Losing the Field

The Field Party #4

by Abbi Glines

Losing his dream, his ultimate plan, and his future- Nash Lee never expected to be facing a life without football. One wrong move and it had all changed. Going back to school for his senior year no longer appealed to him. He’d rather not leave his house. Walking back into Lawton High School, seeing pity in everyone’s eyes was just another reality in his nightmare.

Revenge wasn’t a pretty thing. Tallulah Liddell had found it was rather controlling. The way you looked at life changed completely when you clung to the ugly notion. But she’d done it anyway. From the last day of her junior year when Ryker Lee had made a fat joke about her and Nash laughed with him, she’d been driven by pain. It wasn’t like no one had made fun of her weight before. She was used to that. What had hurt so deeply was Nash’s laughter. He’d always been the one person to notice her, include her, not treat her differently. But that one moment had changed it all. From the time she walked out of the school building to the moment she returned for her senior year Tallulah had been determined to lose weight and finally be the size her peers considered acceptable.

What she wasn’t expecting on her return was to find a broken Nash Lee who no longer smiled, rarely spoke, and didn’t care about anything or anyone around him. He was just existing. But the pain in his eyes she understood all too well. He was alone. He no longer fit into the perfect package.

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

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2018

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

[GimmeAllTheWerdssss]

What a wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL message for young girls!

- You won’t get the guy if your fat so get out there and lose weight girl!
- You’ll be called a slut if someone older than you takes advantage of you...I mean, are you dumb or something? You should know better !!
- You don’t deserve an apology if someone treats you horribly. You should be greatful that they’re even taking time to acknowledge your presence!

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[Dawnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

WARNING: RANT AHEAD!

Best way to describe this book:




Just a small section of the things that made NO sense at all in the book:

- The "fat" main character Tallulah that nobody ever noticed other than to bully her, gets SUPERRRR HOT, i mean sizzling, girrrl! over the summer. I mean that girl is so hot, she is smokin'!

but only because she's skinny now!

No fat girl can be hot!
Clearly!
Or noticed!
Or have any friends!
Or a social life!
Or any kind of typical high school experience at all!
Because she is fat!

But as soon as she lost some weight -which how big could she have been if she managed to lose it all from waking a few miles a day, drinking water and eating right? I have a tights that don't want to go away while always walking miles and miles everyday because i have a dog that needs it and always eat healthy! Those things don't go anywhere! So either she basically starved herself, or she wasn't that "fat" to begin with!

Also can we just talk about WRONG MESSAGE! because what the heck, Glines!
Way to build on the stereotype of "fat girls"!

I had a good amount of friends in school that where not super skinny! Nobody cared about that, most of them had boyfriends, while i was one of the skinniest in the group and never had one! Either America -by the way one of the fattest countries in the world!- is very judgemental in even worse ways i ever imaged, or this was just blown out of proportions in all the ways things can get blown out of proportions!

On top of that she had one of the best parental figures... ever? Super supportive, always telling her how beautiful she was, how it didn't matter what size she was...
And than that woman has a daughter that fat-shames herself in the worst ways, makes every issue she ever had about her weight and makes it seems if nobody ever has any issues if they are not fat.

Which is just... WHAT?



- Also lets take a second to talk about the reason why she even loses the weight that she is as it is said in the book in need to loose since her doctor said she needed to do it to not get type 2 diabetes!
But oh no, that is not a good reason to do it!
NO!
Her crush -the only nice person in the universe that she exists in, people, because she has no friends! she's fat!- laughs at something mean another guy says.
She gets angry.
She decides to loose the weight and hate him FOR-EVER!


We all know how long that is going to last seeing as they are both the main characters in a freaking ROMANCE BOOK!

I mean nothing against a stupid reason to get you motivated!
What ever makes you do it, go for it!

But lets at least be realistic enough to say that she should at least appreciate him enough to be thankful that he made her apparently get to the point she needed to be at for her health!
She should have started for herself, but that is not how it always works, so i would have been okay with her needing the motivation that the one person she thought would never make fun of her doing so to give her the last push she needed.
But also think that at some point in this book she should have come to the point where she herself accepted that she needed that push, it got her where she wanted and needed to be. For herself. For her health. Not because she wanted to no longer be the "fat girl".


- Which by the way other think i really hated.
She is constantly talking about her "inner fat girl" and how she understands what Nash is going through because of everything she went through because of her "inner fat girl".



- A football player Nash gets injured ... and behaves horrendously and selfish...
hallo stereotype #2!
Glines is getting them all, just wait for it!

Also more than half the book that guy is HORRIBLE!
He is supposed to be this nice guy that noticed the "fat" girl while she was "fat" and now he still sees her inner beauty... go bash your own head against a wall hart, Nash! You are at least as horrendous as everyone else in that school, just because you manage to say "hi" to a girl that has been in your class since elementary school you do NOT earn a metal!

Also i am sorry to say the whole aspect of chronic illness or injury was done HORRENDOUSLY!
Who is surprised?


when ever any issue came up -and let me tell you this book is filled with those from start to finish basically all of them done really badly!- Nash either bailed, made it about himself, ignored it all together or behaved badly in some other way.

Great guy!

- A teacher that clearly makes unwanted advances on a student.. and the student gets publicly slut-shamed and nobody that should stop that does anything about it? I mean that school has other teachers? Any? At all? They were mentioned before. Where are they in those scenes?




yeah lets leave it at that for THAT!


- All the guys that suddenly LO-AVE the main girl because she suddenly the hottest - HOT - girl in the entire school


I mean the way it is described in this book its as if that girl was dipped into something that makes every dog go wild!

I am not sure what exactly the author tried to accomplish here.
Apparently nobody ever looked at her while she had some more weight, but as soon is that is off... suddenly she basically has to have two sticks to fight all those guys off.
So message: Only if you are thin you are something desirable? I am reading to much into this? I don't see how any other message can be gotten from that!


Alright lets move on!

- The super duper famous vlogger that moved from LA to nowhere Alabama.
For no real reason, other than to add some drama that is not needed in this book to it all.

Also can someone please explain to me how an apparently very loving book BLOGGER does not know what a VLOGGER is?
I mean i didn't know about those either until i started book blogging, but you know what? After i discovered my first book blogs, i found booktube really fast, and once you are in that Youtube world, how can you NOT know about those?

Also is there really a place in AMERICA where it is not known who those people are?
I mean the entire trend of making them their own kind of celebrities started in that country! How can anyone that is apparently so smart and well read not know, especially as someone that is active in the blogger/vlogger universe?

And i am not talking about the specific person, but in general not having any idea at all about what a vlogger is.
What kind of century are we living in again?
Which age are the main characters?

Did i miss the signal point where it said we went back to the stone ages??




Alright lets go back to the actual vlogger.
He was only brought into the story to add some drama -as already mentioned.
And around a 100 pages later basically forgotten completely and never mentioned again after some bigger drama.

