When Natalie Rhodes left her house early that fateful morning to catch the bus to her senior class trip, she never expected to end up in a car with Colton Daynes--the guy she's had a crush on since first grade, the guy who has no idea who she is. But when Colton's irresponsible driving causes them both to miss the bus, the unlikely pair set off on a road trip from Michigan to Virginia Beach to catch up with their classmates.
From the little village of Middleville, the popular football star and the quiet gymnast will navigate back roads and highways, travel from lake towns to waterfalls to mountaintops and beyond, all the while fielding texts from Colton's friends and mean girl, Lexi, who also happens to be Colton's girlfriend and Natalie's former best friend.
Hours spent together on the road will lead them to places they've never been, discovering hidden talents, revealing secrets and fears. And they just might realize they have more in common than they know.
Krista Noorman is the author of sweet romance, contemporary Christian romance, and young adult novels. She's a small-town Michigan girl, who is constantly inspired by books and movies, enjoys beautiful Instagram feeds, and loves a good peppermint mocha.
After college at Cornerstone University, four years as a military wife, and starting a family, she turned to her love of photography and spent nearly a decade running her own wedding photography business. For most of her life, she scribbled away in journals while documenting her everyday life, but it wasn't until she took part in National Novel Writing Month, that she found her true calling and turned her pen to fiction. She's been writing about falling in love ever since.
There is nothing that bothers me more than reading a book, and just not loving it. That was the case here, and it really breaks my heart. I love reading, I love books, and I love anyone that takes that leap and writes a book and shares it with the world, but unfortunately I just can't love every book I come across.
This book was about Natalie, a gymnast, who gets into a car wreck on her way to her high school to catch the bus for her senior class trip. The driver of the car that caused the wreck is Colton Daynes, rich and popular football star. This results in both of them missing the bus, and deciding to road trip together the 18 hours to their destination so they don't have to miss out on the whole trip.
My first issue with the book was that it was written in 3rd person. I could not connect to these characters at all, because I didn't feel what they were feeling. You didn't get that glimpse into their mind and what they were thinking. It was really frustrating to me. In like the first few paragraphs it talks about how much Natalie hates Colton, but then the author says Natalie thinks Colton is so hot, and she has been in love with him since they were kids? I was so confused. Were we supposed to believe she didn't like him, or was she just in denial? I'm still unsure.
I didn't like Natalie at all. She was very judgmental. She didn't like Colton's girlfriend because she was a bully, but she was beautiful and knew she was beautiful. And Lexi and her friends "the Heathers" walked around like they were better than everyone....that kind of felt a little like bullying to me too. A little hypocritical.
Colton was a horrible person. He was conceited and rude, and some of the stuff he said to her on the trip was just ridiculous. What might have been worse than the things he was saying, was the fact that she liked it. "You're sweet and good and...boring, but in an interesting, I-want-to-figure-you-out kind of way." Umm what?
You get halfway through the book, and then it turns religious? They were having these discussions about God and church, which is fine, but it just seemed to come out of nowhere, and I didn't really see how it fit into the story. "So..you're a church girl." She sighed at the change of subject, knowing he wasn't going to tell her. "I go to church, yeah." "That explains it." "Explains what?" "Why you're so boring." He winked at her. <-- Yeah this part left me with my mouth hanging open. If you wanted to write a book about faith and church fine, but why would you EVER include this in it, and then want me to somehow fall in love with this "book boyfriend"
These characters were just so immature. Colton had a girlfriend that it didn't really feel like he had any intention of breaking up with. He kept doing things throughout the trip to try and make his girlfriend jealous, but then wouldn't pick up the phone when she called. Natalie knew he had a girlfriend, talked about how much of a bully the girl was, but was okay with the way he was acting with her? "Honestly, when I posted that picture this morning, I wanted to make Lexi mad." "Why?" "So I wouldn't have to break up with her." Natalie stared at him in silence until he looked at her. "I've wanted it to be over for a while now." Okay, so how about you just break up with the girl and grow a pair? And what kind of girl is just like oh okay makes sense, your just soo cute I don't care what you say or do I still want to spend time with you.
"Well, I'm just a more selfless person than everyone else, I guess." In what world does a person that is actually selfless say something like this? Natalie did not care about anyone else, or how her actions affected others. Her character seemed self absorbed to me, and she really wasn't that great of a friend to the ones she did have.
And lastly, there was a spot at the end of the book where Colton claims the accident wasn't his fault. That he prayed that morning for someone to show him where he should go in life, and that his car just magically moved on it's on that morning directly into Natalie's path. Is this real life? I just can't get on board.
Overall, I'm giving this ONE STAR. I tried, I really really tried. I tried to like it, I tried to connect with the characters, and I tried to get into the story and I just couldn't. I don't know if it was the fact it was written in 3rd person, the fact that the characters were so immature and not relatable at all, or the weird random bits of religion thrown in, but I just couldn't get into it.
Cute YA, high school romance. A road trip with some fun detours while two people learn more about each other. Reminds me of Kasie West books. I really liked it!
Every once in a while, I love a fun light-hearted romantic adventure. And that is what I was expecting with this Christian YA novel. But this story turned out to have a few more layers to it.
The first half of the story was filled with playful banter, touching getting-to-know-you moments, and cool stops along the journey. The second half of the book had a lot more teen drama infused into the story. I’ll be honest. Parts of this book were absolutely delightful. Other parts made me cringe because they pushed the boundaries of what I prefer in clean teen novels.
This book also touched on some serious teen issues – depression, teen suicide, the hook-up culture, and bullying. We all wish teens didn’t have to deal with these kinds of things, but in many schools, this is the reality kids face daily. It’s always nice to find a book that can show that these topics exist but offer a positive alternative. This Christian YA novel had two fantastic messages. 1 – Stick to your beliefs. If someone truly likes you, they will respect who you are. 2 – Anyone, no matter what has happened in their past, can change if they really want to.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story! The author did a great job of making me feel like I was experiencing the ups and downs of the challenging time known as the teenage years! There were some very deep situations and events that were discussed in this edgy, Christian, young adult novel. I would recommend it to older teens.
The author captured the feelings of uncertainty, attraction, confusion, hurt, and many more emotions so well. I loved reading as the characters bantered back and forth, learning a little more about each other as each mile passed. I enjoyed this story from start to finish and it was easy to feel as if these characters were real and heading off to college in the next few months!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I received an advance copy of 18 Hours to Us from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
This is just such a cutesy and quick read! While the romance had a few sticking points for me, I just can't get over how cute it is!
1. The plot. If you've ever read Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins, this plotline reminded me a lot of that book. The two main characters end up going on a road trip together after they miss the school bus that is driving them to a beach a couple of states away. One thing this book doesn't have going for it is unpredictability. Just from reading the blurb, you can tell exactly where it's going and how it'll get there. That's kind of why I love contemporary romance novels, though. You don't worry about what will happen, you just enjoy the character interactions and the bond that's forming between them. To that end, I read this book in one night because of how absorbed I was in their relationship. It's quite lovely and the author doesn't try to shove in an action plotline or anything of the sort. The purpose is clear and sweet. Now that I think about it, this book is basically cotton candy.
2. The romance. If you couldn't tell, the romance is the plot and while that is adorable and sweet, it also places any problems with the romance front and center. While it isn't exactly instalove, I found myself repeatedly asking why Natalie was so swoony around Colton when she starts out so antagonistic towards him. The first couple hours of the road trip are a little sickly with her swooning every time he does something human. That being said, I did like getting to know their relationship more as they themselves were discovering it and watching them stop and do cute things together during the trip is adorable! Honestly, this is basically a fairytale.
3. The characters. In general, the characters are lovely. We really get to know Colton and Natalie (obviously) and we learn about their pasts as they discover it from each other which I found to be a great way of conveying the necessary knowledge without an info dump at the beginning. I do wish there was more of their friends, though, because they're painted as rather two dimensional. The book is focused on the two MC's, but I could have used more.
4. The setting. Because the premise is a road trip, the settings describing each place are basically mandatory and overall, they're very important. The settings here fit that purpose and I enjoyed following along with Colton and Natalie's journey through the middle eastern part of the US. The author uses several landmarks to mark each point of the journey and I think that was a very smart decision.
The Final Verdict: Fluffy, sweet, and exceptionally cute.
Note: There are a few religious undertones although it isn't super prominent (Christian).
This was the cutest book that I have read in a very long time. I loved both Natalie and Colton, even the mistakes they made caused me to love them even more because of the way that they handled it. They had such a sweet and clean relationship (clean read, which was a huge blessing as it’s very hard to find a YA novel with no crude language and no sex), but they also had a really mature relationship in terms of communication with each other, commitment, and their love for each other. It was a great read and I was happy to spend this lazy Saturday afternoon reading it.
What a fun and entertaining clean YA romance. Noorman does an excellent job creating realistic teenage characters we can all relate to. The couple's witty, flirty banter kept me smiling through the whole read. While engaging familiar tropes YA fans will adore, 18 Hours to Us also weaves in encouraging messages that tackle hard issues so many of us have faced while in that stage of life. A funny, romantic, inspiring story that's sure to leave a lasting impression on YA fans looking for a sweet, clean read.
I loved this book. I love that it deals with teenage relationships in a way that is realistic and gives a real sense of what the characters are going through. The connection between Colton and Natalie is very heart warming and once I started reading I could not put the book down.I love Krista as an author as all of her books touch a real sense of reality without being too much or too little. I highly recommenced this book and all of her books.
