Good book with a solid storyline and well done characters. I enjoyed the book as a whole and it was well written.

1,5 ⭐️

The plot itself is interesting and I think that written differently I would have liked it more. The whole time I was waiting for the prologue to be explained, I didn't need two entire chapters explaining it or making reference to it but the truth is that it left me quite confused.

This book was pretty good definitely not my typical read however I was hooked from the first couple pages

I really tried to enjoy this book despite the trigger warnings, but unfortunately I couldn't stomach it. Full disclosure I am 24, so definitely mature enough. I feel like if I am in the mood for a "heavy" or "dramatic" book, I would consider picking it up again.

Gripping and moving at the same time this was a really great book. It held my attention throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book.

Unfortunately this was not for me. I read the first couple chapters and it felt so off. Nothing grabbed me to keep reading.

I sadly had to dnf

Okay, so this whole book (as much as I read) seems like one giant text message ... and it's not supposed to be like that? The writing was just too weird.

DNF for me.

After reading the reviews I didn’t think I would like this book, but I’m glad I kept reading. This story spoke to me because I was in a relationship that was very toxic. I wish I had a “Sam” that could have talked some sense into me. There probably should be a trigger warning on domestic violence because some people won’t like that. Honestly this book helped me heal even more.

i had received an arc for a early read of this piece, and i wish i could say i enjoyed it. it was a good story with a little lack luster mc’s, but it felt like it wasn’t for me. the writing was choppy at points, and in others hard to read. overall a 2.5.

As always, I want to thank NetGalley and the respective publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
I liked the plot but I’m not convinced enough on the execution of it. Some topics are too superficial and not well discussed (such as the sensitive aspects of the book) while others were unnecessarily mentioned multiple times (such as the wealth Kat and her family possess).
Some parts felt really flat and I found multiple typos throughout the book.
Anyways, it is a good book to read if you are a girl who is just entering college, as it discusses experiences and life lessons that might be helpful in that context.

The Real You is Kat’s experience as a freshman in college. She comes from a rich family and has never had a boyfriend. Kat immediately falls in with a group of girls and settles into her classes. Everything seems to be going well for her first year in college.

Everyone is not as they seem. I admire Kat’s strength as she navigates new experiences. This is a book every young woman should read. Not all of Kat’s experiences are good ones and she has to determine what she should do. I greatly enjoyed this book!

I thought this was an amazing book that allowed the reader to explore the characters and their journey. However, I did feel that the narrative was overly formal for the age that the characters were meant to be. Alongside this, the plot, whilst entertaining, felt extremely rushed and I would have enjoyed more padding around events to allow the story to grow more organically and allow you to fall in love with the characters.

I loved Sam and Kat, and the relationship they had felt sweet and and extremely cute. Whist the scenes with Dylan were difficult I also enjoyed how true to life they were and how they explored the side of abuse where you stay no matter how bad you are treated.

This intriguing novel describes the life and emotions of a young girl entering college. The main character, Kat comes from a somewhat sheltered life and is thrown into the real world and all of the messiness that comes with it..

Thank you to NetGalley and Danielle Bair for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars.
I liked the premise and found most of the book to be enjoyable but some parts fell flat for me.

The amount of times the MC Kat brought up her privilege and family wealth was too much. I get it.. your family is rich. I found that the pace of the book was almost too fast and the sensitive topics in the book weren’t addressed enough.

However, I really enjoyed the connection and chemistry between Kat and Sam. The lengths Sam would go to make sure Kat was comfortable and safe was really sweet.

Thank you @netgalley and the author for an early copy of The Real You. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

The Real You tells the story of Kathleen in her freshman year of college and experiencing all kinds of new things, parties, study sessions, football games. And being brought up an all girls private school, she has never had a boyfriend due to her father’s no dating before college rule.

I struggled reading The Real You. The main character came from a rich family and to be honest she was described as too perfect to be realistic and she seemed immature, but most probably because of her sheltered upbringing. What made me struggle the most is the writing, it seemed too formal and the conversations and dialogues felt unnatural. Most of them ended with exclamations which made me think – are all these characters just too bubbly? The story would have been better if it were coherently executed and leaned toward being realistic.

Rating The Real You ⭐⭐/5. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

[ Review time ]

Title: The Real You
Author: Danielle Bair
Genre: New Adult/Romance
Release Date: November 22nd 2022
Publisher: Danielle Bair
My rating: 🌟🌟

Well unfortunately this book was not for me.
I felt that the book had potential to be really good but I fell flat for me.
It felt very rushed from time to time and sometimes it felt like whole chapters were missing.

The story itself was good though and I liked the choice of subject (abuse), which I think is something very good by Danielle to write about!

I did adore Sam and Sara as characters a lot so the book was absolutely not the worst thing I’ve read - far from!
But just thing book wasn’t for me, but I’m still very grateful for having the opportunity to read this book💖

A big thank you to NetGalley and Danielle Bair for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

Some spoilers below.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it did not resonate with me. It is definitely geared toward a YA audience, but the main character felt so immature and naive that it wasn’t very believable. The writing style was very formal and “obvious” which made it easy to understand and follow- but did not have a natural flow/cadence to the story. The amount of exclamation points used was distracting and could easily be edited out.

There were important messages about domestic abuse, consent, assault, toxic relationships, gaslighting, etc. but for me the delivery fell flat. There is potential in getting those messages out to the right audience but for me personally it didn’t work.

The main character and her friends all seemed very juvenile for college aged students.

The story felt like it really flew by without a lot of important story building or background, which made it hard for me to connect. All of a sudden 3/4 of the way through the book, the POV switches to another character for only one chapter. .

The prologue was gripping and I was very excited to see what lead up to the main character being hospitalized. Turns out it wasn’t the main character and was only a very minor part of the plot. After finishing the book I am still not entirely sure what the book was really about. It tried to be a love story but it felt more like a lesson.

There are certainly triggers that need to be minded - abusive relationships, reference to non consensual sexual acts, off-page rape, verbal abuse.

I was very very excited for this book, but sadly it felt flat for me. The story jumped around quite a bit, and that was really confusing to keep tabs on and the dialogue seemed way to formal for the college age characters the book focuses on. I still think the story was interesting, but I think it could have been a lot better. It just felt like someone who wrote about how college students should be, versus how they really are.

This book was gripping and the characters of Dylan and Sam we captivating and relatable. I thoroughly enjoyed their chemistry and passion and the way the story showed important real life issues relationships face. This book was captivating, well written and I can't wait for book 2!

Unfortunately this was a total miss for me. The storyline jumped around so much it was hard to follow and I still have no idea how much time passed in the book. The Prologue is extremely confusing, I kept waiting for the explanation of it throughout the book and I never got it. There were a ton of typos that I flagged. Most of the dialogue was punctuated with an exclamation point, either there was lots of yelling or way too much pep, still not sure. The story itself could have been interesting if it were put together in a more cohesive manner. I kept hoping for it to get better but sadly the whole book missed the mark for me.