Which... what?



i mean nobody - NOBODY!!- needed that character this book! At all. He added absolutely NOTHING at all to anything, neither the plot nor the characters. He was a distraction and that was it, there to fill a few pages.

But why add him at all?

I tell you, because the author talks about that in her "acknowledgments" because she was stuck and her daughter told her about vloggers. So she added one.
Thats the reason.
And it feels exactly like that.
Also the entire explanation phase of who they are and what they do and all of that? Totally necessary because Glines had no clue what those people where. So clearly the reader wouldn't know either.



Let me wrap this up so far:

- horrible representation of overweight character
- fat shaming from all angles
- basically stating in a book that no fat girl will ever get attention of any kind, have any kind of social life or a boyfriend because what kind of guy would ever be interested in a heavier girl?

Ask no longer, Glines has the answer: BE SKINNY!
- really bad representation of long injuries
- really bad representation of "bad teacher"
- even worse representation of the stereotype "bad cheerleader"
- unnecessary and completely stupid addition of a "vlogger" to explain what that is to show the author learned something new while writing this book.
- really bad relationship overall because those two should NOT be together especially with the issues they have individually let alone with each other!
- the ending because come on!

I might have forgotten a thing or two... or fifteen.

Why not give this book one star?

I really liked Tallulah's mother.
She was one of the best parental figures in any book i read so far.
Sadly she is in one of the worst books i read so far.

So there is that.

Overall?
I am sorry. BUT NO!!


This felt like a completely different person wrote this.
Sometimes book series should really just be a trilogy, or even just two books. Duologies are nice!
More authors should try that.
Glines should have done that!

If you want to read a nice football romance, read book one and two of this series. And just leave it at that.
You are not missing anything but "please let me put my head through the wall" bad comparison, stereotypes and things that you don't need to read about.

This book was a mess. In the worst ways.
And kind of made me questions the other books in this series!

[Elyse Rosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 2018:
So...where is book 5? When is it coming out and does it follow Ryker or Asa? I need more - of Tallulah and Nash’s story. And I want to revisit the past 3 couples a bit. And just have more in general. So...um, where is The Field Party #5?


When Added on TBR:
But like, I’ve just BINGED the first 3 books and now I’m obsessed with this series. I need more immediately - how am I supposed to wait for August?

[★ Belle The Bibliophile ★ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated every moment of it.

[Ryan Buckby · Rating 3 out of 5]

We were all the same inside. Didn’t matter how we looked or who our friends were. We all wanted the same thing. To belong. To be accepted

First Read: April 21st 2019
Re-read: July 31st 2021, 21st December 2023

Another book in this series finished, i did enjoy this one but i did have a few problems with it.

So the main character Tallulah is the 'fat' girl who over the summer loses weight and starts her revenge path after one guy made a joke about her weight and the other that she liked laughed.

One thing i had an issue was the whole weight issue because it seemed to me like no one who is larger can be classes as beautiful? that was pretty insulting because only when she loses the weight she becomes more noticeable that was insulting as a person who is not that skinny.

I think i have to re-read this series because i've forgotten so much about the previous characters

I really wanted some more Nash and Tallulah scenes to because after all this book was about them but it seemed like that it wasn't about them at all. I feel like this story was a little rushed to because before it started i had already finished it and i feel like there story wasn't complete like the other ones.

Hopefully we will see Nash and Tallulah again in the next book so i can get some closure on these two because i feel like i haven't got it yet.

[Megan Oneail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Spoilers ahead.
This book left a lot of bad tastes in my mouth. The summary seemed pretty basic for a contemporary; girl gets pretty, gets the guys she’s secretly loved, drama happens. However, it was allll over the place and sooo poorly handled.

First, I didn’t like the emphasis put on Tallulah being skinny now. It became the center of her story, rather than her size NOT mattering. In any "get skinny" story, you need that realization that body image doesn't matter, and in this case we never got that. Not the best message. Especially since it glorifies the “model perfect body” and completely fat shames any other body type. Furthermore, she literally became skinny out of spite, and dropped a TON of weight over the course of a few months during the summer. So that's a fun message for a young girl.

Then we have Nash, the love interest, who is just a huge dick most of the time, angry and SO ready to think the worst of her. He’s reeling from a life-changing injury and even *still* it’s hard to feel sympathy for him. And somehow he’s the nice guy? Mostly because he deigned to say hi to her when she was *gasp* fat. He is frequently unkind, extremely protective but in that jealous way that doesn't seem healthy, and eventually slut shames her along with everyone else. But more on that in a moment.

Then we have a new character come onto the scene, who is made out to be a Nash’s bffl all of a sudden, despite being a reckless idiot. And THEN he literally gets killed off. Like the author didn’t know what else to do with him. Just so unneeded.

But wait, there’s more.

Because fat shaming isn’t enough, we now have a pedophile teacher who takes advantage of Tullulah. Tullulah does the very brave thing and not only fights him off but also immediately tells the principal, who *does* take her seriously. But instead of writing it in a way that lauds her bravery, she’s slut-shamed out of school because he was “the cool hot teacher” and basically all the other students loved him. AND THIS INCLUDES NASH. Who 100% blames her and is just super pissed that she and this teacher kissed, which he sees as cheating despite the fact that it was UNWANTED AND PREDATORY!

THEN when the full truth comes out (turns out he’s a for real pedophile), everyone is just like “oh, we were totally kidding” and accept her back with open arms.

AND THEN she ACCEPTS Nash’s apology despite the fact that it literally includes him saying “I guess *he* kissed you, but that doesn’t really matter because you still kissed”. And instead of sticking up for herself and telling him to fuck off, she’s like, “oh, I love you, let’s make out”, and they ride of merrily into the sunset.

I felt icky just reading this, and I would not in good conscience recommend this to any young or impressionable girl.

[faye ✮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH MY GODDDDD IM LITERALLY RIPPING MY HEAD OUT LIKE I WAS GIVING THIS BOOK A SOLID 5/5 UNTIL THE LAST PART I JUST CANT ! OH MY GOD I HAVE NO WORDS JUST UGHH BYE

[Jeraca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.
Release date: August 21, 2018

Tallulah has always been called the fat girl at school. She gets made fun of, laughed at, and is the focus of many jokes among her classmates. Through it all, she just ignores it and does her own thing. But when her crush, Nash - who has always backed her up and been really nice to her, even though his friends are making fun of her - laughs at a joke about her on the last day of school of junior year, it really crushed Tallulah.

That was the day she decided to walk for 5 miles, in the scorching heat, and she did that every day during the summer. She also stopped eating sweets and started eating more healthier. By the time she got back to school senior year, she had lost so much weight that she had to buy a whole new wardrobe to wear clothes that fit her. And all during summer, she was planning her revenge on how she was going to ignore everyone who made fun of her - especially Nash since he was the one that hurt the most.

