Loner by Ginger Scott is live!
An emotional and dramatic, mature YA romance full of heartache and healing, with a love story that completely stole my heart, this is such a beautiful read, and I loved it!
Amazon
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Blurb
Theo Rothschild wasn’t a bad boy, but he wasn’t quite good either. And shy Lily Beachem was content admiring the hottest guy at Welles Academy from the comfort of her quiet corner. Until Lily’s best friend, Theo’s sister, decided two lonely souls should be together.
And maybe she was right.
Theo and Lily felt something that night they sat awake and talked for hours under the cover of the woods and a blanket of stars. But when tragedy struck their small, elite East Coast boarding school, robbing them of friendships and any hope of a normal life, being alone became the only thing that made sense.
But sometimes the deepest bonds are forged through pain, and for Theo and Lily, holding on to the threads of their connection might do more than ease their broken hearts. It may finally make them whole.
Review
4.5 stars
The start of a new series from Ginger Scott, this is an emotional and dramatic, very mature YA romance set in an exclusive secondary school, and tackling issues such as grief, loss, abuse (off the page) and trauma. Introducing a great group of characters, and with a love story that completely stole my heart, this is such a beautiful read, and I loved it!
Theo and Lily both attend prestigious Welles Academy. Lily has crushed on Theo from afar for years, but it wasn’t until recently that they actually spent time together – one glorious night where they were pushed together at the insistence of Theo’s twin sister/Lily’s best friend, Anika. They talked for hours, and felt a connection that hinted at the possibility of so much more. But the night ended in tragedy, cutting off everything that was brewing between them.
Now, their summer break is over and they’re back for their final year of school – both grieving, a little bit lost, traumatised by all they’ve been through, and with no idea how to behave around each other. Lily has the added complication of guilt over all that happened, and Theo, in particular, has a lot of anger which he is directing at her. It’s a complex situation simmering with all kinds of emotion, and my heart ached so much for both of them.
If I were a better person, I’d leave her to go through this alone. But I’m not. I’m not reveling in her self-hatred. I do, however, appreciate it. Suddenly, I feel a lot less alone.
Every interaction between Lily and Theo is full of chemistry. From the bad to the good, I could feel it all. And underpinning all of it is the attraction that they so clearly have towards each other. It’s buried beneath all of the other crap they are dealing with, and doesn’t always show in positive ways, but it’s definitely there, and builds a wonderful sense of anticipation. And as their friends and their school activities lead to them spending more time together, all of that anger and grief starts to shift as their connection from before the tragedy allows them the comfort and familiarity to be vulnerable with each other, and they start to realise just how much the mean to each other.
Something in each of us completes the other. When I’m with him, even when we’re fighting, I am whole.
She makes me hurt, but she also makes me feel alive.
They start to talk, they open up to each other, and before too long, everything between them is changing.
“I don’t know what to do about the way I feel.” …
“But you feel…something,” I croak.
He nods and his eyes close as his forehead falls forward to rest on mine.
This is such a beautiful love story! It’s honest, it’s raw, it’s passionate (seriously!), and it’s breathtakingly emotional. Lily and Theo feel so much for each other, and they are there for each other in ways that only they can be. They both have difficult and deeply sensitive family situations to navigate, they’re both still coming to terms with their loss, and Lily, in particular, is working hard to get her life back to where it was before the trauma. They have a lot to work through, and together they give each other strength to do exactly that, and I loved watching every step of it.
Being with her makes it all right to not be alright.
They have ups and downs, but their journeys are real and so emotively written. I feel like I got right to the heart of these two characters, and watching them fight their way forward and heal together was really special. There were scenes that had my heart pounding, and I reveled in every little moment of joy that they found together.
Theo and Lily have a great group of friends around them. There are some really interesting dynamics between them, and I enjoyed their interactions and the support that they offered to each other. I’m hoping that we’ll get to know them in future books of the series.
This book is a standalone story with a beautiful finish that left me happy and satisfied. I felt so much while reading, which I love, and I adored these characters and their heartfelt and emotional journey.
4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.
The Boys of Welles
About the Author
Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, A Boy Like You, A Girl Like Me, Memphis and Cry Baby.
A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).
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