Sous la lumière

The Field Party #2

by Abbi Glines

Willa ne peut effacer les mauvais choix qu’elle a faits par le passé. Des erreurs qui lui ont fait perdre ses deux meilleurs amis et sans doute son premier amour.

Brady et Gunner font tous deux partie de l’équipe de football de la petite ville de Lawson, en Alabama. Au fil du temps, Gunner se montre plus compréhensif avec Willa, tandis que Brady ne veut plus entendre parler d’elle. Alors que des secrets inavoués remontent à la surface, les cœurs se brisent et se guérissent. Même si elle risque de perdre ses amis pour toujours, Willa acceptera-t-elle de mettre la vérité sous la lumière ?

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Sports Romance, Sports, High School, New Adult

360 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 2016

About the author

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Smoke, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but she now lives in New England and that's as close as it is going to get. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, watching Netflix and all the introverted stuff.
You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. She uses social media to procrastinate.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars



Under the Lights is the second book in Abbi Glines’ The Field Party series. It’s YA, but I would call it a mature YA. Glines uses the same formula in most of her books- and that works for me. Her books are usually easy, fun, quick and hit the spot for me. This one had a bit more angst than some of her others. As you can probably tell from the blurb, Gunner and Brady… two guys… love triangle(ish).

Willa has come back to Lawton after moving away with her mom. She’s been through some terrible and traumatic things. When Willa was a kid, her best friends were Brady and Gunner, but it’s been a long time since she’s seen them. Will they remember her? She’s not worried about boys or friends right now. All she wants to do is get through her senior year of high school unscathed and make her Nonna proud of her.

Gunner is a Lawton. That name is powerful in Lawton, but his life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, he’s got money, but he also has a terrible family. Things aren’t great for him. Brady is the opposite. He doesn’t have a ton of money, but he’s the star quarterback and his family is wonderful. He has a great life. When the boys notice Willa is back, both are enamored with her.

Brady and Gunner are best friends, they have been since they were kids. Gunner is going through a lot right now. For some reason, Willa is the one person he feels safe to talk about it with. He feels like she gets it. She can understand things that Brady just can’t. When Willa was younger, she had the biggest crush on Brady. But now Gunner is in the picture and it’s confusing for her. I know what guy I rooted for ;) I’m happy with the way the story turned out and can’t wait for the other guys book (if he gets one- I REALLY hope he does) and I’m glad that the friendships stayed intact through all this.

I enjoyed this book and I’m loving this series! Can’t wait for more of the guys to get their books!

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS



Wait it’s over? Why did this story end so abruptly and will this couple have a book two?



Seriously other than the Lawson family drama-rama which was a tad on the ridiculous side as the reveals just kept coming, I actually REALLY liked this story. I thought the story flowed well but I must stress as with the prior book in this series I was rushed out of so many scenes that I felt so much more could be written. I loved Willa a ton and her backstory was truly heartbreaking. This love triangle with her two former childhood best friends when she returns to town was totally kick ass.

”She’d given me hope. I hadn’t realized I had none until her.”



"Kissing Brady had been nice. Kissing Gunner had rocked my world.”

The excitement of who will be the right guy for Willa between Brady and Gunner was intense and I read this book in one sitting. However so much is left unanswered and explored…



So I’m resorting to withholding the 5th Star hostage until my demands are met:

Write a book two PLEASE which is expanded in parts to give the school small town feel. I mean one teaser has couple on football field and Willa didn’t even get a darn jersey to wear or to go to school as his girlfriend for goodness sakes! Answer all the under answered questions and NOT with a few pages I want them to have memorable moments as a couple. What happened with the other relationship with Ivy? Who the hell is Willa’s father? Homeschooling…really Nonna. I want special swoon moments between these two as a damn couple.



Overall, I found this to be a very entertaining young story that has a ton of potential for more. It also doesn’t hurt that my pick in the love triangle was the victor of Willa’s heart!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOW LIVE!
*Amazon US*Amazon UK*

We all make mistakes, it's human. But what do you do when a mistake costs you everything, including your freedom? For Willa Ames, the answer is to run back home to her Nonna and the town of Lawton. She left six years ago to live with her mom and was never allowed to come back for a visit. Which meant her two best friends, Brady and Gunner, got left behind also.

They're all grown up now, and so are their feelings. When Brady and Gunner see Willa again they feel far from friendship for her, and they both want their shot at being with her. But six years ago they made a pact that neither of them would ask her to be their girlfriend, and it doesn't seem like the new Willa is even willing to give them a shot. None of that stops both Brady, and Gunner from trying to win her affections though.



I was nervous to start this because I'm not a fan of angsty love triangles, but Abbi Glines surprised me with how she did this triangle. It wasn't full of a lot of drama and fighting, and for a YA everything was handled pretty maturely. Sure, there was a few parts that had some drama in it, but not nearly as much of the book as I was expecting. I really liked how these three characters acted throughout the book.

Willa may have only been seventeen but she had been through something that no one, of any age should ever have to go through. The way she handled it, though, is what made me like her character. She really tried to change for the better and her struggle during this story made her very easy to relate to. My heart broke for her so many times and I just loved to get to see her finally have her HEA.



I pretty much knew right away which man she was going to choose, so it wasn't honestly a big secret for me. But for those that don't figure it out I think you will love the guessing game that's through most of the book. Especially since you get to see a lot of each character, and it really makes you feel for all of them.