Nash changed a lot over the summer as well - but in a different way. While playing football for fun, like he does every year, he messed up his leg with permanent damage. He can never play football again and he will have a limp for the rest of his life. Now, instead of being the easy going, fun guy, Nash is mad. He lashes out, he doesn't hangout with anyone, and he doesn't have any ambition for anything.

So when the two see each other again first day of senior year, they are both confused. Nash because he can't figure out why Tallulah is so mad at him - and how much she has changed in just a few months - and Tallulah because Nash is not the guy that she once knew.

And then there is a new teacher - the new football coach - and a new classmate, who is beyond popular on the internet. One will be a little too attentive to Tallulah, and the other will put Nash in a terrible situation.

At the same time, Tallulah and Nash are searching each other out, wanting to hangout with each other. But both still have their deep dark secrets, and once they come out, they may decide that they never knew each other that well in the end.

Okay, I am a huge Abbi Glines fan, but I'm finding that her new books/series that she has been writing is not really for me, which breaks my heart :(

This book was beyond annoying for me. I love that Tallulah decided to lose the weight, but I wish that she did it for herself and not because Nash hurt her, when he definitely didn't mean to. She was doing it all for the wrong reasons, and she should be doing it for herself, so that made me sad. Then she was going to get revenge on Nash for the way he hurt her, but none of that happened because she was still crushing on him and wanted his attention more than making him miserable. I mean, if you are determined to do something, don't back out of it because now you are getting attention from him.

Nash is somewhat of a jerk. I get that "his life is ruined" because he can't play football anymore, and that was his life, but he is still alive and well and he has all the time in the world to figure out what he is meant to do. And then when he sees Tallulah, he is suddenly attracted to her because she is skinny and pretty. It just blows my mind how self-absorbed these kids are. And the kicker is, they even think that themselves! But it doesn't change how they act, even when they know they are acting that way...

There are too many new characters, or characters who seem very important at the beginning and then fade away into nothing. Asa was all over Tallulah, but the second Nash decided that he wanted Tallulah, Asa was just gone, with no explanation until the very end of the book. I mean, really?

And then Tallulah. She is so ... aggravating. She plays the "I'm not naive" card and then she acts naive. She is used to being in the shadows where no one pays attention to her, and now that she is pretty, she is wondering why everyone is suddenly staring at her and wanting to hangout with her. She needs to decide what she wants and sticks with it. And then she gets cornered and "doesn't know what to do because maybe it's not as it seems" which is completely dumb and stupid to me. I would never have taken the crap that she went through. She was very mixed signals and it got on my nerves a lot.

Then a new kid shows up, is all over the place and everyone is freaking out, and then it suddenly comes to a stop with him.

I mean, can we stick with one storyline and not jump every which way? There was way too much in here, with not enough to keep it interesting, and then it suddenly slams shut on that storyline. I wish it was just about the two main characters and how they communicate to one another, because these two jumped to so many terrible conclusions, accused the other one, and then they miraculously forgave each other because they love each other... I'm all for a sappy romance, but this is too much for me.

I hope I am the only reader who feels this way, because I adore Abbi Glines and hope that other readers will find a different outcome of this book when they read it. I'm still going to snatch up as many Abbi Glines books I can afford, but I think I might be done with The Field Party series, if anymore are released in the future, because I just haven't been feeling these characters the entire time I've read this series.

I am very glad I got a chance to read this eARC, and I'm looking forward to see what else Abbi Glines will write!

[Chelsea ✨Arielle’s Nebular Ally and Team Acrux✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know those daydreams you have for years . . . the ones you know won’t come true, but they get you through the day?

An epic start to what turned out to be a total letdown of what we began with. This book legit started out with me fangirling and just knowing I had to have it on my shelf. I’m not kidding-within that first 20%, I was texting my friend and praising the glories that be, so excited that a cover so gorgeous would soon grace my shelf because Nash was just…he was just so dang addictive.

That is, until he wasn’t. I’m not sure what Glines was doing here, but she turned what started out as an epic novel into a hot mess that careened out of control. I won’t lie and say I have always loved her writing-because I haven’t. In fact, I found that, years ago, I needed to say bye to this author because her overly-dramatic and cheesy [and, I’m sorry, somewhat trashy] books weren’t to my taste. I didn’t bash. I didn’t continue to try and make it work-I just gave up and moved on. Yeah, her dudes are hot. And, yes, I LOVE some of that hot boy drama…but that’s just what it is: Drama.

And I’ve never gone back. Not once. Though, when I started following Glines on Bookstagram because our blog began to become a big part of Instagram, I fell in love with her. Her precious daughter. I really like this woman-a LOT. Same with CoHo-her posts crack me up daily-but that doesn’t mean I agree with either of their books' writing styles.

But then Glines posted about her new book coming out, I got curious, I looked it up-and it was INSTA-LOVE, my friends. Well…we all know how we feel about insta-love, amirite? I read about the hate-to-love romance and how the girl wanted revenge on the tortured FOOTBALL player and I just…I caved. Maybe her writing was different. Maybe the guy would be enough. And, in the beginning, it was. I was OBSESSED. This book was a 5, people. And then I started to see why I stopped reading her work in the first place.

Repetitive issues. Words. Statements. Overly used drama. Too many problematic themes that literally had no place in the story. Like……the one dude that showed up at the football game suddenly became a big part of Nash’s story-Why??? It was so irrelevant and dumb and just…stupid, I literally laughed when that arc ended. Come on. Really, Abbi? Really? I’m so sorry, but no. So silly.

And the one dramatic element that didn’t belong that I loved?? That I wanted to be a thing??? It literally went NOWHERE and actually ruined the book. It did. It made Nash into somebody hard to relate to and I just don’t get why this was a path she didn’t jump on. It was so epic!!!!! I LOVE WHEN THESE INTERFERENCES HAPPEN! Bring on the jelly.

And, worst of all, this ruined opportunity also ruined what was blooming in Tallulah and Nash’s relationship. I think we saw so little of them together, in my opinion, after a certain point, that I was disgusted. Isn’t this the point of a smutty YA/NA? To see them get past stuff and recreate issues and get past it again? Why are we getting so little time of them on the page together? This gutted me because, honest to God, even after the trainwreck that was the middle, I rooted for this to shape up and for me to get obsessed again.

But, alas, in the end, I was disappointed and don’t think I could give this author another chance. I mean, maybe when I’m in the right mood? Who doesn’t love the HS football player arc? Many don’t, I suppose, but I adore it…so I might go back and read the others and hope their drama is more central to the actual story. But, for now, I’m so sad and disappointed in what had started out with so much dramatic promise. I’m still pouting about it. Honestly. And, also, come on now-Tallulah? That name?! That’s the name you use when you can’t think of someone’s name or a good make believe name. I kept picturing Phoebe signing for Monica’s bed in Friends-Monicaaaa Tallulaaaaah Gellar. *My apologies to anyone named Tallulah*

So. Yeah. This sucks. But better luck next time, I suppose.

