I'm not sure if it was the mood or not, but this was not a book for me. I just couldn't get into it or care about these people at all. Just another case of it's me, not you when it comes to books. I see many others have enjoyed it though so that solidifies that it was definitely me.

God.
Forbidden romance is one of my favourite tropes.
I loved this book so much.
Trigger warnings for child abuse, step sibling romance and a psychotic girlfriend.
Can't wait til I get my hands on the next book.

The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

There were so many good reviews for this book, I genuinely thought I'd enjoy it. I mean, sure, there were a few bad ones too, but for the entertainment value, I can handle a corny love story. But this just really bothered me. So that's why I gave up around chapter 23.

Eden is an annoying character. For someone with a severe eating disorder, she doesn't really have much of a right to call someone PATHETIC all the time for having a different coping mechanism than her. She doesn't eat, runs all the time to keep up her weight, takes things the wrong way when people talk about clothes fitting, agonizes over it. Just because not one person in the book was actually observant enough to notice, doesn't mean it's not there, and that it's not affecting her life and self-esteem. Another thing, she lies and keeps things inside and N.E.V.E.R says what she's really thinking that it's just annoying as hell. Which is hilarious because the first thing she says is 'I could never lie to dad, he always knew when I lied'. You're lying to him throughout the book girl.

Inwardly: OMG I AM SO MAD AT DAD FOR LEAVING GR@*$%.
Outwardly: I missed you, dad.

And it goes like that with EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT. Most of the book she was just a pushover. She doesn't like parties, but she'll go to them all. She doesn't like shopping, but she'll do it. She doesn't want to get in trouble for doing illegal things, but she'll do them. Most of the book she was the one who was PATHETIC (her go-to word with Tyler). She prides herself on being this goodie-two-shoes 'dad will be mad at me', but also, still does them. Or with her making out with Tyler even though she knows he has a girlfriend. Then goes to 'comfort' the girlfriend for being hurt over Tyler. WTF? I hate that the author gives you so much insight into her mind, but NEVER gets to allow for any of that to come out. So we are left frustrated over all the things she's bottling up but never voicing out, while she acts like a timid mouse with zero personality except with Tyler. Maybe that's meant to be symbolic on the author's part? Like she's a boring wimp, but Tyler brings out the interesting in her? Except, she starts acting like that from their second interaction which in my opinion made zero sense. Who the hell are you to pretend be concerned about someone you only met twice so far? But naturally, it's because 'there's something about Tyler'.

Eden is also a grade-A hypocrite, as I mentioned with regards to her thoughts. But even deep inside she's wishy-washy with her own thoughts. One second she's like 'I like Jamie', the next she's like 'I hate my stepmother and my stepbrothers'... girl, make up your mind.

Another thing that might be weird, but it's really bothered me since the start is, where is Eden getting her money for all she's doing? Did she have a job back in Portland and she's using the money she's saved from there? Is her mom (who is barely making ends meet even with the money her dad pays) giving her the money? Is she getting it from her dad? She's always out buying stuff or shopping and not ONCE was it mentioned where the money was coming from.

Anyhow, I won't go into a litany of all the things wrong with Tyler and his mother Ella. I'll just keep quiet here.

This book was definitely not something I expected, but I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. I loved the characters and their arcs and growth as people.

The romance in this was definitely not for everyone, but it worked for me. I was rooting for them and I am craving the second book in this series. I thought this was well written and I can see why it's so loved by many.

this is a good series, it was good to get back into it and invest back into the characters, much like the others it didn't disappoint.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley and Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

This book had a lot of heavy topics in it. And so much happens! Tyler is a troubled boy who can't seem to find his way back to a normal life. Eden sends to be the only light to bring him back, but she's his stepsiste. The attraction they feel for each other is wrong, yet why does it feel so right?

The parting and drinking in this book was to much in my opinion. I think it would have been a great book if it had a fraction of those scenes. The situation between Eden and Tyler was torture and unfair, yet I think they both need time to figure out what they really want. I mean, they are 16 and 17 years old!

Overall I enjoyed this book and I'm very curious to see how things continue in the next books.

I did not finish this book and therefore do not feel comfortable fully reviewing it. The fact that I did not finish should indicate how I felt.

I went into this blind (like always). I just knew several fellow YouTubers love it and I decided to give it a try. OMG, I wasn't ready. I so wasn't ready for the depth, the development or for the full-on crazy that this story holds. We start with Eden who is angry she has to be in California with her father and his new family. She's still angry at him for abandoning her so this summer before she finishes high school isn't going to be any fun. Tyler is currently drinking & drugging his way through his senior year and for him, this summer is also going to suck. At the end of this rollercoaster, I fell in love with Eden because she was sarcastic as heck, & witty when she wanted to be.



