It’s our first time reading a book by B. Celeste, and we’re glad we started with UTST. We must admit, the blurb piqued our interests, but it was the heartfelt dedication addressed to those dealing with chronic diseases that spoke to us and kept us invested from the start ❤️

Although the progression of Emery’s condition was mildly dramatized (this has been acknowledged), Celeste handled the concept of chronic diseases in a manner that was both sensitive and comprehensible to even the most unaware reader. Unlike most of the books featuring chronic diseases that we’ve read, which tend to lean heavily on technical details to emphasise the gravity of the situation, UTST shifted the focus onto the emotional roller-coaster one experiences when receiving such a diagnosis. Emery’s denial, anger, frustration, and acceptance were beautifully portrayed, and we found ourselves relating to her internal struggle, considering our own experiences with chronic diseases. We especially loved a line that so eloquently described living with an autoimmune disorder as "a battlefield, and I’m on both sides holding trigger-ready guns waiting for the bullets to leave the barrels".

Even the sentiments shared by her family and the uncertainty surrounding her fate were conveyed wonderfully. Yet, despite the realistic nature of the writing, there remained a poeticism that ran throughout the book, which made UTST an enjoyable read.

Furthermore, Emery was never just her diagnosis. Her character was well-rounded and relatable (a girl who loves books and binges on reality TV: we love! 😁), and she was immensely likeable from the start. Kaiden, conversely, was quite unbearable at the beginning; however, his character arc was exquisitely developed, and he eventually grew on us. While we initially liked the dynamic the leads shared, its progression felt a tad unnecessary in our opinion- although we understand why Celeste chose to go down that route. We also loved Emery’s sassy grandmother!

Overall, the story held promise. And the ending… it was gut-wrenching and had us teary-eyed.

IMHO, UTST definitely holds potential for film adaptation!

We thank Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the eARC of the book.

UTST is slated for re-release on 3rd January, 2023! Grab your copy ASAP!

L&L Rating: 4 Stars

TL;DR: Honest representation of living with a chronic disease, with a new adult spin.

UNDER THE SYCAMORE TREE is one of the most hyped books I have seen on various places on the internet over the past few years. People told me it was one of the saddest books they ever read, and I had to read it myself to decide this. I can absolutely confirm that B. Celeste has written one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful stories I have ever read. This story will absolutely stick with me for a long while, there is truly no words for the impact of Kaiden and Emery's journey. I will absolutely be reading whatever Celeste writes next.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this amazing book!! What a loving, heartfelt and heartbreaking story that brought me to actual tears. I think anybody and everybody should pick up this book right now! I promise you will not regret it!

Interesting storyline as I see a few similarities with another book from a different author. However, I was not a fan of the romance between step siblings. I would have enjoyed it more minus the romance between siblings.

This was SUCH a beautiful story. I loved every second of this, even though it was so emotional! I can't wait to check out more of B. Celeste's work .

I devoured this book In a day. Be prepared to have the reality of life to break your heart again and again
I love this what is style and the way she doesn’t shy away from the tough subjects

I definitely recommend this book

Emery is a high school senior grieving her twin sister’s death from lupus, which Emery also has. Although it has been several years since her sister’s death, Emery’s mother is too sad to support her living daughter. Thus, Emery moves in with her father, stepmother and stepbrother, Kaiden who is also a high school senior. As Emery adjusts to her new family, new school, ambiguous future and her chronic illness, it is Kaiden who becomes her best friend as well as her romantic partner and helps Emery mend some of her broken relationships.
I found this book to be very engaging although heavy and sad. It is well written with good character development and the author’s ability to describe and help readers understand chronic illness is extraordinary. Also, I actually liked that Emery’s mother was portrayed as immobilized by her grief because everyone’s grief is their own, no matter how long it lasts. The other family characters were also likable - the grandmother was funny and insightful, the stepmother, Cam so welcoming and warm towards Emery and even Emery’s father was doing his best. I didn’t mind the romance between Emery and Kaiden like some reviewers did - it wasn’t like they grew up as siblings but I did think it was strange that the parents never noticed that Kaiden slept in Emery’s bed every night. Only the grandmother seemed aware of what they meant to each other. I would have liked for Emery to have at least one girlfriend to make the story more realistic but I get that she didn’t want to get close to people with her uncertain future. I also thought that it was unrealistic that none of the adults recognized Emery’s decline or kept up with her medical care. But overall, a really great book addressing difficult topics very well!
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Emery lost her twin sister with her battle with Lupus. Emery’s mother is not doing well so she decide to move in with her father, the stepmother, & her step brother Kaiden.
Kaiden rules the school.
He stepped up & bossed people around. He tried to protect Emery.
Emery & Kaiden spend time together & get closer but how much time do they have together!

This is a very good book & so emotional!! This book was written so well! Can’t wait to read more from this author!

The writing and the characters were very interesting, and the start of the story drew me in fast. My desire to read faded page by page. This was just too depressing. And I was constantly bothered with the thoughts that Lupus leading to death is not very common. I am glad the author discussed a disease not often read about, but I felt a different illness would have been more appropriate to match this storyline.
Recommended For: Those looking for a sad book.

