*I received this book from the author through LibraryThing, and was asked to give an honest review*

A few chapters into this book I almost put it down, but I decided to give it a chance because Kestra has a way of writing that hooks me even when the story doesn't initially resonate with me.

Moriah is a character I felt absolutely no connection with the first part of the story. She is selfish, annoying, entitled, rude, unobservant, and altogether awful. (It's cool though, she redeems herself). My favorite thing about this story is the change in the that occurs in Moriah as the story progresses. It was such a gradual change that she didn't even see it happening at first. To take a character from someone I loathe to someone I can sympathize with is an accomplishment in my opinion. It helped that Avery was there and made the beginning scenes with her in them tolerable.

All the supporting characters were charming in their own way. Shandra, Avery's mother, was my favorite. I felt like more needed to be said concerning Moriah's grandfather. He was the only one who had an effect on her in the beginning, and with the way he was written into the story it seemed like he would be an important character. Unfortunately nothing much happened with his character development like I hoped.

I liked the fact that it wasn't an "insta-love" story, but I didn't really believe they were at an "I love you" stage already when both of them just discovered they had feelings for each other at all, so it really felt a little forced.

It might seem like I didn't enjoy the book, but I did. The message it sends made the book worth while because it was something I see teens struggle with all the time. This story is about breaking down emotional walls, discovering who you are and not being who someone else wants you to be, getting past assumptions people make about you, and most importantly learning to take responsibility for yourself and your own actions. ( )

I received a mobi.file copy of this book from the author through a giveaway she recently had on LibraryThing, and the following is my honest opinion.

Moriah, who likes to be called Ri, is your typical defiant teenage girl, who is not getting into some kind of trouble, is doing something wrong. Perhaps this is due to the inattentive parents she has and she’s merely screaming for some attention to who she is and what she does. You know the routine, parents like these merely send their children packing to some older relative for the summer, so they’re out of the hair; and for Ri this meant her grandparents.

Instead of being forced to go there to be reformed into a decent obedient daughter, she’d planned to spend her summer vacation; breaking all the rules she could think of.

Naturally, her grandparents lived in what’s affectionally knowns as the boondocks, in a town called Fairgarden; and if that’s not a stereotypical name for a town like this, tell me what is. But it turns out, this town had to have possessed some magical properties for it started to transform Moriah; first with her making friends with the local kids her age, and then slowly becoming captivated with Avery, the blind boy who works for her grandparents by taking care of the rose garden they have.

The thing is when she starts finding out about the secrets he possesses, a kinship develops since believes he might just be a big troublemaker like she is, perhaps even bigger. One of the biggest qualities Avery possesses which impresses Ri is his attentiveness when she’s talking, something she hasn’t really experienced until now.

With both, Ri and Avery, sharing a somewhat similar history in their lives, including and involving an emotional loss [broken heart]. Can these two then use their own personal experiences to help each other feel complete again? I’m not saying, but I’m giving saying I’m happy to give the author, Kestra Pingree, and this book 5 STARS. ( )

I loved this book I wanted it to keep going forever. This book is not only a good read but shows you that you shouldn't judge anybody before you really get to know them. I wish that there were more of these books. I think it would be a great series of books.

Moriah seems almost like my sister rebellious and thinks she can do whatever she pleases and for me it just seems so relatable and I really like that even though I haven't actually gone through this or really anything like it I can still relate to it. I just think it is such a great book I would recomend this to anyone that can and enjoys reading. ( )

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will begin by telling you that before beginning this book I already had high expectations and fully anticipated enjoying the book because Young Adult is my genre of choice. That being said I have read a lot of YA novels. But somehow this was the first one I've ever read about a rebellious girl turned good by a good boy. It was refreshing. I was so involved in the main character, Moriah's, story that I read the whole book in one day. Which, I guess probably won't shock any of you who may actually know me.

I have to admit that I began with a decided dislike of Moriah and her treatment of the people around her. She is ultimately rebelling against her neglectful parents and gets shipped to her grandparents house. Which is about the time that I began understanding her and disliking her parents (a dislike that I felt all the way through the book). The reader gets to watch Moriah's emotional evolution as she begins to make friends with other kids in town, and takes a particular liking to Avery. She starts treating her grandparents better and starts to create a life for herself in the small hick town that her parents shipped her off to.

Overall I enjoyed the book as much as I had thought I would. I like the spin of the bad girl and good boy. I'm always impressed by authors that can write about the lives of teenagers in a way that even older audiences feel they can relate to the characters. I'm even more impressed when they write in such a way that I take on the emotions of the main character as I read the book, which definitely happened in this case. I found myself crying when Moriah cried, confused when she was confused and annoyed when she was annoyed. It's no small feat for an author to make a 30 year old woman relate to a 16 year old girl, and Kestra absolutely did that with this book.

To read my full review please go to https://opinionatedbw.blogspot.ca/ ( )