This slow-burn, angsty new adult romance delivers heart pounding tension and authentic emotional depth that kept me hooked from start to finish.

June's journey as a shy introvert navigating a new high school in sunny Laguna Beach feels refreshingly real, and I enjoyed how her true crime obsession adds quirky layers to her character, making her instantly relatable and rootable. The brooding bad boy James, with his reckless edge and hidden torment, creates electric chemistry that builds gradually, avoiding insta love clichés for a delicious push pull dynamic full of stolen glances and charged confrontations.

What I loved most was the masterful pacing of their opposites-attract romance, where vulnerability and healing emerge through subtle, heartfelt moments against a vibrant beach backdrop that heightens the internal stakes.
The themes of facing fresh starts and breaking down walls left a warm, hopeful resonance that lingered long after reading.

I can’t wait for book two!

gorgeous, fun, and well-plotted book with some great vibes. would definitely recommend this one. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

June and James and all those in this book have built a world full of heart and home. a book i laughed, felt pulled to and maybe pulled me apart at times a little too. this book will be special to so many. and it will do all the things the cynics amongst us will hate it for. because it makes us FEEL big teenage yet adult all at the same time kind of feels.
June moves, yet again. and its a pivotal time in people that age. she worried whether she will fit in. but this lass is goodness in a young lass and shes soon befriended. all except by one person. James. hes the typical darkness in the room, the bad boy. isn't he? NO HE ISN'T. oh James, some of us are too old to fall for this stuff.. and yet we do. and i love that books still give us oldies the chance to do so. there is real tension between the two. there is attraction, yes there is.
this isn't the usual high school romance. where we flit around some seemingly big issues but we know are there to be palatable. no, no this one hit some real issues. and it hits them so well with the sensitive yet telling way they should be touched upon. some themes are deep, but there is no greater time for a person of this age to feel seen. to be honest this age is hard enough, add those other things in and wam, you've got some pain going on amongst those corridors. if it doesn't touch you then well done. but for so many it does.
there are other points of view in this story which only fleshes out the world we are sucked into here. its slow but its also very authentic. you are getting to know these people. you are coming to be totally immersed into a world that means something to you. and sure enough the character in this book do. and its then you have some really special. because when books mean something to you then you've hit upon something good.
i was rooting so hard for June and James. so much you dont want them both to get hurt. they keep revolving round each other. they are both strong. they are both willing but they are both somehow pulling away, or clashing. can there be something more for these two. i just wanted so hard for them to be together. but also for them to be ok. these kind of books break your heart dont they? but will we ever not love them for it?,,..nope. gimme gimme gimme.