On the Fence

I'm a sucker for YA and Friends to Lovers romance, and Kasie West is one of my favorite YA author :D

The best-friend-turned-boyfriend story is one of my favorites.
A MUST-READ!

I've read this book twice now, and I can't stop thinking about it.
I feel madly in love with Charlie, her family, and of course Braden. I loved Charlie and Braden together. The connection between them was beyond adorable, and the romance was extremely swoony. I love the friends to more trope, a lot!!!

If you haven't read any of Kasie's books yet, but look for cute, awesome YA contemporaries, you should definitely add her novels to your TBR.

I read this book in one sitting and honestly, I’m not even surprised I did. I think I have confessed my love for Kasie West ever since I read The Distance Between Us and I do have to thank a couple of blogger friends who kept on pushing me to read Kasie West’s novels, especially Dianne of Oops! I Read A Book Again. So, when I had the chance to visit the book store, I didn’t hesitate to buy this book.

I’m not sure which one I liked better but I love both books just the same, but I do have to say that I was able to easily relate to this one. It was also filled with tropes that I easily fall in love with, such as tomboy heroines, childhood friends turned lovers, big brothers, and sports!

Charlie is now one of my ultimate favorite contemporary MC. I can definitely relate to her since I’m definitely a tomboy as well. Although I actually have sisters, instead of brothers, I still see myself clearly through her. It was like looking into the mirror. I definitely love her relationships with her brothers (I can’t pick a favorite though haha!) and with Braden. Being surrounded by men throughout her life, she had a bit of a trouble trying to get in touch with feminine side. Though, I don’t mind it, in fact I really did enjoy reading her. She’s like the epitome of a teenager trying to find herself.

Braden was definitely an enjoyable character. I love his quirks and his personality. It was so easy to fall in love with his character. I also love his sense of humor and his sweetness. It was fun to see how his relationship with Charlie blossomed from being platonic to romantic.

The pacing of the story was great, there was never a dull moment which made me finish the book easily. Kasie West’s writing style is a mix of light and drama. The balance among the emotions and the tone of the novel was amazing. The chemistry and dynamics of the character and the story was great too!

Honestly, I would read this book over and over again but since this is only the second book I’ve read from Kasie West, I need to check out her other books especially Pivot Point and Split Second since I’ve heard amazing things about the series. This book though? 10/10 would recommend!

Alright how do I start to explain my feelings toward this book? First off I have never ever read anything by Kasie West before so I didn't know what I was putting myself into, but if you're like me and it's searching for something to see if her books are as good as the raves on GR search no more, On the Fence is a stand alone, really short so even if you hated (but I don't see how, really, is that good) it will not gonna be a real pain in the ass.

I don't know how West does that but she mixes sad and happiness in such a short story, at times I was reading it and was laughing very happy with life and everything but them the narrative would have a glimpse of sadness that made me deeply sad. I mean it's not a depressing book by any far (and if you not as much as crier as I'm you probably will not even get close to crying with this book, but I'm a baby when it comes to crying so I cried. And hard.) but the way some things are said it just would made me heart pang, and hurt and it really touched me, and sometimes I got myself crying of happiness too - I don't think I've ever cried of happiness over a book, but the scenes with Charlie and her brothers are just... Perfect.

Not really any spoilers but [Also the dead of her mother, I mean I had totally called the true story ages ago in the book but it only made me feel more pain at each time she was mentioned and them when the truth was revealed to Charlie I was just like and I could stop crying I actually had to get up and wash my face and blow my nose a couple of times to recompose myself. ]

And about the characters gosh I loved them so much too. Charlie was just the perfect tomboy, contemporary main characters usually have this thing that they're very girly girls even the ones that say they hate make up and only hangs out with boys usually end up making something very girly like obsessing over the first boy that flirt with them but Charlie was actually a real tomboy, that was so clueless about some things. I loved how in this book she discover that she can be a tomboy and also dress up, wear make up and feel very girly sometimes and this is not gonna change who she is, will only make her more herself - I feel like more contemporary books should pass this message, because every girl has a tomboy side and a girly side and both of these sides are more than okay and can perfectly co-exist.

