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The Seasons of Us #1
When We Were Close
Some friendships shape you. Some loves never let go. And some choices change everything.
Ashley thought she had all the time in the world to figure out her feelings. Growing up in Elmwood, she was surrounded by the people who meant everything to her—her best friend, Erin, the boy who always had her back, Jake, and the one who always felt just out of reach, Brandon. But love and timing don’t always align, and when teenage insecurities, peer pressure, and unspoken feelings get in the way, friendships fracture, hearts break, and life moves forward whether you’re ready or not.
A poignant, emotional coming-of-age story about friendship, love, and the moments that define us.
Parental discretion is advised due to mature themes.
Ashley thought she had all the time in the world to figure out her feelings. Growing up in Elmwood, she was surrounded by the people who meant everything to her—her best friend, Erin, the boy who always had her back, Jake, and the one who always felt just out of reach, Brandon. But love and timing don’t always align, and when teenage insecurities, peer pressure, and unspoken feelings get in the way, friendships fracture, hearts break, and life moves forward whether you’re ready or not.
A poignant, emotional coming-of-age story about friendship, love, and the moments that define us.
Parental discretion is advised due to mature themes.
- GenresEbooks
1225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 12, 2026
This is what you'd consider an objectively bad book. I enjoyed the story but it was too long and needed to be edited. Plus why am I supposed to root for Brandon when he treats Ashley like crap. This is her future husband and yet he won't date her because of what people think. The triangle us written wrong. You're supposed to wonder who she is going to end up with but we know she's going to end up with Brandon. Jake is better for her. I've never read an objectively bad book (one that every reader hates) before so the extra stars are for that.
January 23, 2026
My thanks to LibraryThing and the author for my eARC.
This was a long read. The length, in and of itself, didn’t intimidate me. But I know that was an issue with many reviewers. The author acknowledged that. For me, it depends a great deal on the plot, characters, and writing style. Some lengthy books can feel short and vice versa.
The book depicts the lives and interpersonal relationships of a group of friends throughout the years from elementary school to adulthood.
There were a lot of characters besides the core group. It was a challenge to keep track of them and their interpersonal relationships. The characters, themselves, seemed very liberal and advanced for their age(also acknowledged by the author).
Overall, I thought the book was ok. It took me a WHILE to get through. There was no plot as such, but I did get a good sense of the characters. It DID read like a diary/journal. Most of it was the characters’ house-hopping. What made it long was the excessive, unnecessary descriptive detail and repetition.
An afterthought : I did enjoy the FAQ’s at the end as it provided insight into the author’s inspiration. It also piqued my curiosity enough to add her other books to my TBR list.
This was a long read. The length, in and of itself, didn’t intimidate me. But I know that was an issue with many reviewers. The author acknowledged that. For me, it depends a great deal on the plot, characters, and writing style. Some lengthy books can feel short and vice versa.
The book depicts the lives and interpersonal relationships of a group of friends throughout the years from elementary school to adulthood.
There were a lot of characters besides the core group. It was a challenge to keep track of them and their interpersonal relationships. The characters, themselves, seemed very liberal and advanced for their age(also acknowledged by the author).
Overall, I thought the book was ok. It took me a WHILE to get through. There was no plot as such, but I did get a good sense of the characters. It DID read like a diary/journal. Most of it was the characters’ house-hopping. What made it long was the excessive, unnecessary descriptive detail and repetition.
An afterthought : I did enjoy the FAQ’s at the end as it provided insight into the author’s inspiration. It also piqued my curiosity enough to add her other books to my TBR list.
July 3, 2025
Writing this book review was quite a challenge, especially since the author congratulated me at the end for completing it. Certain aspects of the story resonated with me. The writing and story felt somewhat like a case study of growing up in a small town and navigating life with a close group of friends, in this case, Ashley, Brandon, Erin, and Matthew. In the 5th grade, these kids sign a contract to always be there for each other, and they stay true to their word. Throughout their growing-up years in the 90s, they experience all the typical coming-of-age events: parties, sleepovers, sexual awakening, experimentation with light drugs, get-togethers & breakups, and wondering what the future holds.
The writing itself was good, and the dialogue felt believable. However, the book was far too long and excessively wordy, lacking the necessary excitement or unexpected twists. It genuinely felt like I was reliving my school years. Just like Ashley, I went to a new school in 5th grade and made new friends. The story touched on concepts like friendships, romantic relationships, the ‘cool parents’, and the love triangles that Junior High and High School often bring. I felt that this was a retelling of someone’s diary, which was interesting but not necessarily what makes a good fiction novel sell.
