WOWOWOW this is one of my favorite recent reads. I was immediately swept away by this one. It's written so intricately and thoughtfully, and is more complex than I expected it to be. I do love a good second chance romance, and this one had tension, pining, emotional stakes, and some seriously swoonworthy moments. It moved at a great pace and I was invested in the characters the entire time. I appreciated how they were all complex. I didn't feel like anyone was two dimensional, which sometimes happens when the focus is on romance and it's in the YA age range. I haven't read a YA like this in quite a bit, which was really refreshing and wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If you are a reader of YA books, this is one you should not miss. It is definitely a young adult book, not one that boarders on adult. I would recommend it to teens - there is a little language, but not over the top. There are a couple of subjects that might be sensitive, but they are handled so well.

This is so much more than a romance - each character ( even the adults ) show so much growth and understanding of themselves and each other. The adults played a significant part in the story.

Ashley Schumacher just knows how to write a story that makes you feel like you are there. This is my second book by her and I will continue to read what she writes.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Nova and Sam were childhood friends who found comfort in each other. When Sam, who lived in an abusive home, was leaving to live with his uncle, he made a "promise, promise" to find Nova again when they were "big". It seemed the universe thought it was time, and they found themselves reunited when they both seemed to need each other most.

I have adored Schumacher's books since my very first one, Amelia Unabridged. There is something special about the way she crafts her characters and takes such care with their personal journeys. I am always moved as I read these characters' stories and extremely happy for where it takes them.

I found the idea of fate bringing these two in and out of each others lives at vital points so beautiful. When they were five, Nova provided comfort to Sam as he endured physical abuse at the hands of his father. Further down the line, they were at a crossroads in their lives, and it seemed they each had something to offer the other.

Due to his traumatic past, Sam worked hard to avoid conflict, and often found himself agreeing to or stuck in situations that he really wasn't onboard with. Now, in his senior year, he was struggling with his future - playing football, dating the cheerleader, not pursuing his love of woodwork. His desire not to hurt others was keeping him from his happiness.

Then there was Nova. She moved around constantly for her mother's job. She was a junior and this was her SIXTH high school. In order to survive, she became a chameleon, adapting to her surroundings. Due to this defense mechanism, she was suffering a personal crisis of not really knowing who she was or what she wanted. This scared her because the future was knocking on her door.

I believe so many people will be able to relate to Nova and Sam's personal struggles in some way and will root for these two the way I did. I was so happy they found each other when they did because it helped them make those hard decisions and have those honest discussions with the people they loved. The connection between Nova and Sam was undeniable, and I couldn't help but celebrate each step they took that brought them closer to each other as it was easy to see that they needed to tap into that special bond they shared.

Overall, this was a beautiful story filled with love and friendship. It was about figuring out who you are, what you want, and not being afraid to ask for it. I know I was elated that the universe brought Sam and Nova back into each others orbits, and I was filled with glee at where their journeys took them.

It's been a long time since a book has made me angry. In the Orbit of You was an irritating read. I found the book unnecessary angsty. I didn't understand why Nova and Sam's friendship had to be a secret. The logic behind their whole "farce" made no sense to me. The whole back and forth of "we can't be friends" was maddening. I had a love/hate relationship with the main characters. I empathized with Sam and Nova's situations and can see young readers relating to their struggles. But on the other hand, their decisions regarding Abigial were completely frustrating. It's hard to root for Sam when he's stringing along Abigail. Poor Abigail! The cheating in this story really ruined the book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

4.5/5 - This is a captivating novel about Sam and Nova. A friendship is torn apart at a young age, with a promise to find each other when 18. Sam and Nova meet again when Nova moves to town, having not seen Sam in more than 10 years. A compatibility test at their high school makes them a 99% match, but Sam has a girlfriend and Nova is trying to find herself. Neither wants to hurt each other, or others around them, but they continuously find themselves drawn together. Remembering the life from before.

