Watching your house burn down in front of you isn't exactly the ideal way to end your Summer. To most, this would be a nightmare, actually. Yet to Hailey Eller and her family, this was reality.
After a gas leak leaves them homeless - but thankfully, unhurt - the Ellers are forced to relocate. And how convenient that their old family friends, the Reids, were kind enough to offer the Ellers a place to stay temporarily while getting back up on their feet.
There was one problem, though. The Reids not only included the very quiet yet insightful Mr Reid and the cheerful chatterbox Mrs Reid, but also their three sons. The problem, to Hailey, at least, was their Callum Reid.
Him, the popular jock with an arrogant atttitude, and her, the stubborn recluse, with her uptight, "nerdy" one.
They couldn't be more different. Yet, now forced to share one roof, their dynamic begins to shift. Senior year will take them places, but maybe navigating it with their forced sense of togetherness won't be too bad.
That, or they'd be the ones setting the house on fire this time.
I was really disappointed by the number of grammatical mistakes throughout the book. It felt like there was a lot of repetition, which made the reading experience less enjoyable. Additionally, I found the ending to be very abrupt and unsatisfying. It left too many questions unanswered and didn't provide the closure I was hoping for.
2.75 ⭐️ I normally LOVE Yves' writing, but this book felt really dull and I found myself getting bored at times (and it definitely didn't need to be 800+ pages-). The main characters were honestly Mary Sue & Gary Stu, which made it hard for me to like or even root for them. And it also kind of bothered me how Hailey's house burning down was almost never mentioned again after the first few chapters. Like, what should have been a very traumatic event of a teenager girl's life was completely downplayed and neither Hailey nor her family seemed affected by it at all (neither mentally, nor financially). I know everyone copes differently, but I think it would have been a lot more realistic if their house got flooded (or maybe even a rat infestation or something lol) and they needed a temporary place to crash at while they got it fixed. Other than that, some parts of Callum (also what kind of name is Callum lmao) interacting with his friends were unrealistic af. I normally adore Yves' ability to write such complex and realistic characters, but bffr; four popular jocks in high school -who also happen to be notorious hormonal f boys- sitting around in a circle, giggling about how pretty their crushes are, is hilariously unrealistic 😭 Hailey's parts were more realistic, though pretty boring. I won't get into the constant gramatical errors and repetitive sentences, since everyone already said the same thing. One thing that I want to say though, is that the best part of the book was definitely the smut scene lmao. I'm still planning on buying the sequel of this book when it comes out, because I know how amazing Yves' writing can be, but this book was a disappointment. I feel like the author's strongest point is writing thrillers and complex lores (especially in Play Dirty), instead of a simple story line with romance as the main plot; so I hope she focuses her attention on that area.
It was such a sweet romance book. The development of their relationship through out the book is well paced. I felt there were some questionable moments in the book and there were few grammatical errors.
I first discovered this author through the app Episode: Choose Your Story, where I loved her stories. In particular, her story Play Dirty showcased her creativity and storytelling talent.
This book, however, contained many cliché topics. While I don’t mind a cliché moment now and then, it felt a bit overdone. The overall reading experience was enjoyable, but from the very beginning, I noticed numerous grammar and spelling mistakes. Unfortunately, these errors became even more frequent as the chapters went on, which I found very frustrating. In my opinion, when publishing a novel, extra care should be taken to ensure everything is properly edited.
Another issue was the overuse of certain words and phrases, which made the reading experience repetitive and, at times, irritating. Additionally, many important details were skipped over, such as different points of view and key situations. These elements would have been crucial for readers to fully engage with the story. On the other hand, the author sometimes spent too much time on unnecessary details, like the soccer game, which slowed down the pacing.
One of the book’s strengths, however, was the author’s ability to give each character their own unique personality and quirks. She also did an excellent job of writing deep, emotional moments. I found myself crying at some parts and laughing a lot throughout the story. The smut scenes were also very well-written, which contributed significantly to my enjoyment of the book and played a big role in why I gave it a third star.
And then there was the ending…
It felt incredibly rushed and ultimately disappointing. While I appreciated the glimpse into the characters’ future, it came across as dull and unremarkable.
Overall, I don’t think this book is worth $20. However, I hope the author continues to grow and improve because she clearly has talent and potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
4.5 ⭐️ for me!! 0.5 off bc of the lenght for my adhd brain it was a lot! and some spelling mistakes which i dont mind!!! BUT! this was AMAZING! this story REALLY felt like ur reading about haileys and callums growth, their feelings for each other. i loved hailleey i really could resonate with her. i love her so much she held her ground and who she is. and callum the MAN!! This MAN did EVERYTHING for her eithout even RELEASING he was doing it without even knowing WHY!?!?!?! I loved how their relationship grew and how their friends story ended. the relation ship between hailey and dalton and nathan (callums brothers) was so sweet made me tear up a bit🥹. toward the last 20 chapters callum made me kick my feet. he was SUCH a SIMP for Hailey and he LOVED it. how deeply he saw hailey how deelpy he loved hailey was everything. and how deeply hailey saw callum and how deeply hailey loved callum was EVERYTHING💛🥹🥹 Yves storys on episode are AMAZING but so is this book!