The only issue I had was the ending, but it wasn't anything big. I just wanted there to be a little more time spent bringing everything together so that it didn't feel like it was such a sudden ending.

Overall, the way Abbi was able to take this YA novel and make it so real was truly wonderful. There wasn't any over the top drama, only real life situations that any teenager can find themselves apart of. I am almost positive I know who the next book will be about so I am dying to get my hands on that!

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things you may not know about me. I am from the South and I love Abbi Glines. Oh and I am in love with this series that absolutely resembles my high school experience. Here in Tennessee football is king, whether it's high school, college or professional ball. Going to the game on Friday was never a question, you didn't miss the games.

Willa, Gunner and Brady were best friends up until they were eleven and Willa moved away. Brady and Gunner continued their friendship and went on to be star football players for their small town.

Under the Lights starts around the same time Until Friday Night ended and while they are continuations of the same group of people they can be read as a standalone. Willa has just moved back to town and while she is still as beautiful as ever there is something darker in her eyes.

Brady and Gunner both fight for her attention and to learn what is troubling her, both of them want to be the reason she smiles again. They both have their own issues and struggles but are ready to fight for her. Throughout the story, new things come up and Willa has to choose which guy is the one for her. Her childhood best friend or the boy who gave her butterflies.

This series will have an annual release, one every August, just in time for football season. Reading this book completely took me back to high school. There were moments I was cringing for the characters and times I had a huge smile remembering these moments. I am probably not the target audience for these books, but I love them nonetheless.

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great second book in the series.
I loved it!
I just think that it would've been better without the whole love-triangle thing.
Brady shouldn't have been in this book as much as he was. We know that the next book is about him and I didn't much like that he thought he was in love in this book :/
BUT - I really enjoyed reading Gunner's story!

♥

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.5 Stars!!! ***


This is the second book in the series by Abbi Glines.. I was a tad bit disappointed in this one, only because our main couple never did have sex... and certainly didn’t even have many intimate moments in anyway.. If anything, they seemed to have more of a friendship going on instead of a hot and heavy relationship that I usually like in my romances.

Other than that though, it was a good read and I will be interested to see how the next book carries on in the series.

[Anne OK · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the first book, I was really looking forward to the second installment. Big mistake! Thoroughly disappointed -- especially in the whacko ending. Just left me speechless and thinking boy was I a sucker to wait one whole year for that kind of ending! That's all I'm saying.

P.S. I forgot to mention that these books are way over-priced as well -- $10.99 for Kindle!

[rachel, x · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, I did not expect to dislike this more than Until Friday Night but I did. If you cannot stand sexism, slut-shaming, misogyny, arsehole love interests, love-squares, Bella Swan-like female characters or books which use rape/death/tragic circumstances as plot devices, run. This book is not for you.

Please be warned that this review will contain spoilers.

The slut-shaming and sexism were inexcusable. This book draws on a common romance trope that I absolutely despise: dismissing all female characters, excluding the love interest (in this case, Willa), as a slut/whore/bitch. Willa was considered special and different because - unlike every other girl - she didn’t cave to traditional feminine traits. She played with army men and in the dirt as a child while other girls couldn’t stand getting their hands dirty. She laughed at the male characters’ sexual innuendos and told her own dirty jokes which would have scandalized/embarrassed any other female. She was blunt and direct where most girls are fake/manipulative to get attention or overly nice because they are so placid. Willa was sexy for wearing shorts to school and matching it with a hoodie instead of a crop-top because unlike those other girls that did it for attention, Willa just wore casual clothes because she wanted to. Her breasts were big and attractive but not over-sized (?) like the slutty girl who showed them off to get laid. I had to continuously put the book down and go for a walk because I was so sickened or disgusted by the way female characters were treated and portrayed in this story.



Ivy, Serena, and the other girls at school had no personality. They only thing that defined them were excessively ‘girly’ traits - such as being clingy, manipulative, needy, or overly talkative (which was particularly irritating to these characters because girls’ voices are so high-pitched) - where Willa was shown to be above that, better than that, special. In this world, having an even remotely feminine trait was used to demean the other female characters and dismiss them as sluts/bitches. It was disgusting representation.



This was also shown by the fact that, like Maggie, Willa had no female friends. The girls at school ignored her because they were jealous of her looks and her relationship with Gunner and Brady (who were two of the hottest boys at school, of course). These girls only appeared in the story because they were used by the male football players for sex or decorative arm candy at parties/events. They even use the term ‘used’ themselves. Gunner himself is shown ‘using’ a girl named Serena - getting her to sit on his lap in the cafeteria and making out with her in purposeful locations - to upset a girl he made out who was ‘getting the wrong idea’ about their relationship. He also took a girl to a dance just so he could get a bj and sex from her. He blatantly stated so… so I think that was excuse enough for why I found it hard to muster any sort of affection for him. However, Gunner also slut-shames his own mother and accuses her of lying about being raped (because she would enjoy that sort of attention). Yes, he was verbally abused by his family. Yes, he had an awful home life and unacceptable upbringing but nothing excuses his behaviour, especially since Brady was ready and willing to help him through his problems if he had just told someone. Of course, the first person he opened up to was the hot new girl who wanted to get into the pants of as well. Ugh.



The other male characters in this story also dislike a particular girl because she had - supposedly - slept with the majority of the football team. In fact, any girl who seems enjoy sex or be interested in a football player was deemed slutty, setting multiple double-standards for the jocks who were considered more masculine or ‘cooler’ for having slept with multiple partners.

