This is one that was recommended to me by a bookseller for book club! The week in which this was meant to be discussed, the rest of my book club were on holiday so.... here's what I thought of the book!
But first, here's the blurb:
MacKenzie Rivers seems like she has it all figured out. She has great friends, she's doing well in school and her handsome ex-boyfriend is desperate to win her back. But something is missing from her life in Windsor, Colorado. And as much as she hates to admit it, that something might be Jaden Hunter. Tall. blond and athletic, a year ago Kenzie was falling fast for him and his crooked smile.
Twelve months later, everything has changed. A tragic accident had destroyed Jaden's family and, despite the was she feels, Kenzie has no idea how to talk to him anymore. She is all too familiar with the impact family tragedy can have on the people she loves, and she can't bear to go through it again with Jaden. She does the only thing she knows how to do: walk away.
When the pair meet again by chance one night, Kenzie realises that she can't ignore her feelings for him any longer. But as she is drawn back into Jaden's life, she finds herself aught between her increasingly volatile best friend, her interfering ex-boyfriend and her own fears about opening up to Jaden.
Will Kenzie dare to fall for the one person she's so afraid of growing close to?
***
So from the look of the blurb, it sounded very similar to The Night We Said Yes. But it really was not. It has features of a light-hearted contemporary with a bit of death and destruction thrown in.
We find out in the first couple of chapters that the Hunters' parents have died in the tragic accident a year ago. That being the reason why Kenzie hasn't spoken to them in a year - she's scared she'll upset them.
This book is so well crafted. The way each different character has a complex yet individual relationship with Kenzie is so nice to read. Darren, being a character which I now totally despise, is Kenzie's ex- boyfriend. I'll put it this way, we all know a Darren. I think it was that relatability that made all of the characters that Maskame has written so believable.
The revelation near the end of the book was so unexpected, I honestly loved it. I thought one of her friends was going to tell her that he was in love with her and add another difficult relationship to the story line but... It was far from that.
There were other times in the book where I completely sympathised with the characters. Kenzie's mum was one of those characters who you couldn't help but feel for.
To conclude, I honestly loved this book. It was such a whirlwind of emotions and it just forced you to be a part of the book. What I would love to read would be a prequel, where we see Jaden and Kenzie's relationship before the accident, or a sequel (please say there will be one. PLEASE!).
It's 4 stars from me!
