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Review

5 stars – I love, love, love this book!!!

From the moment I read the blurb of this book, I had that ‘tingly’ feeling, a sense of anticipation, and I couldn’t wait to start it. And I am happy to say that it did not disappoint! Both heartbreaking and heart-warming, this book took my emotions for a ride and I loved every moment of it! I was sucked in from the very beginning and I devoured every single page.

While technically this book features younger characters that are still in high school, I wouldn’t class it as a YA read. It deals with some very heavy topics, but it’s beautifully written and it’s all tied in with a love story that had me clutching my heart and tearing up at the emotion of it all.

“Since the moment my eyes met Owen Harper’s, he has owned me, terrified me, consumed me, and I don’t even remember the girl I was before him any more.”

Kensington’s world has just been turned upside down. Uprooted from life with her friends, her musical aspirations, and her senior year of high school, her parents have moved from the big city to a small town miles away, forcing her to start all over again. Angry at her parents, who spend the majority of their time working and commuting, she struggles to adjust to her new life, but slowly starts to settle in and make friends… and then she meets the boy next door.

Owen Harper is broody and wild with a bad reputation, and is a total ass to Kensington. Their initial ‘relationship’ is purely antagonistic, with Owen seemingly hell bent on taunting her, and Kensington not prepared to put up with the “demon spawn”. But there are rumours around town about the Harper boys and there’s something about Owen that intrigues her.

I think I knew the first time I looked into his eyes that there was nothing normal about Owen Harper. But what scares me is I had this flash of an idea— a fleeting thought— that there was something special about him, too.

And when Kensington’s life spirals even further out of control, Owen is there and the two of them discover that they both have significant family issues that they are dealing with, and that brings them together in a way that neither of them expected. And as they slowly start to open up and get to know each other, she sees the softer, more vulnerable side of him, and genuine feelings start to develop.

“I realize, he’s not really wild at all. He’s heartbroken. And maybe I don’t hate him as much as I thought I did.”

I loved watching the progression of Kensington and Owen’s relationship. It’s a slow build, but it’s realistic. Their pain draws them together, but they find something in each other that helps them through. It’s honest, and their shift from enemies to friends to more is absolutely beautiful and incredibly special. They experience the highs and lows of each other’s lives together, and the love, trust and acceptance between them never wavers.

Truth is, Owen Harper shot me through the heart that day he pointed his finger at me and pulled the trigger. I fell for him then, and I’ve been falling every day since. All I wanted was for him to catch me.
And he did.

But Owen’s demons are dark, and they are catching up with him, and OMG his story is tragic! He has been through so much, and continues to deal with the fallout of his family history, as well as the stress of his everyday life. My heart broke for poor Owen. Nobody should have to deal with all that he has to deal with, but the way he handled it all was amazing, and it made me fall for him completely. The story is written entirely from Kensington’s POV but even so, Ginger Scott gets us right to the heart of Owen, and I could absolutely understand his torment and his fears.

“I love you, Kensi,” he says, his lips grazing mine softly, before he pulls his mouth away again, leaving his head against mine. “I love you… but I will suffocate you. Drown you. Loving me… it will kill you.”

This is such a beautiful story of first love. Kensington and Owen are both new to relationships, but they find their way together, figuring it out as they go along, and I loved it all! From shy encounters in the school lunch room to tentative displays of public affection, the blending of the friends, secret conversations, their passionate exploring of all that they are feeling and figuring out who they are and what they want, it’s all beautifully written, and I felt everything along with them. And add into that all of the other dramas that they are both dealing with, and it’s a very intense situation, with the two of them clinging together through it all as they desperately fight for their happy ever after.

“I love you, and I’m not afraid to love you,” I say.
…
“I shouldn’t let you,” he says, his bottom lip held under his teeth, his breath a sharp intake. “But I don’t care, Kensi. Because I think I need you to survive. I think I need you to love me, because that’s literally all I’ve got.”

Ginger Scott has done an amazing job with this book! She has tackled some very heavy subject matter – suicide, addiction, mental illness, betrayal and family breakdown – and it’s not all easy reading, but she has done it respectfully, and with lots of feeling. There are moments of lightness, and some fantastsic side characters (particular shout out to Willow and Andrew who were fabulous), and she has tied it in with the absolutely beautiful love story and paced it out perfectly so that we get to truly soak up everything that this book has to offer.

I loved every moment of it – 5 huge stars.

 

The Harper Boys series