At first, I was totally unsure of where this was going, the cover, and the bright colors didn't really give a clue of what this story entailed. I was originally thinking this was going to be another painful Gossip Girl wannabe but oh nooo this was actually really good. I got hooked so fast and before I knew it I was laughing, talking back to the book and totally absorbed by what was unfolding. This story is told from Eden's POV, she's trying to get ready for college, find her place in her father's new family while still being loyal and loving to her mother who has never abandoned her. I absolutely loved how the LA landscape was described and how it played as much of a character as the humans. My favorite scene from the book would have to be the Hollywood sign scene, the description of the hike and the landscape just made me feel like I was there. I just loved the daring hike up to the sign, and the trip of getting away before getting into trouble. It totally felt like something my friends and I would have done during the summer in high school.



As with all teen romances, there has to be angst, drama and of course a bit of the forbidden. This book was truly about Eden and her growth as a young woman. She came to California to get away from the old her, & to prep for college. She certainly grew and somewhat learned to open her eyes to how adult relationships look different from the outside. While there were so many things to enjoy about this book I personally didn't like Eden's anger at her father, but I understood that as a child she simplified it down to two choices, even though there were way more things that she wasn't seeing. I also didn't like her father's anger at her, because at the end of the day he should have realized that she's a kid and she didn't see all that was happening. However, because humans fail at many things this felt the most real.



For me, the ending wasn't predictable at all because I didn't know what I was walking into. I knew I was a bit shocked by some of the turn of events and I absolutely loved that the author didn't gloss over the consequences of Eden's actions. This didn't go smoothly, her friendships and relationships were thrown into turmoil because of her choices and it was raw and real. I really enjoyed the friendship between the girls, I really had expected it to be a backstabbing kind of friendship but it wasn't and I loved that it was a bit of a sore point for all the girls. They all had insecurities and yet they didn't feel they could be completely honest even with their friends and this was awesome to see them learning who they could open up to.



Since this was told from Eden's POV we only know and see what she sees. this both worked and didn't because we only knew what she did about the secondary characters, we didn't know their emotions, take or feeling on a situation unless they verbalized it. I went into this not knowing what to expect and walked away absolutely addicted to the point that I ordered all three physical books plus the final ebook so I could read at work. I really enjoyed this one and all the emotions it evoked.



★★★★☆

RECOMMENDATIONS

Movie:

Clueless
Books:
Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry
Raine by J.C. Valentine

Happy Reading my loves,

Eden Munro is a sixteen year-old who travels from her home in Portland to L.A. Her dad has invited her to spend the summer as his place, with his new wife Ella and her three new stepbrothers.
She is totally clueless what to expect of her dad's new family, and she steps into this summer blank.
She soon is taken under the wing of her stepbrother Tyler, who is the oldest of the tree brothers. He takes her to parties of his friends, where Eden discovers that Tyler is using drugs. And she get's to know Tyler's girlfriend Tiffani, who is claiming Tyler to the max.

During her stay, Eden and Tyler get to know each other better and better, and this leads to a little romance, something thatodd because they are stepbrother and sister. They try to hide their feelings for Eden's dad and Ella and their friends, but this is quite difficult. Especially when Tiffany is told by one of her friends that he saw Tyler with another girl. Tiffani confronts Tyler and tells him she's pregnant of him. It seems Tyler makes a mess off his live, and takes Eden with him.

I liked the most parts of the story, altough I had the feeling this was not the most original YA novel, as a lot of YA novels with a bad boy in it has this type of plot. Eden was a nice main character but she doesn't make any progress throughout the story. She doesn't make any standups against Tyler's bad drugs habits, as far as I remember. Tyler, well, what to say about him? He was just the annoying bad boy character as we have read about in so many other YA novels, nothing new here. It would be an even nicer novel if the author would have choose to let the characters make a change in their lives, but it all stayed the same till the end. It was enjoyable, but not mind blowing or original. I am curious though for the next novel in this trilogy.

I loved it! LOVED this story! even with all my emotions of it all over the place I loved it!!

Love this whole series! This author is fantastic and I can't wait to read anything written by her. The characters are ones that I connected with right away and from page one I was hooked.

I found a few minor mistakes/things that didn't make sense as I was reading, but otherwise I think I enjoyed this book. There were so many great parts and I highlighted several parts that made me laugh. I can't wait to read the other two books!