Brady was meant to be the goody two-shoes alternative to Gunner’s bad boy approach. In fact, Gunner himself constantly thinks about how Brady would probably be better for Willa because he is stable and thoughtful, comes from a good home and is the type of person to pick up elderly ladies on the side of the road and drive them home… but for a ‘good guy’ Brady does a lot of shitty things.

His entire romantic situation made me sick. From page one, we know that he is dating a girl from school named Ivy but it quickly becomes apparent that he has no interest in her. At all. In fact, he admits that the only reason they are still dating is because she is so nice that he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by breaking up with her. Instead, he keeps stringing her along. I understand that these situations are difficult and that it is hard to break someone's heart you have spent so long getting to know but what pissed me off about this situation (the most) was the fact that he is pursuing Willa the whole time. If you are starting to have romantic thoughts about someone else, you need to talk to your current partner. On top of that, when he broaches the subject with Willa - who blatantly tells him what he is doing to Ivy is selfish and not okay - we can see she got to him and he finally registers this train of thought. However, instead of getting up and going to talk to Ivy about it - like it looked like he would for a second - he leans over and freaking kisses Willa! And it wasn’t a quick thank-you-for-showing-me-the-error-of-my-ways peck on the cheek kiss. No! It was a full-on, this-could-lead-to-more-if-we-let-it kiss. I cannot stress how much this made me rage. He just admitted that he didn’t even like his girlfriend and that he should break up with her before hurting her even more and then he freaking kissed someone else? Not okay! What made me rage even more though - yes, that’s possible - was that by the end of the book he still hasn’t broken up with her. Good God. Please tell me, how this situation alone could make this guy the supposed good guy?



I also disliked Brady for some of the dubious things he said and did. He constantly promoted sexist gender roles, telling Gunner off for talking about his sex life in front of Willa because poor delicate females like her find that ‘sort of talk’ embarrassing. He also called West a pussy for holding his girlfriend’s hand in public. What? Why? On top of that, he dismisses Maggie all of the time because she suffered from selective mutism in the first book (which was magically healed by her love for Brady’s hot best friend but I won’t get into that now). I disliked him immensely.

Other thoughts:

• Like the first book, this story started with massive info-dumps about the character’s backstories and the town itself. I understand it’s good to get this sort of background information out of the way so readers can get to the heart of the story but this information was not organically incorporated into the story so it upset the pacing.
• The title is irrelevant. I have no idea what it has to do with the story?
• The best part of this book is the multiple POVs. I’ll happily admit that in all of her books so far - that I have read, of course - Glines has easily distinguished the voices of narrating characters. Dual narration will always be a weakness of mine in romances so I really appreciated that aspect.

Overall?

I did not enjoy this book (if you couldn’t tell already). Glines romanticised tragedy to create tension between characters and slut-shamed to the extreme. I hated the sexism rampant in Gunner and Brady’s POVs and found it hard to find even a fibre of my being that liked their characters. I didn’t connect to Willa but likely because of her tendency to fall for arseholes like Gunner. I didn’t like the writing or the plotline. I would not recommend this book or this series. I am terrified to read the last book in this trilogy but I hope Brady can redeem himself.

[Beth Hudspeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Hello Beautiful Book Blog

Great representation of small towns in the south. However, the characters, storyline, and overall concept was played out and insincere.

I’m just going to start by saying what I’ve said in the past, I end up disliking these books, but guess what – I keep going back to them. Do I like the torture or am I just in denial? Who knows, but I found this book painful. Not in a sense for the characters having a painful situation, but just for the story in general. The characters, the storyline, the writing… painful. It was hard to finish, but I am a little stubborn sometimes when it comes to books. I have to finish. I hate leaving things undone.

This book is the second book in The Field Party series by Abbi Glines. I read the first book and it got 3 stars from me so I thought what the heck, I’ll go on with it. I thought the first book was pretty good. I felt the characters and connected with the story. Maggie and West were complex characters and I enjoyed reading about them. Willa, Gunner, and Brady on the other hand, they are just not and I did not. I found their “love triangle” cliche and forced. I didn’t feel any type of chemistry or connection between any of them. Their friendship didn’t really feel genuine either. I won’t ramble on because I think you guys get the gist.

This book has a redeeming quality however. The small town feel. If you grew up in a small town in the south, you understand a lot of what is happening in the book. There are certain aspects that spoke to me as being from a small town. Not only the unpleasant things like the secrets of the rich family, everyone knowing each others’ business, football is everything, but also the sense of loyalty you have toward your town and the people in it. It is unlike anything else you will ever feel. If you are from that small place in the world, someone has your back and you have their back. It’s kind of like a sibling rivalry, you can say the mean things about them, but once an outsider says something, it’s on. Abbi does southern pretty well, I’ll give her that.


***ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for honest review***

[nicklein · Rating 5 out of 5]

"But in that moment all I could think was 'I get it. Why people fall in love. I so fucking get it.'"

5 HOW-TO-BE-YOU-WILLA-AMES STARS!

The swoon level of this book was off the frigging charts!

And it has the most killer plot twists ever! I can't.

This was told from three perspectives which made me guess who the main couple was for what felt like forever. I swear it got to the point where I shipped Willa with different (hot) guy every chapter right until the 50% mark. Willa was a lucky girl. Sigh.

