* Review posted to Goodreads, Fable & Storygraph. Instagram post to follow by end of week 9/20*

I'm a mess over this one 😭😭

Kasie West what in the emotional damage was this?!?!? I'm literally sobbing and I can't put into words all the things this book made me feel.

Firstly, it's so raw and real. Indy is not a perfect FMC. She's flawed and she's scared and she acts on impulse but she's relatable because of that. She's put through something that even a full-grown adult would struggle with and she does it alone. Her parents fight constantly, she's been told she can't confide in anyone, and along the way, the stress begins to impede every other part of her life until it's in shambles.

It's heartbreaking.

The scene where she comes home and collapses on the couch with her dad, telling him she doesn't have her friends anymore. As someone who lost her entire friend group post high school, that hit incredibly hard. I wanted so badly to reach into the pages and tell her everything would be okay.

And Beau is so confused and hurt. He felt like Indy was slipping through his fingers and he didn't know how to stop it. And when things blew up, his family made it impossible to work through things. He loved her so much but everything was such a mess that he couldn't see a way out.

I'm so glad they not only found their way back to each other but that Indy started to find herself. Her real self. Outside of good grades. She's so much happier and more confident by the end and I'm so incredibly happy for her.

One of Kasie West's best books. I can't believe I have to wait until January to add this book to my shelves 😭😭

I love Kasie west and this book was no exception! So excited to recommend this to all my friends! Easily a 5 star read!!!!! 💕

4.25 ⭐️

Room to Breathe follows Indy, who’s recently had a bit of upheaval in her life and lost all of her friends. The book goes back and forth between the present as she is trapped in a bathroom with her former best friend Beau, and the past where we get to encounter everything that has gone down. I think this element of the story was done well and I didn’t mind the back and forth. Sometimes that kind of storytelling can really disturb the flow of a book, but in this one I was always interested in both timelines. I’ve read almost every Kasie West book, and this one stood out as being different. It’s definitely heavier than her books usually feel, in a good way. Both of our lead characters make some pretty sizable mistakes. The story does also manage to convince you that each of them has earned the other’s forgiveness pretty well. I don’t think her friends outside of Beau really deserved her forgiveness though. They were overly harsh to her for so long when she didn’t do anything to them to deserve that besides some snippiness.

This book was really engaging and easy to get invested in. It’s also a pretty quick read. Overall, I’d recommend!

3.5 rounded to 4 because a 3 sounds too harsh?

I guess I didn't realize this was dual timeline because dual timelines usually aren't for me. This one worked really well, and it made a lot of sense for the story, but honestly, the story also feels like it could've been told in a linear fashion because the bulk of the story took place over the course of a few months. (I get that it couldn't have because of writing pacing and beats that I don't know enough about as a reader. I'm just saying it feels like it.)

I love that Kasie West tackles hard topics for teens. This one is family distrust/trust and losing friends and yourself. Done really well, if maybe aspects felt a little unrealistic to me. I love full blown HEAs so I wish the dad plotline had been tied up a little nicer, but I'm glad the friendship aspect was. I also loved that the other friends didn't just let Indy off easy. Yes, she had a ton of shit go down in her life, and yes, her parents told her to not tell anyone, but then she made the decision to push them all away and not seek out a way with her parents to deal with what was going on better. Her parents could've helped her more--she was a teen after all--but I get that sometimes you're blinded by your own life. Her friends maybe could've given her a little more grace, but I loved that they stood up for their personal boundaries. Indy was in a tough spot and learned a big lesson from it, and I really am glad that her friends didn't hold a grudge. It was a messy, complicated story with messy, complicated feelings that were handled realistically in the sense that no one if ever the full villain.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this one.

As soon as I see a new Kasie West book I get excited because I know it will be good. This book did not disappoint. I'm not usually a fan of books that flash between past and present every other chapter but she managed to pull it off well in this book. Getting to witness them finding their friendship again while also building the angst of trying to figure out what went wrong in the first place? Chef's kiss!

Loved this one. It was more emotional than I thought it would be, but soooo good! Refinding who you are when you think you've lost yourself. Love love!!!!

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD!! 4.5⭐️

2 ex best friends, Indy and Beau, trapped in a school bathroom together. The tension, and frustration high.

Then chapters from the past where you're trying to figure out why they hate each other!!

Lots of family drama too!

Thank you NetGalley.com for the ARC, in exchange for a honest review! 💞

Kasie West has done it again! Room to Breathe is heartfelt, funny, and totally swoony in all the best ways. Indy’s story pulled me right in, trying to hold it all together on the outside while struggling on the inside felt so real and relatable. The tension with Beau and the whole “stuck in the bathroom” setup was such a fun (and awkward!) way to force them to deal with their feelings.
I loved the mix of friendship drama, romance, and finding the courage to be honest about what you’re going through. Indy and Beau’s relationship had so much depth, and Cody added a surprising (and adorable) layer too. This book made me laugh, ache, and smile all at once. If you’re a fan of Kasie West’s swoony YA romances, you’ll definitely love this one!

