On the Fence

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!

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!!