Just when I thought Brady was the guy, Gunner will do or say something that would sway me. They did that for like 10 times, something my fragile little heart wasn't prepared for.

It was torture. Playing with my heart like that. Tsk tsk. Loljk.

But I'm happy with how it ended. Pure unadulterated happiness was pouring out of me right now. No joke.

The romance was beautiful. It wasn't forced. The desire, the longing, and the build up gave me life.

And it was nice to see West and Maggie and the rest of the gang again.

It's really hard to talk much without giving away our guy so I'm not gonna.

I'm so freaking excited for the third book now that I have a hunch on who will be our next main characters.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an incomplete book... I am so confused as to how it could just end like that.



Here is everything we still don't know..

1. Who is Willa's dad?
2. Does Brady break things off with Ivy?
3. Does Nonna let Willa go back to school?
4. Are Gunner and Willa official?
5. What does any of this have to do with Riley?
6. The entire conflict with Gunner's family isn't solved.
7. Did Rhett rape Riley or is there more to the story?
8. What happenes when Gunner turns 18?
9. Does Willa ever confront her mom?
10. Are her and chance okay again?


I could go on and on.. that is just a list of 10 things that I am confused about.

I had super high expectations for this book and they fell flat.



Also, if you are sensitive to suicide then I would skip this one.

[Ryan Buckby · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Read: January 16th 2017
Re-read: July 26th 2021, December 16th 2023

when i first read until friday night i thought it was a stand alone contemporary novel and i was surprised to learn that it was getting a second book making it a duology, i thought the first book was ok and when i seen this book in the book section of my local book shop and learned it was set in the same town and same set of characters i had to see what was going to happen next for these characters, because i hate not finishing a series once i know it has two books in it.

This book is told in the perspective's of three characters a new character Willa and two returning characters from the first book Gunner and Brady. At first i wasn't going to read this book but was going to keep an open mind and read it but i can say i did kind of enjoy the first novel slightly more then this one. I found the first book dealt with personal issues and learning to overcome them and this second book dealt with more secrets and lies and trying to discover the truth which i found was a big shift from the first one but a nice sense of direction in the story.

Things i liked about this book: I did like the fact that the two main guy characters Gunner and Brady in this novel started to have their own voices and move away from sounding the same, since i had trouble with that in the first novel. I got more of a sense of the town in this second book with more things starting to be explained and places that were never mentioned in the first one. Abbi handled the love triangle in the book a lot better then i imagined it would of went, i am thankful she didn't focus on the drama and fighting that is in most YA contemporary love triangles.

Things i didn't like about this book: I don't want to sound like a downer or like I'm just being an asshole but there were many things i didn't like about the book. The love triangle in this book was painful at times to read because straight away i knew these two guys would be trying to win over Willa from the beginning and i was completely right, even though it changed towards the end of the book it was there for the most part. It got so bad there was even a third guy that had the hots for Willa like come on!. The conversations the teenagers were having in the story felt like i was watching a really bad soap television show, i don't think i have met any other teenager who talks like this. Most of the conversations were very sappy and just out of character for a normal teenager. The biggest thing that i didn't enjoy was the ending of the book it felt like it didn't close everything up properly so many things were left out in the open and unresolved.


theres so many things that i need to know from this one
- Who's Willa's father?
- do gunner and willa end up together?
- does her nonna let her stay and go back to school.
- how does Brady feel about Gunner and Willa?
- does Brady finally pluck up the courage to finally break up with Ivy

I've only just read that the there will be a third book in this series and will focus on Brady as the main character so it will be interesting to see where Abbi takes the series in the third book and hopefully we get some answers from this second book because there were so many unanswered questions that i need answered.

[Rachael · Rating 1 out of 5]

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

After six years, Willa Ames is back in Lawton. She used to lived in her grandmother's house since she was young. Her grandmother works for the Lawton family where she met her childhood best friends, Gunner Lawton and Brady Higgens. Things have changed when she went in a correctional center for girls for 6 months, she can't forgive herself over an incident that made her feel guilty for her bad decisions. Healing and earning her grandmother's trust again by doing good at school are her priorities. Being distracted by boys isn't a good idea but Gunner and Brady cared and wanted her. Who will win her heart? Brady -- the boy she had a crush on for a long time but has a girlfriend or Gunner -- the boy whom she can trust on everything but unloved by his family and is complicated to be with?

I'm skeptical on continuing this series since I didn't enjoy the first book that much. I decided to give it another chance and I'm glad it's quite better. The Lawton family drama stood out in this book. It's complicated, messed up and the revelations are so good. Gunner's perspective is more entertaining than Willa and Brady's persepective. Supposedly, I'll give this 4 stars but I rated it down to 3 because the epilogue is underwhelming and I feel like there is no closure between Brady and Gunner (about Willa). Also, I want to know more about Riley's story and I hope she'll have her own book in the future. This sequel is good enough for me to continue the series.

[Brianna ☯]

Abbi confirmed that this is Brady's book! Yay!