This is a coming-of-age story and has a lot of the pain and turmoil associated with being a young adult in this world. Ashley Schumacher's writing is beautiful and transports you to this world of Sam and Nova and their story. The characters are so well written and parsed out that I felt for them both. Sam has been through many things in his painful past and is working to keep everyone happy, not ever wanting to rock the boat. He soon discovers that is nearly impossible and worries he is going to end up hurting everyone. Nova is the perfect depiction of someone so lost, not knowing or understanding herself.

They found themselves at what seemed to be a time when they needed each other. Though they experienced and caused pain, they were able to come out of this with growth and a better understanding of themselves.

I thought this was a beautiful story about friendship and love. Sam and Nova are working to figure out who they are, and how to be the person they are. The world the author created drew me in and had me reading page after page. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nova and Sam were inseparable as kids. Until one day, Sam leaves and Nova doesn't understand what happens.

Fast forward to a new high school and Nova and Sam are reunited.

During a school personality test, they find out they are 99% compatible! This reminds them of their childhood friendship and their promise to always look out for each other.

Told through alternating voices, this is a lovely story and a quick read. Highly recommend!

Rating - 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Date Read - February 24, 2024
Publication Date - March 19, 2024

*I received an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review* - Thank you @ashwritesbooks, @stmartinspress, @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley!

In the Orbit of You has a very lyrical writing style. I have not read a book with this writing style in a long time but I really enjoyed it! This is a young adult book but it has deeper topics. The angst is very real at times, but that's to be expected with a young adult book. I found that the deeper topics helped balance out some of the angst. Something I liked about this book is that it emphasized how little gestures can be just as meaningful, if not more than, bigger gestures to show that you care! I’m a sucker for those sweet little moments. I also love how everything is interconnected in this book and you're able to understand how it all connects as the story progresses. It's not all relatable but it doesn't need to be!

If you like girl next door, childhood friends, young adult books with deeper topics, this is the one for you!

Get excited to read In the Orbit of You, available March 19, 2024! 🎉

*Please check trigger warnings*

I absolutely loved Ashley Schumacher’s previous books so I was really excited for this one but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The beginning was so good but my interest started to fade the more I read. Nova & Sam’s relationship was very strange to me. I really disliked the sneaking around & cheating. I know they are young but I can’t get behind that. This felt so different compared to the author’s other books. I’m a bit disappointed!

4.5 stars

Oh my GOSH.

This one is a heartbreaker. Schumacher writes so beautifully here and tells the story of Sam and Nova with such tenderness and genuine love.

I’m taking away half a star here because the ending felt really rushed in comparison to the very natural unfolding of the rest of the novel.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday Books eARC
Ashley Schumacher writes such devastatingly beautiful YA books that I look forward to every year. This year's book is all about Sam and Nova and figuring out who they are. I think there was such a delicate balance here with the normal teenager things like homecoming, along with rekindling an old friendship of kids who bonded while one dealt with heavy trauma as a child. This book explored friendships, dating, secrets, and learning to trust. I liked how there are enough elements going on here that it'll be easy for most teenagers to find a main or side character to connect with. It was a moving and profound story and I can't wait to see what this author does next.

I've really enjoyed each of Ashley Schumacher's books, but I was underwhelmed by this one. Like her other work, the writing is excellent, but I couldn't get past the cheating throughout the entire story and Sam refusing to break up with his girlfriend. I also found Sam and Nova's relationship very instalovey. While they were friends when they were five, they instantly fall in love with each other after suddenly meeting again years later in high school, which felt unbelievable to me. I was disappointed in this one, but I still look forward to Ashley Schumacher's future books.

After bumping into each other years after a bonded childhood, Nova and Sam find themselves once again living close. Each struggled through a traumatic upbringing that only brought them together as kids but is a barrier as teens. Their friendship grows as they are matched through a school-wide personality test. This confirms their complex feelings for each other.

Ah the joys of teenage angst! I am getting pickier and pickier about which YA books I read. Teen romance is especially unappealing to me and teen drama goes in the same category. This why I tend to stick with fantasy for YA.

With that being said, I adore this author. She is one of the few that I don’t question if I will read her latest release. Her writing is somewhat poetic and perfectly matched to the passionate relationships of teens. I’m immediately enthralled by her writing each time..