The dynamic between the characters was amazing too, I already told above that I loved Charlie and her brothers, but I also loved her relationship with her father (it made me tear up a little bit too) I could relate so much with her father being so clueless about what to do with a teenage girl and just you know doing his best - with was so heartwarming and such a daddy thing to be so clueless sometimes. And, as it couldn't be different the love interested was so good too, I loved Braden and how his relationship with Charlie played out it was so obviously to everyone else what was happening but it was fun to watch them struggle to realize the obvious.

Well I could go on and keep talking about each aspect of this book and all the scenes that are important to me in details as to why but I think I made me point here. This is must read to everyone, I don't care if you think young adult is only for childrens go read this book and come around, or if you don't like contemporary reads, go read this book and find out what you're missing, just go read this book - seriously, you're not gonna regret because reading this one was a hell of a good ride.

Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Reynolds is a tomboy who can hold her own in any pick-up game. Raised by her single father and with four older brothers, she’s never really given much thought to make-up and high heels. Until she gets a job working at a clothing boutique after getting a speeding ticket in order to pay the fine. She tries to hide her work life from her family but the stress of that and the upheaval to her routine leads her outside, to the fence, where she begins having almost nightly talks with neighbor Braden. What starts innocently enough slowly starts turning into something more when Charlie realizes she just might care about Braden as more than a friend.

This was my first time reading a Kasie West book and I was not disappointed. It left me excited that I already own some of her other books so I can read them soon. This one seemed like it would be a good summer read but it turned into something more and I really enjoyed it.

Charlie was absolutely great. I loved her journey of discovering herself that she had throughout the book and I really appreciated that it never felt like the book was looking down on any of the girls who appeared. Charlie had her own perceptions but they were hers. To me, it felt like the book was saying it’s okay for girls to like sports, it’s okay to like make-up and dresses, it’s okay to like both. Charlie’s acceptance of that was important and well handled.

The family dynamics were also great. The boys were so protective of Charlie, their bond was so evident, and the teasing just made me smile. The romance was adorable and also believable. Their banter during their fence chats, their playfulness, just everything about them together made me smile. I did a lot of smiling while reading this book.

The writing flowed really well and made for an easy read that I didn’t want to put down. There was never a time I felt like the book was dragging, though it did end up being a little predictable. Still, that didn’t lessen my enjoyment and I look forward to reading more Kasie West soon.

MY THOUGHTS
So, far, I've loved every single one of Kasie West's books. The Distance Between Us was an adorable contemporary and Pivot Point remains to be one of my all-time favorite series! So, I had pretty high expectations for this book! And I am happy to say that I enjoyed reading this book!

I'm going to go ahead and say it: This is a perfect contemporary romance. It's short, sweet, and just all-around gives you a good feeling! The relationships in this book were amazing! I'm I'm not just talking about the romance (I'll get to that later), but Charlie has great brothers and it's obvious that they care about her (even though they can be annoying, but, come on, they are brothers). And the relationships that she began to form with people outside of her family was interesting as well.

Now, about the romance. One of my favorite kinds of romance in books is the best friend romance (my other favorite is the hate to love romance) and this book perfectly showed that romance and I found it to be really sweet.

I also need to mention how much I loved the fact that this book takes place in the same town as The Distance Between Us! The references to The Distance Between Us were placed in such an amazing way that it didn't interrupt the plot or confuse those who have never read the book. We would just see or hear mentions of characters from the book or maybe pass by places in The Distance Between Us. And, I'm sorry, I love it when books acknowledged other books that the author wrote!