[s · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was absolute garbage and so unbelievably cringey Jesus Christ

[••Camila Roy•• · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.5/5

I liked this, but the love triangle storyline was super unnecessary. This didn’t need a third POV at all. Also, it annoyed me when females were dismissed as bitches and treated with little respect. There’s no need to put down other girls just to glorify the main character.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good



I m a huge Abbi Glines fan an I just luvd this book it feels like I was waitin forever for it but I could get enough once I started it this book there is a lil love triangle goin on this book with Hunter Brady and Willa they had been friends when they were younger but when Willa had to leave town with her mum an leave her nanny's house a lot of things changed there was so many young feeling goin around when they were younger but no one didn't anything cause they were young but now things r different Willa is back an she isn't the same girls who used to play in the mud an with soldiers but things had happened that had changed her life



Hunter an Brady had alway luvd Willa she was just a great girls an so easy goin but they boys weren't the same anymore either but the only thing to change was that they still had strong feeling for her even if she as changed they could still the girl that she used to be an they were both goin to try an get the girl this time



This is another great book I m not really a huge fan of luv triangles but I did enjoy this I had my favourite from the beginning an was dyin to know who was goin to get the girl I really like Willa's character she was been through a lot an just wanted the luv from her nanny she wanted to make her proud after everything an she would do anything her nanny said but she would still protect the people she luvd even if it meant bad things would happen to her I luvd how loyal she was I found both boys very sexy in different ways cause they r very different but great



I m really enjoying this series an I m dyin for more if it I would highly recommend this book but I know this authors isn't for everyone but I can't get enough of her books I just luv them xxx

[Erica ♋️✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book literally in one day it was so freaking good I loved all the characters and the plot was soooo good. The only negative thing I had with this book (doesn't affect my rating) was the "love triangle" I found it extremely unnecessary I knew from the beginning she would go for the bad boy. Would I recommend this series? HELL YEAH it's such a quick fun read great for the summer time or if your in a reading slump.

[Quinn's Quippy Quotes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read: March 2023

I’m still in love with Gunner and Willa. Although I disagree with Gunner’s thinking through most of it, his upbringing and background makes you forgive him instantly.

Re-Read: March 2022

This is still my favorite of the series. I just love Gunner's vulnerability and Willa's heartbreaking back story. I just adore these two the most.

Re-Read 10/23/17

Still in love with these two.

Original Review: August 2017

4.75 stars!

What brought you back, Willa Ames?
Lies that covered the truth.

Daaaaaaamn, this was good. I love a good broken hero YA, but to have both main characters dealing with truly heartbreaking situations, just made me devour this!

Everyone looks at Willa Ames with disappointment, hence why she was sent back to live with her Nonna in Lawton, AL. She's trying to prove that she's not a lost cause. That she's worth something.

Everyone looks at Gunner Lawton as a spoiled playboy. He may have money, but he realizes that his friends are way richer than he ever will be.

Both of these characters are starving for love. Being loved by your parents is supposed to be something that comes naturally, but not for Willa or Gunner. They have been neglected and let down by those that should care for them the most. They are toys to their parents, only picking them up to tear them apart piece by piece.

Children born to those who hadn't wanted us but kept us all the same.

When Willa returns to Lawton, Gunner can see the sadness in Willa's eyes. The same kind of sadness that lives in him. Maybe she can understand what he lives with every single day.

Willa lives every day with regret. She's hoping to move on from her past. When she was younger Brady was her crush, but Gunner was her confidant.

I know that a lot of people consider this to be a love triangle and that it's set up to be a love triangle, but in my personal opinion, it is not. Not by a long shot. There's obviously a clear winner here. I absolutely adored Gunner and Willa's connection. Their relationship was incredibly endearing and innocently sweet. While reading this my ears literally burned with hatred for those that wronged them. It was addicting and I couldn't stop reading.

The twists in this book just kept coming. Just layers of lies and secrets only to be piecemealed throughout the entire story. It had fantastic pacing and I struggled to stop reading way past midnight. Note to self: READ MORE ABBI GLINES!!! Truly, fantastic.

So why not a full 5 stars? The ending seemed rushed, and I felt a little empty handed when it was over. I cherished the final chapter, but I needed a more definitive ending for these two. Even just when Gunner turned 18 would've been great. But watching these two find true love, love that they didn't have to beg for, love that they deserved, was incredibly beautiful. Overall, I can't wait to continue with this series! Gunner and Willa forever.

And in that moment I knew. That kiss had shaken me because you were it. The it I didn't want. The it I'd been so sure would never come my way because I didn't intend to look for it.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been so long since I've read an Abbi Glines books. I think the last one I read was the first book in The Field Party series, Friday Night Lights. And boy did I love it! So my anticipation for Under the Lights was pretty huge. I just adore these types of books. High school, football, field parties, falling in love. It's all so different to how high school is here in Australia.

Under the Lights is told from three different POV's, Willa, Gunner, and Brady. I love how well Abbi pulls off the males POV. If you've been following me for a while then you know that I can never get enough of reading a story told from the male's perspective. When I first started reading I thought it was destined for a love triangle. And while there were little glimpses of one it never really blew into anything fully developed, which I was so happy for.

Gunner's story was sad. So sad! And I really felt his pain. But for me there was just a little something missing. I just don't think that I had the same emotional connection with these characters as I did with West and Maggie from the first book.

I am looking forward to the third book though. Because well, it's Abbi Glines. Her books are so addicting!

Thanks so much to the publisher for sending this my way.

[AleJandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Why Abbi, why? STARS

Todos los libros de Abbi Glines son muy entretenidos. Tienen un buen equilibrio entre narrativa sencilla y clichés. Siempre que quiero relajarme y simplemente pasar el rato sé que Abbi no falla.

Pero en este caso la cosa es diferente, al menos eso creí. Ya que el primer libro de la serie, no solo me entretuvo también me revolvió muchos sentimientos. Me hizo pensar que esta serie sería algo más que simple y banal entretenimiento.

