7 out of 10 So I'm going to slowly churn out this series as there are 7, but I think it deserves more than a massive series review. 'Jade receives a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut; she sees it as a chance to finally escape her difficult history and start anew. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in. Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date; with consequences. As they try to overcome the obstacles keeping them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.' Goodreads blurb |
I loved the fresh realness of the characters; there was no fake instant romance or falling at each others feet, or some crazy timeline in which they fall in love that's completely unrealistic. It spanned a good length of time with carefully plotted scenes and progressions. The main female character Jade was absolutely kick-ass and extremely relatable, she seemed closed-off and defensive on the outside, but we soon are shown a more emotional and vulnerable side resulting from her childhood that directly connects her with Garret's similar past.
At first we are very clueless and left in the dark about why Jade acts the way she does; why is she rude? Why all the secrets? What are her true connections with Frank and Ryan? What does she really have against Garret? However, Miss Everhart cleverly uses Garret as a catalyst for her secrets being revealed. I really loved the unique freshness of Jade, she really portrayed the average teenage woman trying to balance everything, making her character very relatable and understandable.
At one point in the book, Jade understands that she and Garret can't stand away from one another, so she implements a 'friend-only' rule. Man the sexual tension in these few chapters was intense and I seriously yelled at my kindle because Jade wouldn't kiss him ! Garret was also an extremely lovable character, and at times he outshone Jade simply because he was so understanding and resilient to get Jade that he just kept going. He is probably one of my favourite male characters ever, he really brought a new dynamic with him because he highlighted the fact that people can always have two sides; his preparatory school, rich boy façade and his loving damaged past.
I loved the shared dynamic in this book, as much as romance was a focus I found it to be more focussed in books 3-5. In this book and book 2 it very much highlights the issues with their relationship and how its frowned upon by the society Garret belongs to. Katherine, although a bitch really brought out the good vs evil dynamic and rounded out the character base. I loved the friendship dynamic between Jade and Harper and how they evened each other out. Although Garret's father, Pearce, is a massive asshole in this book (excuse my French) he was needed to balance the book out. I hate saying that because he turns intone of my fave characters (spoiler!).
Now I did have one problem with the book, hence the 7 stars. I found the plotline to be quite laggy and spaced out, I felt some things could've been added to add a big more guts to the book and at times I had to push to keep going. But trust me, getting through this book is worth it, they only get better !!! :)
All in all this is a must read for any Kindle fans for something light and swoony to read.
I will upload the next few soon :)
Hayley xx