Thank you netgalley for an arc of Room to Breathe by Kasie West

Amazing book loved the characters and plot. I couldn't stop reading I stayed up all night. I loved the book so much thank you for the arc.

This is my third Kasie West book, and one thing I love about her work is that they are the most unique and interesting, borderline random concepts. I mean, this book is about being locked in a bathroom with a boy you had a falling out with months ago. You can always expect a fun time with her books.

The plot is a dual timeline with short chapters, featuring Indy and Beau locked in the bathroom at present, and past interactions with them and their family as Indy slowly loses herself due to stress in her family. The character development was great, particularly the pacing. The two timelines really worked wonders here, and I'm someone who doesn't typically enjoy those.

Indy and Beau were compelling and entertaining characters, I love how West always takes such an interesting spin on character conflict. Here, Indy has a falling out with her friends when her academics start crumbling. How it all fell apart was certainly realistic. I loved how relatable it was for Indy to feel like all her friends had some unique feature or interest that was their's, but she didn't really have anything.

My biggest complaint was that at times the dialogue didn't sound very realistic. It wasn't something that was a big deal to me at the start of the book, but the longer I spent with it the more I noticed and was bothered by it. Also, Beau was a sweet character, but again, not realistic. What boy’s friend group is three other girls?

Overall the book was short, sweet, a little angsty, but very Kasie West. I’d certainly recommend if you’re looking for a quick, cute YA novel that packs a strong punch of friendship and family difficulties.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers, Random House's Children Books, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After her life has imploded, the last thing Indy Blair needs is to be trapped by a broken lock in the school bathroom, and her situation is made worse when the last person she'd ever want to be stuck with us trapped with her - her ex-best friend Beau. The school is closed for the weekend, and the two have no way to call for help, so they're going to be stuck together until someone realizes either of them are missing and goes looking. Told in alternating chapters between what's happening in the bathroom and what happened to Indy in the months leading up to this event, readers are treated to a story about the breakdown of a friendship and how to find what was lost.

Katie West's books are always a treat to read, and this one was no exception. It's maybe her angstiest book to date, and as someone who loves a fair bit of angst, I'm not mad about that! Even when Indy comes off as extremely unlikable because of the way she's treating her friends, you can't help but root for things to get better for her because of just how well West gets you to fall for her right from the start.

The romance elements are wonderful as always, but the friendships and the unstable family dynamics are what really make this book shine. It's a must read from an author whose books never miss, and readers won't want to miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

4 stars! ⭐️

Two Kasie West books in a row?? I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

This is a young adult book that follows a main character in her junior year of high school. While dealing with instability at home, the situation spirals and she finds herself on the outs of her friend group. This all comes to a head when she gets stuck in the school bathroom with her ex-best friend without a phone to call for help.

An easy read, a little more “angsty” than Kasie’s other books, but still very enjoyable and humorous!

#RoomtoBreathe #NetGalley

80's Pop References galore.

From the Golden Girls to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the popular fortune paper featured on the cover, the author's audience is surely not just confined to the targeted YA. Believe this novel will appeal to a wider (let's say, older but youthful in appearance group of readers as well). While the novel carries the signature author's romance storyline, she also hits on both teenage woes such as friendship break ups and isolation.

The female protagonist is by no means perfect. She makes mistakes. She lashes out. She is relatable.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Romance, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book!
I didn't really like this book. I don't think I love when books go back and forth from now and then. The plot, in my opinion, was kinda underwhelming. I spent the majority of this book thinking the reason they drifted apart was more believable than it was. I thought the reason was not big enough to make her friends hate her that much. I really didn't like many of the side characters. The mmc did kind of redeem his self towards the end and I liked him much better than her other friends. All in all this was not my favorite of this authors.
3 stars ⭐️
No-spice ( some making out )
No language

I hate to say it, but I think this is my least favorite of West's books. I've read most of her YA books and loved her recent adult title. It felt like something was missing. We saw the reasons that Indy stopped talking to her friends, but they seemed manufactured. I will continue to read books by Kasie West, but was a little disappointed in this one.

This book is a lot more serious than Kasie West’s other books which I don’t know if I enjoyed or not. The writing its self was alright but the storytelling was not quite to the level of her other works. Indy was a complex character for sure but sometimes it felt like she just made bad decisions to make bad decisions, there was no depth to her bad choices. Beau goes from not talking to Indy for months to confessing his love. Cody was mentioned more on the back of the book than in the story and he was probably the best character. I understand wanting to change audiences and writer deeper content but this just fell flat for me.

