them to end. It's a gripping and highly emotional story, excellent written and beautifully told.
I recommend the book. 5 Stars.

This one is a tear jerker!

Em is a senior in high school and has an autoimmune disease, the same one that killed her twin sister years ago. As her mom battles depression, she moves in with her dad, his new wife and her step-brother Kaiden.

The writing made me I feel so much sympathy for Em, I could truly feel all of her emotions. And Kaiden is so troubled, but has these moments of humor and true kindness. And while this book does have a step-sibling romance (I can’t say I loved the 🌶️ scenes because of that aspect) it is so much more than that. It is about grief, healing, family, love and loss.

“We don’t always get a happily ever after no matter how hard we work for it.”

“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It just means that it can no longer control our lives.”

*Thank you to Sourcebooks, B. Celeste, and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "Underneath the Sycamore Tree" in exchange for an honest review*

So going into this, I was already aware of "Underneath the Sycamore Tree" reputation as a tear-jerker (one of my favorite genres). I really related to how Emory delt with her chronic Illiness and her passion for reading. I wasn't too convinced with the romance, and the ending felt too rushed to be emotional impactful for me.

When I first saw this book advertised for fans of Colleen Hoover I jumped right on grabbing it.

I really wished I’d read more into the synopsis and storyline. This one has a lot more spice than I’m personally comfortable with, and I really struggled with the step sibling story line.

Thank you so much Bloom Books for giving me the opportunity to read this one. It just wasn’t for me.

Heart wrenching, comedic and meaningful are some of the words I feel when trying to summarize this book.
I was gifted an arc from netgalley so thank you net galley and B. Celeste for the ability to read and review Underneath the Sycamore Tree.

We have Emory who is still grieving over the loss of her other half, her twin sister Logan due to a chronic illness. She is also coming to terms with her own diagnosis. Due to a disconnect with her mother she goes to live with her dad, stepmom and stepbrother as a way to stimulate healing for her entire family.

What she doesn’t anticipate is falling for her mysterious, brooding, and surprisingly sexy stepbrother Kaiden, who is battling his own demons as well.

These two go on their own sneaky journey of self healing and love as they attempt to complete their senior year.

I really loved Emory’s vulnerability as well as her resilience. Her being a book lover made me fall in love with her character even more.

Kaiden just seemed like a teenager with anger issues and an attitude problem, however his remorse and care for Em as she dealt with health issues showed the humanity and soft side that she knew was there from the beginning

This book had me bawling at multiple times during the plot so if you need a good cry definitely read this one.

Although it was sad at times it also had some sexy banter that kept me super entertained.
Kaiden says “the only reason I’m not going to fuck you senseless is because I’ve seen what one little touch does. Imagine what I’d do to your body if I got between those pretty little legs of yours.”

I honestly dropped my jaw for a second as I wasn’t expecting him to come on to her so strong.

Some of my favorite scenes can be read here such as him taking care of her when she’s sick, one bed, no one is allowed to mess with her as well as her being the only girl he takes to special places.

Do yourself a favor and pre order a copy of Underneath the Sycamore Tree. <3

WOW. This book took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions which I'm still recovering from. The honest descriptions of life for one with an invisible illness was gut wrenching; in regards to both Emery and Logan. The detailed history gave such a depth to the storyline and made Em's experiences, decisions and emotions very believable. The relationship development and redemption arc really drew me in and I didn't want to put the book down! A brilliant piece of writing: honest, raw and so needed. I'm so happy I came across this book!

I AM IN PAIN!!!!!

Underneath the Sycamore Tree was so good but so freaking sad and I can't even tell you the amount of tears that were cried over this book!!!

Well that was a nice sucker punch to the heart. I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't this. I needed a little reprieve from my usual reads and wow did I get it. This was such a sad, funny, intense but beautiful read and I found myself devouring it, sneaking in a chapter here and there throughout my day before delving fully into it at night. I would love to see this as a one series show like Little Fires Everywhere, or even a movie. For anyone who enjoys romance, sad, well written books, you will absolutely love this one. Five Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for this ARC.

GENERAL INFO

Year Pub/Re Pub: 1/3/23 Repub.

Book's cover: Beautiful pinks and yellows

Format: NetGalley shelf

Source: "Thank you Net Galley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own."