How does she continue to write romance that I love? And it’s YA! Schumacher excels in building relationships that are charming and realistic. She has the ability to make them feel more mature without taking away too much of their teen selves. The story she crafts is emotionally charged and beautiful in only a way she can create it.

I highly recommend this author for her beautiful writing but for her stories that will touch your heart.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy!

I'm 99% sure you're going to find yourself pulled into 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 (Pub 03.19) You will find yourself utterly enraptured by the tender, layered YA story of Sam and Nova.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰..."

At the core, this story is about being at the crossroads of life and needing to find yourself before you can find anything, or anyone else. That heaviness is balanced with powerful rediscovered friendships, hope, and romance. It breaks your heart but then carefully pieces it back together. The writing had a beautiful prose-like quality and the characters had me rooting for them. As soon as I read the last page I exhaled a contented sigh and immediately re-read the last 20 pages. Heartwarming and simply lovely.

I did have to suspend reality and resist the urge to get hung up on "real life details" and just escape into the story.


When you're waiting for this book to release I highly recommend Schumacher's debut- 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝. It's my favorite of her published works.

In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher was a bust. I loved her last two novels I just couldn’t behind
this one. It felt like immature and it felt like a miscommunication trope and it drove me crazy.
2⭐️
Thanks St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

3.5 stars

I’m a big fan of Ashley Schumacher’s writing and In the Orbit of You started off really strong. The premise intrigued me (please be sure to check CW’s) and I was drawn into the story right away. Unfortunately, the beginning, middle, and end chapter format/breaks didn’t make the most sense to me and the story went from love to like by the end.

Ashley Schumacher captured all the yearning, joy, confusion, and heartache of young love well. I wanted to root so hard for Nova and Sam (even if it was a little odd that they would have such deep and lasting feelings for each other starting at the age of 5/6). As certain plot points continued to drag on and on (and on) though, things started to derail. I can forgive a certain amount of back and forth and lack of communication, even more so in YA, but this pushed me beyond my limit.

***** SPOILER *****

The emotional cheating (and ultimately physical cheating) really soured the romance between Sam and Nova for me. His childhood was 100% heartbreaking, but just like Abigail pointed out - that doesn’t excuse his terrible behavior. Sam said “cheater” was a trigger for him and Nova’s previous boyfriend cheated on her, yet they still did this. I guess these choices just drove home the author’s point that Sam and Nova are young and needed to step back and figure themselves out first, before anything else.

***** END SPOILER *****

The ending was hopeful though and allowed our characters to grow into themselves. It left me smiling, but I’m sad this one didn’t fully work for me.

CW: child abuse, transient childhood, grief, cheating, anxiety/panic attacks, lightning strike & fire

OW/OM: The MMC has a girlfriend for almost the entire novel. There is emotional and physical (kissing/light touching/hand holding) cheating.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I feel like I expect Ashley Schumacher to rip my heart from my chest, run it over with a car, and then plop it back in. This was not that.

It certainly had its melancholy moments, but felt a little more on the fluffy YA contemporary side. Not to mention that we don't get a happy ever after or even a happy for now. We just get ... whatever that epilogue was. I did enjoy the dynamic between Nova and Sam, the little flashbacks to Snailopolis, the complex relationships between their guardians. There was a lot that was right in this book - I just had the wrong mindset going into it.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

My thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martins Publishing for the ARC of "In The Orbit Of You" in exchange for an honest review.
Quite a heart-tugger, this one. If you fall under its spell (which the book casts right away), don't be surprised if it's impossible to get through it with dry eyes.
For sheer emotional power, nothing beats a story of childhood best friends abruptly separated and then reunited years later. And with the passage of time giving them a chance to nurture a long ago friendship into something much more.
Sam and Nova's tender bonding as children was made heartbreaking by Nova's attempts to help Sam cope with the horrific physical abuse his father inflicted on him. Then circumstances end the kids' time together........Sam's rescued into the custody of his aunt and uncle while Nova's mother pursues her career as a travelling freelance accountant, forcing Nova to grow up in temporary locations, always the new girl in school.
Once again, Nova lands in a brand new place for her high school junior year. It's the school where Sam, under the healing parentage of his relatives, has grown into a football star, complete with a beautiful cheerleader girlfriend, athletic scholarships, and maybe pro football in his future.
But secretly, it's not the future he wants for himself. And his reunion with his long lost childhood friend Nova touches off multiple conflicting emotions for both of them. Years of moving place to place has left Nova struggling to define herself and her goals - her rekindled friendship with Sam only serves to send them on an emotional rollercoaster with each other. And their attempts to establish a shaky, semi-secret, platonic relationship brings them both to a breaking point.
For everyone who remembers the brief, golden time they spent with a past childhood crush (and who hasn't?) and also recalls the pre-college agonies of figuring out who you are and want you want.....what can I say except you'll find "In The Orbit Of You" kind of impossible to resist. So prepare to have your heartstrings not merely tugged and played like a rock guitar in a 5 star show....I, for one, didn't mind at all.

In the Orbit of You

"We don't have to be more than we are."

Ohhhhh my gosh what a beautiful and powerful love story. Nova and Sam have my heart for sure. Two childhood friends who used to play in the dirt together as the King and Queen of Snailopolis, torn apart when Sam is taken from his abusive father to live with his safe and loving Aunt and Uncle. Nova and her mom follow a turbulent path until they collide with Sam in his new hometown when Nova and Sam are in high school.

Nova crashes into Sam's orbit and he cannot avoid her gravitational pull, despite having a carefully constructed life that should be enough. He's the football star with scholarships coming his way even though he doesn't love the game. He has the perfect cheerleader girlfriend who is kind and delightful. Nova isn't sure who she is, but she's trying to figure it out on her own this time.

Theirs is a beautiful coming of age story about discovering who you are and being true to that person, even if it means telling hard truths to your loved ones.

I highly recommend for fans of high school aged YA. Despite the darker themes with memories of childhood, this was a beautiful story. Thank you to Wednesday books and Netgalley for this ARC! In the Orbit of You is on shelves March 19th, 2024. My opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I’m chalking this up as just a book that wasn’t for me. I adored ‘The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway’ last year, and was intrigued to read more by this author.

I did like the writing style, but the story just wasn’t my preference. I have seen reviews with spoilers out there so I’m going to leave this spoiler free, but some topics and tropes in this book aren’t my preference. Which is why I’m not saying it’s bad by any means, just not for me.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

**CW: Contains themes of child abuse and trauma.

This book is ~sweet~. Like sipping lemonade out on the front porch kind of sweet. In the Orbit of You had me from the very beginning, when we meet young Nova and Sam playing in the dirt by their connected fence. The queen and king of Snailopolis, as they call it. (Freaking adorable.) They’re torn apart, however, when Sam is taken away from his abusive home to live with his uncle. Snailopolis and its royalty become a distant memory. Until Nova and Sam meet again in their final years of high school.

In general, I think it’s a bit overkill when a romance really pushes the fate card. When it’s practically screaming See? They’re totally meant for each other! See?! I’m all for destined love — just don’t shove it in my face. This book does push the fate card pretty hard, with the friends’ reunion and all the subsequent coincidences, but Ashley Schumacher wrote it in a surprisingly charming way. I could see why Nova is special to Sam and vice versa, and how that makes their feelings inevitable. Of course, there are obstacles in their way: Sam has a girlfriend, Nova is only at the school for two months, and they’re both too scared to stray from their life plans.

As much as I loved the main couple, watching them try so hard to stay away from each other when it’s clearly killing them… was frustrating. There was a lot of back and forth happening, which started feeling repetitive. It was worth it, though, because they’re just so dang ~sweet~. I liked their inside jokes, their vulnerable conversations, their soft palm kisses. I also liked that we don’t see too much of Sam’s past, unless it includes Nova. Frustrations aside, this is a delightful read about childhood friends-to-lovers who are just trying to find their place in life.

**Much thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In the Orbit of You will be released on March 19.