And now we get to the negative side of things. I obviously loved this book but I just couldn't give this book 5/5 even though I love it. The main reason is that this is not exactly a new story. I've read many similar books and there are many books out there that I haven't read that share the same ideas. I also had issues with Charlie's mother (who is dead by the way. I did not have issue with her mom, just with the odd mentions of her). I just felt like a majority of the things with Charlie's mother did not do anything to the story at all and didn't advance the plot.



IN CONCLUSION
This was a great contemporary romance and while it's not exactly original, I still loved it! If your looking for a feel-good book to put a smile on your face, pick this book up! And if you have yet to read any of Kasie West's books, what are you waiting for?! READ THEM!!

Let me say this now, I LOVE Kasie West! I got an ARC of this from The Regulator Bookshop, and loved every page of it! It comes out in July and let me tell you, you want a copy! I was even lucky enough to get to meet Kasie on the Lovestruck tour! She is an amazing woman and was a joy to talk to! This is a companion novel to The Distance Between Us, but you don't need to read one to read the other.

The main character is named Charlie. She is confident, sporty, and a pretty cool chick. According to Charlie, she is a tomboy who doesn't know how to be a girl. After getting into a bit of trouble, her dad makes her get a job. Charlie ends up in a workplace that she didn't expect to like, but ends up enjoying anyways. Over the course of the book, Charlie makes new friends, finds herself, realizes that she doesn't need to change for anybody, and that true love might have been in front of her the whole time. She's a spunky protagonist who you're going to love!

After reading awesomeness that is The Distance Between Us, I was ecstatic when I got this ARC. I gobbled it up and loved every word. Plus, there's a squealy moment towards the beginning that readers of The Distance Between Us will love! The plot was fast paced and fun. I loved the characters, and like how Charlie's protective older brothers are portrayed. I feel that the defining point in many of Kasie West's novels is the characters learning that they aren't a stereotype, that they don't really exist. It's a journey that all teens go through, which makes this incredibly relatable. Make sure to pick up this book when it comes out in July and I am hungering for whatever Kasie writes next! A definite five stars!

I wanted to read On The Fence because I was in the need for a summery read plus the fact that I have liked Kasie West's characters and writing style from her paranormal books.

The dynamic between Charlie, our tomboy main character and her brothers is so endearing. They are like an amoeba, where one is, you'll find the rest. They have folded into their circle of boyhood, wrestling with her, playing sports no holds barred with her, and letting her be with them all the time. Part of this group of guys is next door neighbor Braden, who is an only child and loves the inclusion. He has a dad who he dubs jerk and him getting out of the house when dear dad comes home drunk is what leads him to be out so late at night to begin the fence talks with Charlie.

And yes, we can all see where this is going. But I liked how they had a friendship first, and they were aware that if things changed, it would effect more than herself. But I like that as they have the deep conversations at night, she is working out things about herself and her mom who died when she was little. They have this deeper connection and it makes me smile.

Charlie's dad was also present. He was awkward a lot of the time, but he was at least trying. Red in the face talking about conditioner and bras, doing what men shouldn't have to do. I also like that he was in on some of the nerf action. Speaking of, I love the playful nature of the house. That and how the dares kept things adventurous and deepened their bonds.

Through her job she is also getting in touch with parts of herself that she didn't before. That she could be a little girly and it wouldn't be the end of the world. What I think the most important message was though is how she learned to be herself. That she could be girly or wear makeup if she wanted, but that she shouldn't have to be fake or only show half of who she was in order to be liked.

The light nature to the book was also good. Because even though it had some rough subject matter--drunk dads and dead moms--it was dealt with and still managed to focus on the now. Being able to push through, showing your strength and at the same time vulnerability to open up to someone else and share feelings, to lean on them and to get through.

The ending was sweet and nice, but I couldn't help putting down the book and wanting to get more time in their chemistry, in the sureity of their relationship, with others knowing, with their hearts a little less confused.


Bottom Line: Fun, fast and light with slow romance that was sweet.