This is my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be the last.
I became so engaged with the characters and ended up sobbing at the end.
I finished it a few days ago but this book will definitely stick with me for a while.

This book absolutely crushed me. I love emotional reads and this one was by far one of my top emotional reads. I went in knowing that this book was going to be a tear jerker but I didn’t realize that it would touch me so much. I loved reading about Kaiden and Emery. Emery has an the very same illness that killed her twin sister. She has learned to just accept others treatment without watching out for herself. She shields others from pain but she ultimately suffers due to this aspect. This book shows us that life is never guaranteed to be easy or fair. It can be full of suffering and loss. You have to cherish the beautiful moments and live like there’s no tomorrow. Emery had so much to deal with in her life watching her get to enjoy the simple moments with Kaiden was perfect. I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by B Celeste.

I received an Arc for my honest review.

3.5

Right okay so I liked this book, however after all the good things I'd heard about it, I definitely wasn't blown away and tbh I was quite disappointed.

I really enjoyed the plot, it's refreshing to see chronic illness representation and the struggles that we have to face.

But i have to say, it was soo rushed. It felt like there were just gaps between timelines everywhere... No real relationship build up or anything like that. And some pages were literally just quick short pages filled with repetition we'd heard many times before which felt like a bit of a cop out in order to bulk the book.

I hated our main characters mum, like I'm sorry but what a disgrace. Yes I know that people struggle with grief differently but lady that is your child!!!

Yeah overall the book was okay, I liked the subject matters etc but it just wasn't the best.

Thanks for the copy, Bloom Books!

Honestly, I just saw this advertised as being a book for people who love Colleen Hoover books, and I should’ve got the synopsis more closely. I do not love super steamy books, so this is just not for me, especially with a step brother romance.

Underneath the Sycamore Tree
by B. Celeste
I just did not get into this book at all. Parts were unbelievable, the charters had no real redeeming qualities. It just seemed to use words and describe everything but the reason for the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

What a heartbreakingly beautiful story! Get your tissues ready, because this one had me sobbing. You can’t help falling in love with Emery. Her and Kaiden’s relationship was filled with so many emotions. I thought B. Celeste did an amazing job having you feel connected to the characters. I also appreciated the way she wrote about chronic illnesses, which I feel like can be overlooked. What a roller coaster of emotions! This is one of those books that has you thinking about it days after you’ve finished reading it. I look forward to reading more from B. Celeste.


📘: Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste
🗓 Pub Date: January 3, 2023

Thank to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, and B. Celeste for this ARC!

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads. Will review on retail once published!

I didn't enjoy this book and I had to force myself to finish this one. There were SO many glaring issues about this book that overall made me unhappy. I don’t like the miscommunication, and there is no real believable chemistry between the main characters who were also step-siblings in the story. I also felt very weird about how people reacted to their relationship in the book. It was normalized and was not even challenged. Also, I wouldn’t classify this as a real romance (without getting into spoilers).

I had a hard time feeling any sort of relatability or care for these characters. And I wanted to but I could not also get into the writing. Overall, I felt very MEH about everything. I will probably give the author another try and I really do admire her for tackling such heavy topics like family issues and diseases. I wished this was for me but sadly this was not the case.

I struggled to read more than a third of this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I know people who struggle with this disease, but this book just wasn't for me.

The details within the book are what I enjoyed the most. The author did a great job describing what the characters are wearing, what they look like, the locations. It made it easy to feel as if I was there in the story. I enjoyed that it was a first person perspective to truly feel the emotions of what the protagonist, Emery, is going through. The storyline was a bit slow, the character relationship between F & M was pretty awkward (not giving spoilers but it was weird in my opinion). If you can get through the awkwardness of the relationship, it was a pretty good read.

Good grief I'm glad I'm done with this one! It is quite obvious that I didn't read the same book as my friends. I had to force myself to finish this one and I only did so because I grabbed it as a Read now on NG and didn't feel it would be fair to review it otherwise. There were SO many things I hated about this story. Miscommunication, no real believable chemistry between the M & F - Who just happen to be step siblings. I'm usually ok with that if they don't grow up together which these do not but I just did not feel anything between these two. Heck I didn't feel anything FOR these two. I guess that's why by the time I got to the end I didn't cry for them I cried in relation to things in my own life. I couldn't care less what happened to any of them. Sad, depressing, and just over all not a great read for me. I am only giving it 2 stars instead of one because of the authors note at the end and how she did make me cry even though it wasn't for her characters.

I was shocked but very excited to see this approval sitting on my shelf!

Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste is a beautiful yet heartbreaking story!
And to be honest I don't think my review can do this story justice.
This book had ahold of me unlike anything before.
B. Celeste's writing
I loved Emery and Kaiden they were so easy to connect to and their story is so real and raw...
So full of emotions!
Heart-wrenching, phenomenal, emotional, and romantic this book was literally everything!
Underneath the Sycamore Tree was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster of a read for me.
My emotions were all over the place.
UTST was a riveting read. And I'll most definitely be reading her blacklist.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!