Yo soy una chica de ciudad, siempre he vivido en medio del ruido y aglomeraciones. Por lo que la vida en las small towns me parece fascinante, quizá no lo sea, pero como es algo que yo nunca he vivido pues me resulta intrigante.
Y cuando leo esta serie me siento como una chica pueblerina.

El primer libro dejo la barra muy alta y este libro no lo pudo igualar.
Pudo haber dado mucho más, pero todo se quedó a medias. Es una historia echa al aventón, sin desarrollo de personajes, donde los secretos se revelan en dos capítulos y al capítulo siguiente el libro termina.

En conclusión: este libro es ONE BIG FAT DISAPPOINTMENT.

Solo tengo un pequeño mensaje para ABBI GLINES:

[Kylie Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this at all.
First off, I hated the main female character, Willa. For some reason Abbi Glines wrote her to be insanely whiny and have her repeat five hundred million times that she couldn't do something because she has to make her Nonna proud. It was annoying to have to read the same thing over and over.
Next, Gunner's situation had a huge plot twist. The first one was interesting and exciting but then she kept adding another aspect to it after 50 pages like Gunner's grandfather was his father and then his fake father wasn't even a Lawton because his mother had an affair also and then.... his mother was actually raped! It was way too much.
I didn't care about any of the characters at all.
I felt like what Willa was so shamed for doing by her mother as well as at times her Nonna was not even her fault. And her trash mother came back saying it was? And then her Nonna wanted to send her away again just because she snuck off to a tree house? Is punishment not a thing anymore we just send people away to learn their lessons?

Most likely not going to continue this series.

[Rejane]

And this is just a reassuring note why I don't have any of this author's books in my kindle and I don't even remember her, just when she shows up in my feed. Then, I feel it's my job to keep reminding me and maybe other readers who have the same opinion.
I'm sorry but her stories are lame and she became a lazy writer. I think she's incapable of adding something new/different in her books. It's always the slut shaming versus the good virgin who the entire male population loves because she's the only nice woman and have morals. The rest of female population is there just to be evil or dumb and of course provide sex to to the players of whatever sports team she's currently writiting about.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[mel ✧˚ · . · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 43% , i really really tried to love this book but theres not much drama or swooning ( u know what i mean ) like i dont even know which guy is right for Willa because its like both guys aren't doing much 😭 , but yea im sorry it got boring halfway... 😬

( is a love triangle kinda story )

i had really high hopes for this series tho ! but :(

[Yna from Books and Boybands · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But in that moment all I could think was 'I get it. Why people fall in love. I so fucking get it.'"

📚 Series? 2nd book in a series. Can be read as a standalone.
📚 Genre? (Mature) Young Adult Romance.
📚 POV? Three POVs.
📚 Cliffhanger? No.

⚠ Content Warnings:  Intense family drama. Rape. Slut shaming. Misogyny. Judgmental small towns. Infidelity.
⚠ Book Tags :  Love triangles. High school romance.
⚠ This Book In Emojis: 👦🏻👧🏻👦🏻❤💔❓💑🏈

The book is about:
The story of the Lawton Lions continues with Under The Lights, this time focusing on Brady, the quarterback, and Gunner, the wide receiver. Our heroine is Willa, the childhood best friend of the two boys, and she's now back in town after 6 years. She has her own troubles, so she promises to keep herself in check and avoid disappointing her family. However, with the two boys trying to get to her, will she even have the time (and the heart) to choose one?

What drew me in:
I usually stay away from love triangles because they had the tendency to be messy. I also feel bad for the person who ends up not getting picked. However, I want to push through with the series, so I decided to pick it up still.

Characters & connections:
This book revolves in the lives of Brady, Gunner, and Willa, but we still have a glimpse of the couple & other characters that we have met in the first book. Having familiarity in this manner is very nice to have.

Brady has caught my heart in the first book and I love him to bits. However, in this one, I felt strongly disapproving of many decisions he made. It was very frustrating for me to read.

Gunner, on the other hand, showed his vulnerable side and it is nice to know that he is not such a jerk, unlike the impression he gave on the first book. His POV is my favorite part of the book.

Finally, Willa is someone that I have a love hate relationship with. I empathized with her situation but there came a point that I fed up with her constant whining.

Everything I liked:
This book gives lots of drama.. so if you are into that, you are in for a treat. It was plot twist after plot twist, emphasizing on how dramstic rich people in small towns live.

Also, this time, I enjoyed the guessing game on who Willa will pick. I hope the other guy gets his own happy ending somewhere along the other books of the series.

Overall thoughts:
Surprisingly, the messed up drama of this series brought me some form of entertainment. I breezed through this one and it got me motivated to pick up the next installment.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌼 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Main Character:⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Significant Other 1: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Significant Other 2: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Romance: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Audiobook Production:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

☁FINAL VERDICT: 3.46/5 ☁

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[Fanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Under The Lights es el segundo libro de la serie The Field Party de Abbi Glines y tiene como protagonistas a Gunner, Brady y Willa, personajes secundarios en el primer libro.

No es mi primera lectura de la autora, por lo que tenia una idea bastante clara de lo que me encontraria ( nada demasiado impresionante ) aun asi no tenia nada mejor que leer, por lo que decidi iniciarlo ... ERROR, debi haberme mantenido alejada de esta novela, cuando te pasas gran parte de la lectura mirando el % del Kindle con la esperanza de llegar al 100% es porque no es el libro ideal para ti.

