Review Detail

As Everly learns the hard way, high school relationships don't always survive high school. When she catches her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend, all those people she thought were her friends make it pretty clear that they don't want to choose a side. Worse, Everly's former best friend decides to spread rumors about her to sway their mutual friends.

Everly's parents are so concerned that they send her to therapy. White does a great job of presenting therapy in a positive light showing both the benefits and hard work involved (which makes total sense since the author is a therapist!) While in the waiting room one day, she meets Gabe, a gorgeous guy who immediately sparks interest in her. The thing is, though, Everly doesn't think she's ready. She's too busy worrying about her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend to prioritize her own happiness. She's also battling all those rumors about her, and she's trying to make some new friends.

Fortunately, Gabe turns out to be pretty fabulous, but he's not visiting a therapist just for grins and giggles. Gabe's reasons for therapy are a bit more severe and serious than Everly's, to the point that you hope that she can see that it's possible that she only thought she was madly in love with her ex.

When it comes to understanding the torture of high school friendships and romances, Sarah White largely gets it right. She develops the nuances of navigating the cafeteria and finding a new crowd quite skillfully. One of the subplots involving Everly's best friend and those rumors is dropped too quickly and without much explanation. We also don't really get a sense of the ex-boyfriend. Some of the major plot lines of the book felt a little too unbelievable at times, taking me out of the story. For example, Everly had never heard of Ed Sheeran before Gabe introduced her to his music. And everyone at the school is obsessed with their "prom-posals" that we're over the top.

Gabe, though, is well developed, as is Everly. I got a little confused by some of the timeline moments. The book takes place in the spring, yet football seems to be pretty prevalent. Football season would have ended a few months earlier.

Overall, I'd recommend to those who want a sweet, sex positive romance with a few inches of depth to the characters. It's certainly a quick read and leaves you feeling