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Pam Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this is the best book of the series, here is why. I connected with the main character Tallulah. Her struggles were my struggles. I didn’t want to be noticed in high school I just wanted to get through it. I wonder if a lot of people felt the same.

Everything she goes through before I can relate. After not so much but it was fun to listen to what she does about how she looks now. Mean girls gosh I am glad I never got myself noticed by them every school has em.
This book really showcases what small-town high schools are like. I really enjoyed Nash’s character and how he has his click but he also is his own person.

Tallulah’s mom is freaking fabulous, she is a character I wished got her HEA because she seems like the sort that deserves it.

The YouTuber character my god pure genius, if you have kids who watch them then you KNOW that is exactly how you see them.

I loved the narration, I am a fan of both and can’t wait for more.

[meg! · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that this is the book out of the WHOLE Field Party Series that I had the most problems with.

From the synopsis, you already know that this book is going to be dealing with a touchy subject, like an overweight girl getting humiliated by her longtime crush and his stupid friends. But this book is TRULY something else entirely. Not only does it deal with that, but it deals with an unwanted student teacher-relationship that went beyond an appropriate deal.

Now,

I'd like to note that throughout reading Abbi Glines's only YA book series (for I have not read any other works that she was written) I've noticed issues that have been VERY CONSISTENT, like; Slut shaming, ignorant people, unrealistic High School standards, and very anger-fueled male characters (with perverted thinking). I will go into detail and might include a small excerpt from each issue (but will not include all of the tabbed pages I have because this review will go on for years).

-THE SLUT SHAMING:
It has been in every. Single. Book. Of. This. Series.

It's flat out annoying at this point. The way Nash views girls at Lawton High has gotten old and repetitive from all of the guys in this series. "Most of the girls at school" would be willing to get with the hot teacher and "Most girls would expect to go upstairs and make out. Or straight up have sex. Tallulah was not planning on either"(Glines,182), even though the next chapter is them making out and almost having intercourse but getting caught by Nash's cousin Ryker who warns them about Nash's dad coming home. (I'm also not a fan about the fact that they were so intimate in such a small period of time that they had started going out and getting to know more about each other)

Nash doesn't know any of Lawton's girls' stories about their past but just assumes that they are just "always wanting sex, and nothing more." It gets irritating. Especially when Tallulah describes how all of the girls in her class are trying to show off their cleavage to Mr. Dace when in reality, no girl would ever be THAT OBVIOUS about liking a teacher. It isn't realistic and not needed. Like, drop it. This sort of fits into the girl-on-girl hate section of YA books as well.

-THE IGNORANT PEOPLE:
This side of Glines's writing starts to show from the very beginning of the book, that she does not like to write respectful characters.

"I stopped walking for a moment and just stared. Was that the same Tallulah? I studied her eyes and realized it was. She'd lost weight, The face I'd always thought was pretty was now beautiful."

When I first read that line, I instantly tabbed it. It didn't sit well with me because weight shouldn't change someone's beauty. At all. Although Nash does come to terms with himself and realizes that he is an asshole for beginning to think Tallulah is "Hot" for being thinner, which I see as a character knowing his wrongs and not trying to act like he found nothing wrong with liking her "new" body.

But that doesn't change the fact that Nash is straight up rude, even to Tallulah's face.
Her and Nash had just gotten into an argument about his new friend Haegan the Youtuber (Which we will get into later) and his stunt with scaring a girl into spilling a slushie on herself. T. didn't find it funny that Nash and his friend would laugh at the humiliated girl because she knows what it feels like to be in that position. Which is also COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE! Who wouldn't get mad about seeing a girl get a slushie poured on her when she has no connection or friendship with Haegan the Youtuber which doesn't make things lighthearted and only makes it bullying. Tallulah was in the right but Nash plays it off like it isn't anything to worry about. Naturally, T. gets mad and tells Nash that she has to help Mr. Dace (b/c she is his teachers assistant) and that she will stop by his house when she's finished. Nash being the IGNORANT PERSON THAT HE IS yells out, "Fine. Go help Coach Douchebag. See if I give a fuck!"(pg202) It was SO unneeded and rude to just yell that out to a girl who he supposedly REALLY likes and is clearly not at fault in their spat.

There's a scene where Nash and Haegan the Youtuber are spying on T. with Mr. dace and catches the perverted teacher kiss T....NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. Nash being Nash assumes that she wants to kiss the teacher too and looks away instead of barging into the room to protect her from an obvious predator. And we as the readers KNOW IT'S OBVIOUS AND SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO HIM TOO BECAUSE HE NOTES SO MANY TIMES UP UNTIL THIS THAT MR.DACE IS CREEPY AND HAS A LIKING FOR T. WHEN SHE CLEARLY DOESN'T HAVE A LIKING FOR THE TEACHER! *sigh* He then runs off with Haegan the Youtuber to his Porsche to roll a joint which eventually ends in a tragic accident, not even bothering to see if T. was accepting the teacher's advances and just assuming the absolute worse.

I'm also going to quickly mention that the reason Tallulah began to walk five miles everyday since the beginning of that summer is because Nash laughed at a fat joke made about her which made me skeptical from when I first read the synopsis. Like before, I do appreciate the fact that she realizes that she should've lost the weight for herself and not anyone else.

What made me laugh and almost made me throw the book across the room was when Nash was barely finding out what Haegan the Youtuber does on his channel and what "Vlogging" is. Now, I know that some people can be pretty secluded from social media, but about 98% of the teenage population of America and most countries KNOW WHAT VLOGGING IS AND WHAT A YOUTUBER DOES. The way Glines wrote Nash to not know what Haegan did as a vlogger was just a lot of cringe and made Nash and T. both seem like aliens.

I want to mention Nash's anger in a minute because while it does fit in this category of Ignorant People, it fits even better in Anger-Fueled Male Characters.

-UNREALISTIC HIGH SCHOOL STANDARDS:
No one in a high school just flat out surrounds a guy just because he's attractive. Nope. Just, no.

Haegan starting at Lawton High and having girls surround him because he's Youtube famous can be passed off as being a possibility of happening. But when it happens more than once and the same begins to happen with Nash (only girls crowding because this is an unrealistic depiction of High School, remember?) it becomes straight up weird and not real to what an actual High School would react because in reality no one cares enough to make such a big deal out of two guys.

Also, getting called a slut or a whore from everyone around you is not likely at all (especially for turning in your teacher for making advances on you). Whispers and people giving weird looks I can understand. But no one is vile enough to just yell out profanities like that in school (thought the topic can be debated).

-ANGER-FUELED MALE CHARACTERS:
This is seen throughout the entirety of this book and the whole Field Party Series in general.