La historia es tonta y esta llena de cliches, ademas le falta profundidad ( mucho realismo ) y un mejor desarrollo pero lo que mas me disgusto de todo fueron los personajes, hacia mucho tiempo que no me topaba con unos personajes tan insipidos, en vez de sangre tenian horchata en las venas * rueda los ojos * ademas me molestaron algunos comentarios de Gunner, Brady y compañia.

La protagonista femenina es la tipica mosquita muerta que parece que nunca ha roto un plato pero que en realidad es una insoportable, me cayo muuuy mal, sobre todo cuando hacia el papel de victima, como si ella fuera la unica que habia tenido una mala infancia.

Abbi Glines repite una y otra vez lo mismo : personajes iguales, trama absolutamente identica a la de sus otras novelas y mismos topicos absurdos, asi como algunos libros suyos me han hecho pasar un buen rato, Under The Lights es la clase de historia que desearia no haber empezado, ojala pudiera recuperar las horas que perdi leyendo esto.

1.25 Estrellas!

[Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books was easy to read, I read it in two hours, however there were some parts that annoyed me a lot.
The story follows Willa, she moves with her grandmother, after her mother kicked her out, because something happened in the past. She used to be really close to Brady and Gunner and when she comes back, they suddenly are back in her life and they both like her.
The story was overall entertaining, but also really annoying.
I liked how easy to read the book was and I liked the multiple point of views.
I hated the slut shaming, I got really mad at it. Apparently Willa is different and not like other girls. she's special. I hated that. All the other girls are threaded as shit. The only personality trait that they had was that the were clingy, that's it.
The love triangle was annoying as hell. Also no one in the love triangle was enjoyable. Brady was supposedly "the nice guy", even though I think that he was a bigger jerk than Gunner. Gunner was thinking only about himself and was constantly jealous.
Overall didn't really like this book and I won't be reading the next one.

[Alaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I continue this series?!? Why do I like to torture myself?!? All good questions but in all honesty, I can't start a series and not finish it. So when I saw that this was only 4 books.. well, I kind of did a quarter toss and called either Heads or Tails to see if I should finish it. I feel like it was a lose lose situation because I lost the call on the toss and I still didn't think that this series is getting any better (in my eyes).

I still have the main characters. The slut shaming and all of that other crappy nonsense was frustrating the hell out of me. Now I'm not going to blame the book for it being crappy because I'm probably being mean in this review and rating because of my life being a complete hot mess at the moment. So many things are going on that I can't control and it's frustrating because communication sucks major dick nowadays.

Anyways, I still didn't like any of the stuff mentioned above because it does seem to happen a bunch in these books. Besides that, I'm slightly confused as to why the women or girls are portrayed so poorly in these books too. Again, I was frustrated. I wanted to rip my hair out, burn the book in a nearby trashcan, or both. Then there was the whole personality of these characters because they were so freaking bland. I would rather stare at a white wall for three days then learn more about these boring ass people. The wall would somehow show more character growth and personality in 5 minutes than anyone in this damn book.

Overall, it was meh. I probably should've rated it lower but the cover was pretty so I decided two stars would be sort of fair. Or maybe I just feel bad for being a bitch to this book in this review. Who knows - I don't really care. I'm going to take a couple of shots before I dive into the third book.

[Lissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first Abbi Glines book I read was Until Friday Night, which is the first book in the series. I didn't like it, so much so in fact that I swore I would never read another book by this author, because life is too short. But then I wondered if it was really fair of me to dismiss a popular author because she wrote one clunker. Maybe Until Friday Night was just horrible and not indicative of her other works? And when Amazon dropped the price to a ridiculously low $7.61 for the new hardcover, I had to bite.

I really wish that I hadn't, because this book was WORSE than Until Friday Night. Much worse. And now, I can say without a doubt, that I am totally done with this author forevermore.

Let's forget the horribly stilted conversations (no teenager in the WORLD talks like this) and ridiculously over the top soap opera-esque drama that this book has.

The same problems that I had with Until Friday Night are just as bad here, if not worse. The "romantic leads" are jackasses. Brady, "the good guy," treats his sort-of girlfriend, Ivy, like she is shit on the bottom of his shoe. He's bored with her; he doesn't like her as much as she likes him; she's too clingy for him, whatever. He spends over half of the book thinking all of these things, and yet he keeps dating her and sleeping with her because, well, she's there. Even after he's pining for Willa - because everyone on the fucking team has the hots for Willa, apparently (more on that later) - he's still with Ivy. Low blow, dude. Just break up with her already if you aren't into her. But nope, he doesn't want to "hurt" her. What the fuck ever. I got so sick of Brady that I felt like I could literally vomit on him if he was a real person. And Gunner is even worse!

Once again, there are two types of girls in Abbi Glines' world: the "good" girls and the "sluts," and never shall the two interact in non-hostile ways. Willa is just so ~*~fucking special~*~ because - gasp! she wears Chucks with dresses! It's like she wants to be girly, but then she puts on those shoes! I mean, seriously, one of the (male) main characters actually says something very close to this. And Willa is, of course, a virgin, while none of the football guys are - and that's okay, if the author wasn't so fucking busy slut shaming the girls who like and have sex with those mythical football gods the reader is supposed to salivate over in this book. The guys having sex? Don't bat an eye. Girls having sex? SLUTS! And vindictive sluts at that, who can't stand the burning rays of goodness that shoot out of the virgin girls' eyes!

Fuck that shit.

I have a major problem with how suicide is addressed in this book. Willa's best friend, Poppy, kills herself after they were high/drunk - MORE ON THAT LATER IN AN EPIC RANT BELOW - and Poppy's little sister drowns in the pool. Willa says that Poppy "took the easy way out." Motherfucker, no. Suicide is NOT the fucking easy way out. If one is overwhelmed with grief, or depression, or whatever shit they are having to deal with, likely on the long term, and that person can literally think of NO WAY to make the pain stop except putting a bullet in his/her brain (or whatever suicide method of choice), THAT IS NOT FUCKING EASY. HOW IS THAT FUCKING EASY? Believe me, I have been down that road - I have attempted suicide, and I have struggled with suicidal thoughts almost every single day of my fucking life, and let me say, NOTHING ABOUT ANY OF THAT SHIT IS EASY. And then Gunner is just like, oh, I don't know why people do that, you just hang in there and shit gets better eventually. Yeah, except for some people, it doesn't. Or some people can't see that maybe, someday, things might get better, because they are in so much pain NOW that they cannot see past it. But hey, sure, go ahead and paint people who kill themselves, who are literally so overwhelmed that no coping mechanism is working for them, as weak morons who should have just hung in there like that stupid motivational cat poster.

Fuck that.

And now I'm going to talk about pot, because REASONS. I'll put that under a spoiler cut, in case you want to avoid that, because it will be a long rant.

I live in Colorado, and unless you've been living under a very large rock, you probably know that recreational pot is legal in this state for those who are 21+. I will also say that I am a weekly smoker, at least once a week (more like two or three times a week).

Willa calls pot evil.

LOL

Spare me the sermonizing about the "evils" of the devil's lettuce, please.

Like I said, I struggle with suicidal thoughts on almost a daily basis. I have BPD and major depression and anxiety. And do you know what helps me? Pot. Not all of the numerous drugs that well-meaning psychiatrists and doctors have prescribed me over the years. Definitely not alcohol, which exacerbates my depression and anxiety to the point of being intolerable. Nope. Pot.

Now, I am in no way arguing that teenagers should be consuming pot. I mean, hell, I was once a teenager, so I know that it happens. It happens frequently. It should not happen, and in NO WAY am I advocating that teenagers should be getting high. Responsible adults only at this party, thanks.

See, the hilarious hypocrisy in this book is that the author has NO problem with writing about teenage characters who drink while underage, to the point of being quite inebriated. NO PROBLEM WITH DRUNK TEENAGERS. Willa, the teetotaler she is now, doesn't really see anything wrong with teenagers drinking alcohol. After all, they are so "drunk and carefree" (page 95)! But where she went wrong? They "added drugs to the mix" (because alcohol is apparently not a drug lol what is this shit) (page 95). And that drug? Pot (page 78). And not just any pot - "the good juice" (wtf lol) (page 79). And pot, just so you know, is evil (page 208).

Now, the thing is, Willa wasn't just high - she was drunk (page 78). In fact, I would argue that she was MORE drunk than high. But the drinking takes a back seat in this melodrama, and pot is all front and center in its nastiness. And, once again, the author doesn't seem to have any problem with kids getting drunk, even though Willa is a teetotaler now (page 93). But she spares the moralizing for the pot consumption, not the alcohol consumption, which is just so STUPID. If I had a teenaged kid and I found pot OR alcohol in his/her room, they would get an ass whipping they'd never forget. I'd feel equally about both. Why is alcohol "okay" for teenagers in this world?

Let me tell you, alcohol has killed more people this year than pot - far, far more, and that's not counting all of the suicides that alcohol contributes to on a yearly basis. Cirrhosis, drunk driving, liver cancer - it's all bad news, mkay?

And when is the last time you read a news article about someone roasting a bowl and beating their kids? How about the last time you heard someone who got drunk and beat their kids? Having grown up as a child of a violent alcoholic, I sure wish he'd have toked up instead of drinking.

But pot is the evil thing here, guys. Just so you know.

And it gets even better, because even though you think that you're safe at home, YOU HAVE TO BE HYPERVIGILANT AT ALL TIMES GUYS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND YOU HAVE TO REACT TO IT (pages 208-209).

I sure hope the author never drinks an alcoholic beverage, or even takes some Nyquil. Suffer with that fucking cold! You don't know if you're going to have a crisis and you must be prepared!

Now, one could (weakly) argue that the author was trying to tell kids that doing drugs of ANY KIND is bad and you might make a life-altering decision (or lack of one). But there are no consequences of any kind for those who consume alcohol. No one in this book gets a DUI. No one gets kicked off the football team, jeopardizing their football scholarships, because they're underage and drinking. Nope, it's only when pot is involved that shit goes down, because pot is a DRUG and alcohol is okay!

Hahahaha.

Fuck that to infinity and beyond.

And I am going to light up an evil bowl of Bruce Banner tonight in this author's honor, in my home, and SOMEHOW manage to survive until the next day. Because I should apparently be drinking instead, since that's more acceptable, even though if I went on a real bender I might not survive THAT. And then I'd be taking the easy way out, right? Because suicide is SO EASY.

Fucker.

tl;dr: Nope. Done. Returned book to Amazon. Will not buy anything from this author again.