Page Count: 370

Book's Price: 4.49

Price I'd Value: same

Setting: Bakersfield

Genre: YA/NA

Tropes: chronic illness, loss of sibling, stepbrother romance

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: No

Epilogue Included: yes, 1-2 years later

Character(s)POV Spoken: h-Emery

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: 19 year old grieving sister’s loss, suffering debilitating illness.Moves in with Dad, his new wife, and grumpy stepbrother with a bad attitude.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Representation: Chronic illness of h

Contains Cheating: no

Contains Children: no

Flashbacks: yes. h remembering sister, how parents deal with child’s death. H remembers love for father.

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h: h gets a little jealous of H’s hook up

Amount of Sex In The Book: h’s 1st time

Overall Smex Rating: 3

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Heroine: Emery/Em Matterson

Heroine Description: 19, high school senior. Twin sister Lo has been deceased for 10 years, but Em still grieving. Moved with estranged father and his new family. Avid reader, self proclaimed nerd, very introverted . She spends her time reading when not dealing with lupus.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Heroine loves books/writing: yes, always reading-mentions book My Sister’s Keeper a few times. Joins school book club.

Hero: Kaiden Monroe

Hero Description: High school senior, plays lacrosse, the “big man on campus.” Hostile towards mother Cam. Very withdrawn at home, but total extrovert, leader at school. Doesn’t spare Em’s feelings with mean words and sarcasm.

Hero Likability Rating: 3

Hero loves books/writing: no

Secondary characters:
Logan/Lo - deceased twin sister, had same illness Em does. Was total opposite -outgoing , never let illness get her down.
Henry-Em’s father, left when kids were 9yrs. Wasn’t there for Lo’s last days, hasn’t seen Em in 10 yrs. Not sure what to say to Em now,
Joanne-Em’s mother. Grieving and devastated by Lo’s death, unable to care for or even look at Em without seeing Lo. She painted stills and landscapes, works as a school nurse.
Cam- Em’s stepmother. So nice and welcoming to Em. Does small things to make her feel better. Doesn’t know how to connect with son Kaiden.
Rachel- Kaiden’s hook up, jealous of Em
Mr. Nichols- English teacher who takes an interest in Em, wants her to join book club. Kaiden is suspicious of his motives with Em because all the girls at school crush on him.
Riley-attended high school with Kaiden, was overweight, had eating order kids bullied her and committed suicide.
Adam- Kaiden’s deceased father, suffered from depression, had brain tumor. Abused Kaiden mentally and physically, pushed him away so he wouldn’t see him suffer.

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

Endearments: Mouse- Kaiden calls Em

OW/OM/Exes: yes, Rachel. Kaiden has sex with her but treats her badly.

Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship: no

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS: severe grief,depression, suicide(not H/h)

AUTHOR OVERVIEW: B. Celeste

New or read before & any favorites: Read 2 books in The Truth About series. Everett and River very similar to Em and Kaiden’s relationship

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Technical/Editing Quality: 4

Writing/Content Quality: 4

Overall Rating: 4

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: no too sad, very triggering

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES: One of those reads that hit home and will stay with me. Having a chronic illness myself, I understood the pain and fatigue Em experiences, I’m also very introverted and a bibliophile. Em and Kaiden’s relationship starts off rocky. I might even say Kaiden bullies Em. He softens after seeing her in pain, becomes a fierce protector. Their relationship teeters between best friend/brotherly love to boyfriend material. I saw a hint of Em’s teacher Mr.Nichols being inappropriate with her. Kaiden sees it and lets Em know he’s watching. So glad Kaiden starts communicating with Mom after being dismissive and disrespectful. Kaiden listens to Em’s problems with her mother, knows how much she likes Cam. He gives his mother a chance. because of Em. A lot of emotions with this book, so be prepared.

Favorite line: “Inside the sad shell of my agonizing existence is a battlefield, and I’m on both sides holding trigger-ready guns waiting for the bullets to leave the barrels.” Em thinking about how disease makes her feel.

I really don't know how I feel about this book. I'm very neutral. At times, I really liked Kaiden but most often I hated him. I can't relate with Emery because I don't know what it's like to have a chronic disease. I wish Kaiden would have been nicer to her through the whole book. I was really hoping for a shocking turn of events. But overall, I knew how it was going to end. My favorite part of the whole book has to be the epilogue when you finally see Kaiden's true feelings. I hate that it took so long though.

This was really emotional but such an important and beautiful book, so glad I read it, I would recommend it

Well, I'm currently sobbing uncontrollably. What a book, what a story. B is an incredible author and did not shy away from the hard topics or emotions in this book. I absolutely loved Em and Kaiden so much, their shared life lessons and how they communicated throughout. I loved the realness of this book. Even though I knew how it would end it didn't make it easier. My heart will be hurting for a while from this one.

Thank you netgalley for this earc in exchange for an honest review