Nash is very bitter and angry from the start of the book because he can no longer play football (also has a limp) and finds everything irritating( when he should be thankful for still being able to walk). What REALLY makes my blood boil is that after the accident that left Haegan the Youtuber dead and Nash in the hospital with "minor" injuries, he decides TO BLAME TALLULAH for him being angry about seeing her "kiss" the teacher, then having him get sad and angry and getting high with H. which lead them to the accident. It's very absurd that he'd think like that in the first place and to even go as far and say,

"For now her secret would be her secret. It would be the one that ruined me. Ruined many lives. 'She's a bitch. A lying, manipulative bitch. That's all.'"

He later goes on to say that he hates her but in the end can't be away from her because he does in fact..."truly misses her and loves her"

-THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I liked NOTHING FROM THIS BOOK. There was a lot of drama in this book and all of those things I listed above, which makes it the perfect trashy YA novel. If Glines were to change all of those characteristics to make a more mature novel then I think I would've actually enjoyed it.

+
In conclusion of this review, I'd like to say that this was not a good book in any way. I'm hoping that Abbi Glines will see to this in her next book because I still have a little bit of hope for the rest of this series that I have enjoyed thus far. (Until Friday Night and Under the Lights have stayed being my favorites out of the entire series)

[Melissasfandomworld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the fact that the writing on itself is really beautiful, as always, I wasn't able to rate this book any higher than a 3-star rating.

In general, I really liked the main characters and their character development. I think it's so beautiful to see how strong Tallulah actually is after being bullied for years. She's the one Nash is going to lean on when he's in a dark place and I think it's so beautiful to see these two characters opening up to one another. I love how utterly kind and devoted Nash is up to a point and I felt so sad for these characters at times when there were so many misunderstandings between them.But overall, I really connected with these two characters, I was liking the presence of some minor characters and I once I boarded this train of Tallulah and Nash, I couldn't stop reading anymore.

slight spoilers ahead
At the same time, I think that some of the things happening in this book, were a bit 'too much' you know? Like a never-ending-accident happening right in front of your eyes. There was always some serious thing going on; someone hating another person, bullying, accidents, teachers being inappropriate and some other regular high-school-drama that comes along with it. I don't mind the drama thing much, but it just was a bit too much of everything in this case, unfortunately. I think if there'd been a bit less drama and a bit more focus on the storyline itself, a bit more depth, without so many side-tracks added to it, I think this could've been way better developed.

It still has Abbi's beautiful writing and it still made me feel a lot of feels regarding things happening to the characters because my heart was really in it, you know? The story GOT to me, despite me feeling contradictive about a lot of things happening in it. I've finished it in a day because somehow I couldn't stop reading once started. It was a nice addition to this series but it has to be said that it's my least favorite of them all so far, despite me liking the characters so much and their romance.

If you don't mind a lot of drama, high-school settings and all that, I'd still recommend reading it. I think the bar was set a bit too high seeing how beautiful the first three books are. I can imagine it's hard coming up with new stories but still, this one included, it has to be said again; Abbi's ya contemporary stories are on itself really beautiful and her characters aren't flawless and make you feel. There are always some serious things happening that make you stop and think about life in some way or another... It gets you thinking and feeling and I love that a lot though!

[Leigh Collazo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hundreds more reviews like this one at Mrs. ReaderPants.

REVIEW: I don't have a lot to say about this one. I didn't like it. Abbi Glines should stick to writing new adult romances. I have read all four Field Party books, and they seem to be getting worse with each installment. Here is a list of things that bothered me about Losing the Field:

--Simple, choppy writing, similar to what you would see in a hi-lo book.

--Overuse of "I" to begin sentences.

--The idea that fat girls are inherently lonely or do not have any friends.

--How long is their summer break? Tallulah was so overweight that she was an outcast for her entire school career. No one recognizes her when school starts. Let's say Tallulah has lost 50 pounds, from 180 to 130. If her summer was 12 weeks long, that's more than 4 pounds/week lost. And Nash injured his leg a few days into summer. Is 12 weeks (or less, since he knew about it during the summer) long enough for doctors to determine that a 17-year old boy will "never play football again"?

--The idea that a girl loses weight only to show up a boy who laughed at her.

--Tallulah is often described as "sweet" and "innocent." I would have preferred to see her described as "strong" and "independent." Tallulah is too passive, too weak, too forgiving.

--Nash is an asshole, and Tallulah is better off without him.

--Side stories. Teacher-student relationship was a dumb plot line that makes Tallulah look ridiculously naive. Haegan appears and is gone quickly. What was his purpose, and why couldn't he be someone Nash was already close with from school, rather than a new student/YouTube star?

--Weird names. Tallulah, Nash, Haegan, Ryker, Asa, Blakely. And one poor girl simply named Pam.

--All the girls at school are just awful.

--Slut-shaming.

--Tallulah and Nash are underdeveloped as characters. I did not care about either of them, and I did not feel their relationship.

...and a couple of positives:

--Thankfully, no possessive relationship behavior in this one.

--Significantly less football and beer can-crushing in this one.

THEMES: teacher-student relationships, football, death/grief

THE BOTTOM LINE: I don't know why I keep reading this series.

STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: I have no plans to get this one.

RATING BREAKDOWN:
--Overall: 2/5
--Creativity: 1/5
--Characters: 1/5
--Engrossing: 2/5
--Writing: 1/5
--Appeal to teens: 3/5
--Appropriate length to tell the story: 3/5

CONTENT:

--Language: high; includes lots of F-bombs

--Sexuality: medium; some kissing, one kissing scene is topless (M/F)

--Violence: mild; bullying and slut-shaming

--Drugs/Alcohol: mild-medium; teens drink beer at a party; marijuana use

[Dulce María · Rating 2 out of 5]

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019. Reto #35 Un libro ambientado en la prepa o en la universidad.

Quiero empezar diciendo que al inicio me encanto el libro, si estaba lleno de clichés pero era rápido, divertido y muy adictivo, pero llegando aproximadamente a los tres cuartos del libro todo se empezó a caer y no hubo posibilidad de repararlo.