One element I found distracting was the author’s disclosures at the beginning of the book, which also caused issues with the layout on Kindle Unlimited—the chapter numbers were jumbled. I pushed through the book because I felt challenged by the author’s disclaimers that most people DNF, and ultimately, I thought it was too lengthy without enough thought given to the story’s beats and plot points. Additionally, I didn’t know the beginning connected well to the ending, which was a letdown for me because I wanted to know more about what happened 10 years after they parted between Brandon and Ashley when all of a sudden he shows up in the town she’s moved to and wants to be with her; I expected more to be revealed and concluded at the end.
Overall, while the writing and dialogue were solid, I give this book a score of 2. I believe the author has potential, but the structural issues were too difficult for me to overcome, and I didn’t feel any of the angst I expect in a coming-of-age novel with young adult romance throughout.
The writing itself was good, and the dialogue felt believable. However, the book was far too long and excessively wordy, lacking the necessary excitement or unexpected twists. It genuinely felt like I was reliving my school years. Just like Ashley, I went to a new school in 5th grade and made new friends. The story touched on concepts like friendships, romantic relationships, the ‘cool parents’, and the love triangles that Junior High and High School often bring. I felt that this was a retelling of someone’s diary, which was interesting but not necessarily what makes a good fiction novel sell.
One element I found distracting was the author’s disclosures at the beginning of the book, which also caused issues with the layout on Kindle Unlimited—the chapter numbers were jumbled. I pushed through the book because I felt challenged by the author’s disclaimers that most people DNF, and ultimately, I thought it was too lengthy without enough thought given to the story’s beats and plot points. Additionally, I didn’t know the beginning connected well to the ending, which was a letdown for me because I wanted to know more about what happened 10 years after they parted between Brandon and Ashley when all of a sudden he shows up in the town she’s moved to and wants to be with her; I expected more to be revealed and concluded at the end.
Overall, while the writing and dialogue were solid, I give this book a score of 2. I believe the author has potential, but the structural issues were too difficult for me to overcome, and I didn’t feel any of the angst I expect in a coming-of-age novel with young adult romance throughout.
July 21, 2025
When We Were Close by Cassandra Whitmore is a beautifully written, emotionally rich story that pulled me in from the very first page. It explores the complexities of friendship, love, and grief in a way that feels deeply personal and relatable. The characters are fully developed and flawed in the best way—real people dealing with real-life pain and the hard work of healing.
What stood out most to me was how raw and honest the emotions were. Whether it was the ache of distance between once-close friends or the quiet hope of reconnection, every moment felt authentic. I found myself reflecting on people I’ve lost touch with and wondering about the “what ifs.”
Whitmore doesn’t rush the healing process in this book, which I appreciated. She gives the characters—and the reader—space to breathe, process, and grow. It’s a powerful reminder that even broken bonds can mend with time, honesty, and heart.
If you're looking for a moving story that stays with you long after the last page, this one delivers.
What stood out most to me was how raw and honest the emotions were. Whether it was the ache of distance between once-close friends or the quiet hope of reconnection, every moment felt authentic. I found myself reflecting on people I’ve lost touch with and wondering about the “what ifs.”
Whitmore doesn’t rush the healing process in this book, which I appreciated. She gives the characters—and the reader—space to breathe, process, and grow. It’s a powerful reminder that even broken bonds can mend with time, honesty, and heart.
If you're looking for a moving story that stays with you long after the last page, this one delivers.
December 13, 2025
the book was ... okay. the story brought back some high school pre-internet nostalgia. the author really captured high school insecurities, thoughts, and conversations. I kept reading because I was invested in the characters. but there were a lot of errors - characters names changed (Jake was once referred to as Jared) and sometimes transitions were awkward and bumpy. I kept thinking I skipped pages. or a character's name was mentioned with no context of who they were. I'm reading the second book so it wasn't a terrible book but it needed a strong editor.
January 31, 2026
Easily one of the worst books I’ve read in awhile. First off this book is wayyyyy too long and then the author has the audacity to claim there are four three other books about the same relationship that was boring as fuck in this one? Hell no.
The writing is also questionable at best and it’s way too much purple prose on top of the author clearly writing the FMC as herself or how she wishes she had been. The FMC is very much a Mary Sue.
This author is an auto hard pass for me from now on.
The writing is also questionable at best and it’s way too much purple prose on top of the author clearly writing the FMC as herself or how she wishes she had been. The FMC is very much a Mary Sue.
This author is an auto hard pass for me from now on.
January 8, 2026
This was fine. It was lengthy but the author was right on no good place to split it into multiple books unless you split it at middle and high school years. It’s a bit wordy and juvenile in literature which given the age it’s written as - makes sense. Wish the end circled back to the beginning of the book. I might read the next one.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews