NicoleeK

Goodreads Synopsis:

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…

Review:

This is the first book by Abbi Glines that I have read and I will definitely be reading more.

I loved Maggie’s character, she had witnessed something horrific that no-one should ever have to see and rather than lash out or have it destroy her, she simply chose to get through it by not speaking. Although it may seem an unconventional way of dealing with grief and pain, it helped maggie to stay sane. 

Then there’s West, your typical jock. He can be a bit of a jerk but of course has a heart of gold. He’s dealing with his own issues as his dad, who he has looked up to his whole life, is dying and there’s nothing he can do. 

Maggie and West form a connection through this mutual feeling of grief. They rely on each other in different ways which helps them but also leads to them becoming too dependent on each other.

What I liked about this book is that it deals with friendship but also a relationship that although may seem fine can actually be toxic and how the characters actually realised this.  

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Although there were moments of heartbreak and sadness, the football boys provided plenty of laughs to lighten the mood. However if I had one criticism it would be that I would have liked to have discovered more about Maggie’s past and what led to that traumatising event which would have helped us understand her situation a bit better.

I would definitely recommend this book and cannot wait to read the next one in the series!