SPOILERS
Primero odie el hecho de que Nash ni nadie se fijara en Tallulah hasta que adelgazo era como amiga date cuenta de que no merecen ni ser tus amigos alejarte, te mereces algo mejor. Pero lo dejé pasar.
Lo que no pude dejar pasar fue el hecho de que Nash no creyera en Tallulah, que inmediatamente pensara lo peor de ella y que fuera un idiota con ella y si la defendió de lo tarados que le decían puta, pero eso no lo hace mejor persona, eso es lo mínimo que esperaría de cualquier persona decente.
Y lo siento pero no puedo dejar de lado que NADIE le creyera quiero decir al menos el director y su madre la apoyaron pero ¿se dan cuenta de qué el tipo era su profeso? Ella tenía solo 17 años que solo se le insinuara se llama estupro y es ilegal, odio estos libros dónde las mujeres no se apoyan sobre todo en esta clase de situaciones donde todas deberíamos ser capaces de empatizar, por qué les juro que aunque la mujer que más odio en el mundo me dijera que la violaron, acosaron o molestaron yo me pondría de su lado y le creería.
Y esa escena final en la que Nash entra a su casa por la puerta de atrás cuando ella se negó a abrirle fue lo más acosador que he leído en mucho tiempo, muchas veces paso por alto el comportamiento tóxico de los protagonistas por qué sino no leería nada, pero eso me pareció totalmente aterrador sin mencionar que ella lo perdona y le dice que lo ama y yo no podía quitar mi cara de horror.

[Kayla Brunson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like disappointment is an understatement for how I’m feeling. I have been so excited to read this one since I heard that there was going to be another book. This series has been very up and down for me so I didn’t know what to expect.

The whole premise of this book was Tallulah losing weight because of the person she liked laughed at her (one time) and as revenge she wanted to him to fall for her and hurt him as he hurt her. Nash went through an accident in the summer that left him with a limp and football being just a dream. He had a chip on his shoulder. I was all for these two in the beginning. Tallulah helped Nash learn that there was more to football and Nash helped Tallulah get out of her skin. If only things stayed that way.

Now, I had many issues with this book. We have fat shaming, victim blaming, and girl shaming.

My number one issue here is that Tallulah lost weight for the wrong reasons. It wasn’t to be healthy or anything like that, it was for a boy. I feel like we shouldn’t put stuff like this out in the world. I don’t want younger girls to think that you need to lose weight for a guy or to get a guy to like you.

I honestly think she deserved so much better than Nash. He claimed that he loved her, but love isn’t so quick to change. He does some things here that I think he shouldn’t be forgiven for.

Also, the ending shouldn’t have been classified as an ending. It was way too abrupt! I hope this was the last book in this series because I don’t think I have it in me to read anymore.

ARC provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

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[Clau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marqué este libro como "to-read" hace como mil quinientos años (la verdad, en febrero del año pasado), antes de que fuera publicado. El día que apareció como publicado, lo descargué en mi kindle, donde acumuló polvo electrónico hasta ahora.
Losing the Field cuenta la historia entre Tallulah y Nash. Ella es la chica tímida, que es ignorada por todos sus compañeros (cuando no le hacen bullying, por supuesto). Él es el deportista estrella, amigo de todos y la única persona que la defiende y la trata bien.
El problema con este libro fue la ejecución. Toca un tema muy delicado, pero en mi opinión, lo deja inconcluso El profesor de ella se le insinúa, ella lo denuncia y todos en el colegio creen que está mintiendo. Me pareció bastante realista esta parte, pero honestamente no entiendo cómo se solucionó todo. En el libro siguiente (que me leí antes que este porque soy así) no se menciona nada del tema, aparte de que Tallulah vuelve al colegio y nadie la molesta . Y mi segundo problema fue Nash (puede que esto también sea spoiler, pero lo encontré un real idiota, especialmente cuando estamos llegando al final).

[❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 It Started so Good Stars
Having just finished the fourth book in the Field Party series I can see why so many people would be disappointed. Me, I’m just pissed and angry. I actually enjoyed the first 75% much more than any of the other books in the series. However once again the climax is more annoying and forced than believable. Both Nash and Tallulah were enjoyable characters, both dealing with personal issues and both making progress on themselves. Once the climax hit everything went downhill for me. We had a bogus addition of a famous YouTube vlogger who randomly moves to their small town in Alabama, joins their high school and ultimately dies within maybe ten chapters. From the beginning Nash had noticed Tallulah and in his own ways stood up for her. He even remembers basically immediately why she hates him. He laughed at a joke his cousin made about her in a bikini when he was thinking about other things, not to mention this was months ago. How am I to believe such an in tuned character who notices the uncomfortable way a teacher is looking at her, would immediately jump to conclusions about her having an affair with a teacher. I’m so mad too that he saw a kiss for seconds and just left her there, who knows what could have happened to her. That whole debacle forces to her to be homeschooled because the bullying is so bad. Still Nash believes she was a part of it. When he finally admits to her he saw them kissing and accepted it, I was done. Horns grew, my pulse skyrocketed and the claws came out. Are you fuc*ing kidding me.......... you accept that 🤬🤬🤬🤬 It got worse from there. She in a matter of seconds not only forgives him but takes him back and I can’t fathom why. Never once had her character displayed anything remotely close to someone who would be with teacher. Throughout the whole book Nash’s anger and disbelief with the teachers behavior was on point and in a split second he thinks the worst and leaves her with a predator, only to later forgive her for her almost assault. His character was written so much better than that. There were so many elements to the story such as Nash’s injury and his mental health. Throw in Tallulah weight loss, confidence boost, revenge plot and severe bullying and you’ve got yourself an over the top angsty high school drama; Losing the Field>. I’m really just let down, this book was so promising and I thought dealt well with many of the given issues, but damnit that ending ruined it all. I wish certain plot points would have been fleshed out more like Nash overcoming his injury, it was like one minute was all woe is me and the next he’s mad at Tallulah and jumping at a chance to rejoin the team. I’m so conflicted with this one. Fans of the series or even just regular readers of the series won’t be surprised by the turn of events. These high school dramatics are normal for this author I just personally wish the execution and conclusion would be satisfactory and more believable.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Holy shit the amount of hurt Tallulah goes through in this book sucks. Like literally just fucking sucks. Nash is sweet and also goes through his own shit because in this series istg every character goes through the unimaginable. I had no complaints throughout reading until the very end. Nash and Tallulah were super cute and I liked their relationship. The only issue was Nash did no groveling in the end, when I think there needed to be TONS more. Other than that kind sad, but cute read!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Losing the Field is the fourth book in the YA Field Party series. These books are Young Adult contemporary romances.

This book is set in Lawton, Alabama at the same high school as the previous books. However, IMO the other books were much more connected to each other. None of the previous narrators (West, Maggie, Brady, Riley, Willa, Gunner) are in this book at all. They have all graduated from high school. So this book looks at a new bunch of seniors.

The narrators are Nash (18) and Tallulah (17). Nash was on the football team with some of the previous narrators. Tallulah was a fat girl who has lost a lot of weight. And now all the guys like her. That is one key part of the story.

Something happens to Nash at the beginning of the book that is another key part of the story. Also there is something that happens with one of the teachers, which is another big part of the book.

This was a super quick read. There was definitely a lot happening in the last part of the book. This was an enjoyable read. Although I missed seeing the other characters from the previous books.

Thanks to edelweiss and Simon Pulse for allowing me to read this book.