This was much more serious than other Kasie West YA books that I've read which isn't a bad thing, but just something that you should know picking this up. I kept thinking that there was going to be more to the "mystery" aspect of what happened with Indy's family, but we never really got enough details to satisfy me on that aspect (but that may be because this is a YA novel, not an adult novel). I enjoyed the flashbacks between now and then, and the short chapters kept me turning the pages because I really wanted to know why the now was the way it was. Enjoyed this one for a quick, slightly serious, but not too serious novel, and will definitely recommend to my 13-year old!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This was a cute YA pallet cleanser. It did have more depth, and emotion then a lot of other YA books. I loved the angst and tension in this book. It reminded me a lot of her other book, By Your Side, which is one of my favorites. They both deal with being locked in the school with someone you would least suspect. That being said, they are very different. In this book I liked the now and then chapters. I thought they were done really well. I thought Beau was super sweet and always cared deeply for Indy. There were some little things here and there that they did, but them being so young makes it make more sense on why they would act that way. I wish the end was a little different. I think there was a lot of build up for what felt like nothing especially when it came to the parents. I also didn't like how we never got to know about the lost paper, or the lost book. Overall, great friend group, great story, and great entertaining YA read.

Thanks NetGalley, Kasie West, and Random House Children's books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Room to Breathe isn't really your typical Kasie West read; it deals with a lot more anger, parental issues, friend issues, and just a lot of topics that pack an emotional punch. With that being said, I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as some of her other books. I picked this up expecting a light and fluffy, second chance plus friends to lovers kind of book, but instead ended up with a whole lot of teen angst. Not that that's a bad thing, but just be aware of what you're getting into.

Ok, here's a little bit about the plot. Even though this book is described as a "swoony romance," I saw it more as a coming-of-age book about a girl learning to deal with anger and the consequences of lashing out. It was hard to focus on the romance of the bathroom part, because the chapters kept switching between "then" and now." Also, I though Kasie could have capitalized on the bathroom bit a little more to get Beau and Indy to talk to each other to explain some things, instead of telling us what happened in the "then" timeline. That timeline was great for a bit of background, but it caused the whole Indy-and-Beau-reunite thing to lose momentum, and instead of remembering Beau and Indy's cute story, I was thinking about how Indy treated her parents and what led to her falling-out with her friends.

For the characters:

Indy kind of annoyed me a little bit, especially as she kept making bad decisions, KNOWING that they would hurt people, and making them anyway. I also didn't really understand why she let her whole life crumble. I can see how her character might be relatable to some teenagers, but I couldn't really connect with her much, which wasn't great, as she's our MC. The one thing that I loved about Indy was how she didn't really know what her purpose or passion was. I feel like that's something everyone can relate to at some point. I do wish we got to see her find something she loved doing, though.

Beau seemed like a really great guy, but he made one or two decisions that just seemed entirely out of character for him. Even though he was the love interest, his feelings for Indy seemed really abrupt to me. He barely talked to her for months, but after a couple of hours, he's confessing his love. I knew Indy was interested in Beau, but I hadn't seen many clues that Beau felt the same way.

Cody was pretty much your typical skater boy; I do wish we learned more about him, but I guess the whole point was that he was just a fling for Indy, something to keep her mind off her crumbling world.

Ava and Caroline were pretty great best friends, and I understand why they were mad at Indy. If my best friend was blowing me off and being rude to me and my friends, I probably would do the same thing.

Indy's parents played a key part in Indy's falling apart, but it alarmed me a little bit that neither of them tried to talk to their daughter to see what was wrong. From what the story told, aside from yelling at her, Indy's mom didn't really have much to do with her daughter's life, and Indy's dad was always busy with some work thing.

One thing that tripped me up: the synopsis says that no one knew Indy's life was basically ruined, but in the book it seemed like Indy's personality had changed completely. I understand that doubting your parents might cause you to question yourself and act out, but I had to continue telling myself that, because it didn't really feel believable. Indy's (what seemed like to me) abrupt change didn't fully make sense, especially because we never got to see her flippant attitude in the "then" timeline.

Also, I never got that "OHHHHHH" moment when you realize what the title means. I'm not really sure where it connects, even after reading the whole book.

Room to Breathe is a book about a girl struggling to piece her life back together with a side of friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, and is perfect for when you're looking for something cute but with real life issues too. Even though it was a little bit slow-paced and confusing at times, this book made me really think about how much some people deal with without anyone knowing. Indy might open your eyes to the fact that everyone is fighting hidden battles, while also having you wishing you could be there to help her. Even though this book has some really important messages, just be warned that not everything is sunshine-and-rainbows.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Cute!
It reminded me of By Your Side which is fun.
I liked how the story is told through parallel storylines.
Also, it being loosely connected to Better than Revenge was a delightful surprise.