Love, love, love Colton and Natalie. This is a such a beautiful love story. This story talks about bullying and the effects that it can cause. It touches on how teenagers feel pressured to do what others expect of them and not what they truly desire or want. The ending was just perfect. Colton’s explanation to why he felt the accident was meant to happen to bring them together is just so perfect.
I so enjoyed this Christian YA story. It's fun how the 2 get thrown together on an 18hour road trip. The two have a good chemistry between them for an adorable romance and the dialog is fun and natural. You'll want to read more about them when the book ends. It has an inspirational message about forgiveness and second chances, that makes it a fulfilling read.
So well written, entertaining, and heartfelt. I would recommend this for older teen and up, as it deals with a realistic view of teenage life and the complications that come when you want to change friends and life choices. I really enjoyed this.
I loved this book! Krista Noorman took me back to my teen years. I loved how she describes the road trip stops in detail, just like you are there! Teen drama is so real, she really captures it. This is a must read!
A refreshing, clean read. I absolutely loved it and would have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have little kids that I knew would be up at the crack of dawn! It was cute, funny, intense, meaningful, and just an all around great book. Highly recommended.
I enjoyed this book, especially because there are so few decent contemporary Christian YA books out there. It is story/character driven rather than being preachy and corny about Christianity which is refreshing!
This was my second time reading a book by this author and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a fun, fast read. A clean, Christian, YA story that is worth the read. Well done.
This was a sweet 2nd chance story about 2 teenagers getting in a wreck on the way to school and their late so they have to follow the bus to go on a trip. Natalie didn’t put in account falling for her old crush again.
I finished this super quick! I love YA, especially when it packs an emotional punch. 🥰 The banter, their unexpected road trip, the sweetness and rawness of it…I loved it all.
I really loved this story. I'm a 30-something mom of 4 and I loved this story. Teens who used to be friends are thrown together on the trip of a lifetime. She has always loved him, he had forgotten all about her. But their connection is undeniable. I love that there is faith in this story without being preachy. It's just right, especially for teenagers. I can't wait to read more by this author!
She thought back to first grade, climbing on the jungle gym together, holding hands on the bus. He had told her she was his girlfriend and that one day he was going to marry her. But they were six. He couldn’t possibly remember that. Or that he’d broken her tiny little heart when he got a new fiancee at recess the following week.
“You’re the one, Natalie,” he said. “My answer to prayer. Although, I had no idea when I prayed about traveling life’s path that we would literally go on a trip together.
This was a cute fun YA high school romance. I love the plot, the road trip, the stops along the journey, the little religious parts of the book, the banter, the getting to know each other better moments. This book had a few more layers to it. It had some major depth to it that I wasn’t expecting. The book talks about depression, teen suicide, bullying, the future, the pressure of life, the hook-up culture, religion. It was a sweet, funny, romantic book. Solid 4.5 stars.
What I Loved: 18 Hours To Us is fun and flirty. There is this tension and chemistry between Colton and Natalie that keeps the pages turning. But what I really liked was the message Krista was able to bring to the table about sex, love, and teenage relationships. We see Natalie dealing with temptation and the struggle to the right thing, which I found very realistic. The characters felt authentic, they acted, reacted, and talked much like teens. Over and over again, I kept thinking back to my teenage years. There’s something about the overall feel of the story that kept bringing to mind the old movie, She’s All That, or the newer, Geek Charming. 18 Hours To Us isn’t a remake of either but it is a classic teen story with a classic teen feel.
Rating and Recommendation: I give 18 Hours To Us 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA fiction or a romantic journey story.
~ I was given an early copy by the author. I chose to review it and all thoughts are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
I loved this book. It is well written and was hard to put down. Noorman realistically captures the emotions of a teenager in high school. You can feel Natalie's excitement, nervousness, pain, heartache and happiness.
This is a great YA read for both young adults and older adults. It deals with important teen issues in a straight forward way. Natalie's strong moral code is something we can all learn from.
- I was given an early copy by the author. I chose to review it and all thoughts are my own. I did not receive compensation for this review.
Sooo, the dialogue in this book feels really off and it is full of teenage high school drama, but I enjoyed this book. It's a different twist on the YA drama. I liked that this was clean and had happy end to it.
Content: Clean Language: Clean Religious: This has some Christian themes in it and discusses prayer. It's not super religious, but religion is a part of conversation for the two main characters.
I cannot say enough good things about this book. It is absolutely adorable. There were so many sweet moments of two young people falling in love. There was angst from difficult situations. And apologies and forgiveness that was long overdue. Faith was explored and faith grew.
Truly an incredible read. I usually don't like stories with one POV, but this one works.