[Piki · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is horrible. As a fat person, I feel extremely offended. I start the book reading a girl who is fat and is being bullied for that, and I thought "wow, this YA romantic book has a fat MC, awesome", but that's only the prologue. In the first chapter we see that she lost a lot of weight in just a summer, she is not longer fat, she is a skinny-hot woman who catch all the attention of her schoolmates, before no one noticed her, now everyone talks about her and all the boys want her, because she is the hottest girl in the school. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK MA'AM?! And I said, "ok, relax, maybe this will change and it will be a critique about the bullying fat people receive" but guess what? NOPE.

This books says that is you are fat, then you won't have friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, that you are worthy only for studies and books, and that all you have to do to avoid that is eat healthy, drink water, and walk for 12 weeks, VOILA, no longer fat. God, thanks Abbi, I never thought it will be that easy.

Then the male MC, he was the only one kind to her before, he is her hero, standing up for her. And yes, he was a kind person but he was attracted to her when she was fat? No. What happens the first day of school when he sees her skinny? Wow, he is so into her now. BULLSHIT.

What more, did she lose weight because she wanted a change in her life? Because she wanted to be healthier? Because her doctor said she could have diabetes 2? NO. She did it because the boy who had a crush laughed at a fatty joke about her. Then she turned into someone who wanted revenge, let's lose weight, enter in his world and destroy him. Hello? Is this "Insatiable" 2.0.? This is so wrong for many reason.

No mentioning that end, toxicity everywhere. AGG. Hate it.

English is not my mother language, sorry for any typo

[readbykiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed Losing the Field. It was a fun, quick read just like all of Abbi's books. However, some serious issues happened and I felt a lot of the resolutions were skimmed over and rushed into a page or two, where I felt it could have been a little fleshed out and given a true conclusion for the situations.

[Arlenis Ralfsdóttir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno...
A ver, en el libro anterior deje en claro que esta autora no escribe historias muy remarcables y que no estoy de acuerdo con la mayoria de sus topicos. Aun asi, este libro me logro entretener aunque tengo ciertos problemas generales con la historia y los personajes, pero como son spoilers, los dejare abajo.

En terminos generales diré que el libro me gustó y fue entretenido hasta cierto punto, pero no pude evitar rodar mis ojos un monton de veces, ademas hubo cosas en la historia que no tenian coherencia, y el final no me gustó, demasiado apresurado (literalmente dos paginas). Pero supongo que para pasar una tarde de domingo con una lectura ligera, no esta mal, siempre y cuando no le prestes atencion a todos los mensajes erroneos que transmite.

Ahora vamos con los spoilers...
Que estupido la cosa de que si no estas flaca no eres nadie. Muchisimas personas gordas tienen amigos y una vida, puede que no sean las megas populares, pero no llegan a este extremo, ademas esa cosa que nadie la notó pero ahora era extremadamente ardiente como para no notarla...
Nash siendo completamente estupido, oh acabo de ver y admitir que un profesor beso a mi novia y sabia que ella no lo alentaba porque en varios capitulos anteriores admiti para mi mismo que ella ni se daba cuenta de lo que sucedia porque era muy ingenua e inocente, pero aun asi fue tan insoportable para mi que en vez de entrar y enfrentar al desgraciado o pedir una explicacion me voy con un tipo que acabo de conocer, me drogo y nos metemos en un carro a correr a toda velocidad. Solo se lo deje pasar porque me dije a mi misma "recuerda que son adolescentes, ser inmaduros e irresponsables es lo suyo" pero fue realmente molesto.
Apenas acababa de conocer al youtuber y ya eran amigos del alma o algo asi, osea no digo que el accidente y la muerte del otro no le haya afectado pero actuaba como si fuesen amigos de toda la vida.
La forma en que trata a Talloquesea (nunca pude con ese nombre) y ella de muy estupida que se dejo y lo perdona al final tan wtf? Como minimo lo cacheteo.
No vi necesidad de meter el personaje del youtuber, pense que seria algo mas, no lo se, importante pero lo metes, no hace nada y luego lo matas para justificar el trauma del otro. No le vi sentido.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

1. I think I have outgrown Abbi Glines. Her books have always been very YA, full of bad cliches and unnecessary drama BUT they were fun. Well, not this book. This book is bad, like really bad. The writing seemed very middle schoolish with the silly sentences and a juvenile plot. The characters were as one dimensional as they come; no layers or depth at all. No growth. No chemistry. No romance or falling in love.

2. The heroine was trash. She was nasty, judgmental, naive and petty. Not one to root for. A b*tch from start to finish.

3. The hero was also trash.

4. Two of the worst plot points I have ever read in a book were Mr. Dace and the L.A. vlogger. Both were drama, but boring. Just filler.

5. I don't think I will bother with the rest of the series. I've had enough.

[Taylor Bellamy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible.
One of our MCs is overweight and loses the weight for a guy. Once she shows up skinny everyone pays attention to her and she gets her guy. WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE GOTTEN THE GUY AS AN OVERWEIGHT GIRL?!

Our MC guy is shallow and self obsessed. Nash was nice to Tallulah when she was fat but showed no interest in her until she was skinny THEN he falls in love with her. This is a WONDERFUL message to teen girls or anyone really. Guys will only like you if you are thin as a rail, if you are fat then you better lose weight if you want love and friends. The only thing that changed about Tallulah was her weight. Tell me Abbi Glines, why couldn't our MC guy fall in love with an overweight MC girl for who she is and not her short skirt size? This whole book pissed me off. Theres the whole fatshaming issue, to many random plots popping up in the story line and then it ended abruptly. I listened to the audio book and was confused when it just ended in the middle of a scene. so many things left unanswered.

This was probably the worse Abbi Glines book Ive read to date, and she has had some bad ones but this one just infuriates me. Losing the Field? more like Losing her touch...
Don't read this, just don't.

[Quinn's Quippy Quotes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re Read: March 2023

Again, this one ended too abruptly with still a lot of hurt between the two. I still want a grand gesture like Nash forming a student committee towards bullying in school. Starting back as friends before asking for more. Letting her have the control that she didn’t get with her situation.


Original Review: March 2022

3.75 Stars

So...I liked this. It was more than I expected, and I especially loved Talullah's back ground story. But, I just need ONE MORE CHAPTER. I needed more time to have resolve over Nash's bad decisions. I needed a grand gesture.

I really think this series would make a really fun TV series, and I don't recommend that very often because not every book is able to transfer to the big screen, but I could definitely see this turning into a really good one.

[SoBeA · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off pretty well, but then turned into a mess, imo.Plus the heroine is one of those aggravating ones who forgives the hero too easily. He says sorry, once, and magically everything is hunky dory? My ass.

