Facing Us

Facing Us: Kids of The District Series BOOK 1, is the first of a series. It's a gritty, fast-paced and sultry page-turner that is something you will be hard-pressed not read in one sitting, as it's very hard to put down once you start reading it. The perfect way to escape the world for a few hours.

Facing us isn’t a happily ever after book. It has dark tendencies, mystery, mafia?, alcoholic, rape, violence, and attempted suicide. So if you do not like those... maybe this isn’t the book for you. Konnor and Blesk are two characters that from childhood have faced unspeakable horrors and it’s amazing they have made it to college and are functioning adults for the most part.

I will say the first chapter sets a different tone and confuses the crap out of you once you get going. It doesn’t have anything really to do with the story but maybe the next one? That’s right it’s not the end for Blesk and Konnor.

It was good, sometimes I had to ask myself what more could happen to these two but then more did. I love Jaxon and Elise, they provide some relief to the dark and I believe are necessary. Good book!

“This is the kind of book that gives you goosebumps in the best and worst way”

Holy mother of a cliffhanger! Nicci Harris is either pure evil or pure genius or maybe pure evil genius because just when I thought I was getting my happy ending and the stars were aligning and love was blooming in the air and all that jazz, she yanked everything (very violently) away from me and left me WANTING!

Before I begin, I feel I must issue a disclaimer so you can choose for yourself: “ The beginning has nothing to do with the end but the end may have something to do with the beginning, none of the characters are who they say they are, but are also not pretending to be something they are not, and this story will crush you on the inside.”

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let us begin with the District, commonly described as “A beating heart and claws” where an emotionally dark story is about to be played out about a beautiful girl and a lost boy who lives in a nightmare with no way out. Their world is fraught with emotional blackmail, love, courage, rape, kidnap and worst of all “Memories.”

Their story provides a beautiful reminder to laugh without consideration and that it’s ok to skip if you don't want to walk.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nicci for providing me with this amazing arc in exchange for my honest review. This review will be live on my blog from 16th June 2020 here: https://jesreadsit.wordpress.com/

Not a bad start for a series...

Most likely, the prologue is a foretaste of the following books in this series. However, at times during this read, when the past is revealed, I perhaps can see a connection...

Konnor and Blesk are two college-age kids that fall in love at first sight. Konnor is a grad student - Blesk - a new student at 21 years old .Things are not as wonderful as they seem - it is not an easy relationship for the two of them. Both of their families may have shady pasts that may make things rough - if not dangerous - for the two of them...

A good start to this series!!! And, yes, I do intend to join Nicci Harris on the continuing journey!

Many Thanks to Nicci Harris and NetGalley for a very good story.

The writing was good. I always enjoy reading darker books. I thought this book was amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next book.

This book was fast-paced and held my attention. However, some of Blesk’s choices, like why she maintains contact with a certain person, was baffling to me. I didn’t really understand her thought process and her reasoning for her choices regarding that person. Other than that stumbling block, the book was an interesting read and start to the series.

Wowzers! This book was not what I thought it would be but I’m so glad I requested to read it. Let’s dive in, shall we? Note: This book has some serious trigger warnings so keep that in mind if any of the below makes you want to read it 👇🏼

Liked:
🔸Storyline: The entire storyline was super interesting to me. I flew through this book because I kept wanting to see what happens next and was really into the direction it headed.
🔸Characters: I liked all of the characters a lot (except for a few, for obvious reasons). They were unique and weird and funny and somewhat broken yet still so strong and I enjoyed that. I also really loved the friendships they had or formed new.
🔸Surprises: I went into this thinking it was going to be some sort of damaged romance, which it was, but I wasn’t expecting the mystery and plot twists too.

Disliked:
🔸Cliffhanger: I was absolutely not expecting this to end when it did. If you’re the type of person who needs resolution in a book (like me), you won’t find it here.
🔸Insta-Love: I’m hit or miss with romances where they fall in love immediately. I like these two together, but thought they needed a little more time, despite their backgrounds.
🔸Writing: I’m not a professional writer, so who am I to critique, but it’s a minor pet-peeve of mine when I find typos in books and this one had a few. However, kudos to Nicci Harris for publishing this book herself and going for it 👌🏼

🧡🧡🧡🧡 / 3.75 stars! Is that a thing? I’m a sucker for a series and did like a lot of this book, so I’ll probably read the next book when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!

3,5 stars, rounding it to 4 stars
Facing us is the first book in the series "the kids of the district"
Blesk had just started her first year at university. As much as she is excited about her new life, she's still apprehensive, fearing that her past resurfaces and ruin her future. Her only solace is in her music and the fact that she is enrolled in the same university as her big brother.

Konnor is her senior. he's outgoing, confident, and more than anything gorgeous! During their first encounter, there is no doubt that they're attracted to each other. But Konnor can't help feeling that their chemistry is ancient and more profound than anything he ever felt.

I have mixed feelings about this one.
well first, let me tell you this book got all the elements for an epic love story, the love at first sight, the angst, the dark past, AND the kidnapping! but this is not a simple lighthearted story. There are many layers to it and definitely some dark surprises on the line.
The storyline is catching and got unpredictable twists. it genuinely got me wondering. but I had some problems with some details, majorly the rape part. Well, more precisely the way the MCs dealt with the situation afterward. It felt unrealistic in my opinion. I just couldn't grasp how the victim just decided to go back to see her raper and didn't report him to the police! it just left me frustrated and angry. and her boyfriend was actually questioning if she loved that guy?
I really liked the writing and the characters were great in the like the 2/3 of the book. But the last part was not my favorite. The story was dragging out a little bit, and I really couldn't stand Konnor anymore. His macho and protective character sounded more overbearing and possessive than anything else.

All in all, I liked the general idea of the series.
I wish the author the best of luck in her writing, and I just can't wait to read book number 2. I'm really interested in finding out what will happen next with Blesk and Konnor.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my review copy