[✨ A ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nash is an imbecile. And Haegan's character was unnecessary.
________
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2018 prompt: A book involving a sport

[iloverimex · Rating 3 out of 5]

nash is very frustrating here. i like tallulah for fighting against fatphobia however she’s kinda cringe at times when it comes to romance.
The ending was abrupt & there were some annoying parts but overall it was a fine quick read.

[Sammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite of the series so far!!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have quite a few things to say about this one so bare with me.

First of all, I was really anticipating this book as soon as I read the back synopsis. It sounded very interesting and very intriguing. I was looking forward to seeing it all played out on the pages because I could see it getting very complicated and very emotional. It also felt like it could be very angsty for Tallulah and Nash’s romance. It seemed to have all the markers of what made an Abbi Glines’s angsty romance.

However, it didn’t have the great markers of a true Abbi Glines angsty romance, in fact I felt like there was very little romance between Tallulah and Nash. Yes, they were kind of dating and they were staring off point to a great romance, but I didn’t feel like they were there yet, or that they had completely fallen in love with each other by book’s end. Maybe on her end, but I don’t think on his end. Now I don’t know if the fact that this was a YA book had something to do with the lack of romance, but I read two other books in this series, and I felt like the romance was more defined and felt than it was in this one. I knew it wasn't going to be explicit or graphic like Abbi Glines’s Rosemary Beach and Sea Breeze series, but I did expect more of the focus to be on Tallulah and Nash like those series, instead of focusing on the outside stuff, which I felt took more prominence in this story. They just kind of took a back burner to every thing else, and I wish some things were cut while others more explored.

I think this book had many miss opportunities when it came to the story and the romance. I think the angst could have been played with a lot more. I think there could have been a lot more build up between Tallulah and Nash as the story progressed. I think they happened a lot quicker than they should have. I think they should have developed more of a friendship that deepened to something more as the story progressed. I even think just the whole issue with Tallulah having lost that weight, but not seeing herself as that beautiful girl yet could have been explored in more detail and also show how it effected her relationship with Nash. I think there could have been a few more intimate conversations between them over isolation and not feeling like they belong in the high school world and them connect over that because they both understood what they felt, or even have them explain their own pain over what had happened to them to make them the people that they were at that point. Just them having more conversations that went deeper would have benefited this romance more. It would really helped if it was shown more of that emotional intimacy developing between them. Or even more date nights would have been nice. Just more of a steady build to their love story.

Another missed opportunity I think was pacing in this story. Some things could have been cut down more I think and have things brought to a head more quickly than it was. Like what happened with Mr. Dace that caused the rift between Tallulah and Nash could have been explored more, instead of rushed to the finish line. Yes, what direct result was explored and what kept them apart for a little bit, but I think that needed to be expanded more. It felt very rushed and I didn’t like. What do I mean when I say that? Once Nash realized his mistake and realized he wanted to win her and have her back in his life again, it took really no time from that point on to the ending. It happened way too fast. She was very forgiving for what he put her through and pain she suffered as well as the trauma that she went through not only with Mr. Dace, but Nash too. I think that should have been paced out more. I think it should have taken more time from when he decided to go to her to her forgiving him then them getting back together, instead it happened in a blink of an eye, and it felt way too abrupt for my liking. In fact the entire ending itself was easy too abrupt and over before I knew it. I think it needed an epilogue or something else to finish up their story, instead of them getting back together and being all hunky dory again. I didn’t like the ending at all. I would have been so much better if he worked at it more of winning her back then just doing that one thing, telling her that he loved her and all was forgiven. It wasn’t realistic at all. I would have liked to see that developed and explored more especially her pain so that he could understand how much he hurt her when he turned back on her because of the incident. That was more of the story I would liked because then their romance would have been the focus than anything else. There could have been so much more there.

I don’t think I have ever read a book about a teacher pursing a student like Mr. Dace pursed Tallulah. It was different and very creepy to read about it. I liked that Nash recognized what it was right away, but I wish he kind of Tallulah about his suspicions right away so she would have been more prepared than she was. I was shocked that Mr. Dace kissed her and that creeped me out even more, and I really felt bad for her. She was attacked and violated in a way she never should have been, and even though she blamed herself, it wasn’t her fault. It made me sick that she even had that thought. Honestly I think for such a heavy issue like this one, it was a lot more diluted than it could have been. It could have been way more over the top especially with her trauma over the incident and then having Nash abandon her like he did that would have been another slap in the face. That could have been explored a lot more, and Nash could have helped her heal along the way as he won her back just like she healed him after losing football. I think that would have put more an interesting spin on the story if it was played up more. It would have made the story more intense and edgy and made it very interesting.

I really liked Nash and Tallulah, even if I didn’t care for their romance, as well as the other side characters in the story. I enjoyed seeing the friendship between the guys on the football team and the bond that they had with one another. I was very sweet to see how they supported Nash in his time of need. I wish Tallulah had that as well in story after all this time of not having friends she really needed on aside form Nash. I really rooted for her, and she deserved a lot better from what she got from everyone except her mom, who was awesome by the way, and the fact that she didn’t was really sad. I felt so bad when Nash abandoned her in the way that he did, and I thought he didn’t deserve her after that. That’s why it was necessary for him to win her over more than he actually did in the book. She just broke my heart. As for Nash, even though he did some bone headed things especially when it came to Tallulah, I really liked him as well. I felt bad for him that he lost the one thing in his life that he thought would be part of his future forever and to lose it the way he did it was no wonder he had all these emotional scars going on. He had to learn to live in a way that it didn’t include football, and she did that for him. He felt more hopeful by having her in his life. At times I did think he used her as his crutch especially being that it didn’t seem like he was falling her deeply and at times it felt like he was using her as a distraction without really helping her to heal in the way that she was helping him. I just wish I felt more of him falling in love with her more than I did. Did he cared about her? Yes, but love no because I really see evidence of that. I needed more on that side.

Overall this was not my favorite of the series nor was it my favorite Abbi Glines ebook. I think this book could have done so much more than it did especially in the romance between Tallulah and Nash. There was such potential in this book that I just felt was wasted. There could have been better pacing in the story with more things being developed while other things could have been pared down or eliminated altogether. Just some of the stuff in there I just didn’t need. The central focus should have been Tallulah and Nash’s romance, and I felt like that took a back burner to every thing else. I did like the individual storylines for Tallulah and Nash, but at the same time it took away from the romance. There just needed to be more romantic moments between them, instead there were few and far between. It was like they jumped to zero to sixty in no time flat. They only kissed a handful of times. There was one physical scene between them. I would have liked to see more emotional intimate scenes between them to show their development and bond grow throughout the story. They just needed more time together than they actually got in the book. It could have used a lot more angst and more build up between them. It was almost too easy for them. I didn’t like she forgave him so easily. I think he should have worked a lot harder to woo her back especially after what he did to her. I didn’t like the ending because it was very rushed and ended very abruptly. There needed to be something more to the ending than what was actually given in the story. I was just expecting a lot more than I got.