Book Review: Losing the Field by Abbi Glines

Losing the Field

Release date: August 21 2018

Losing his dream, his ultimate plan, and his future- Nash Lee never expected to be facing a life without football. One wrong move and it had all changed. Going back to school for his senior year no longer appealed to him. He’d rather not leave his house. Walking back into Lawton High School, seeing pity in everyone’s eyes was just another reality in his nightmare. Revenge wasn’t a pretty thing. Tallulah Liddell had found it was rather controlling. The way you looked at life changed completely when you clung to the ugly notion. But she’d done it anyway. From the last day of her junior year when Ryker Lee had made a fat joke about her and Nash laughed with him, she’d been driven by pain. It wasn’t like no one had made fun of her weight before. She was used to that. What had hurt so deeply was Nash’s laughter. He’d always been the one person to notice her, include her, not treat her differently. But that one moment had changed it all. From the time she walked out of the school building to the moment she returned for her senior year Tallulah had been determined to lose weight and finally be the size her peers considered acceptable. What she wasn’t expecting on her return was to find a broken Nash Lee who no longer smiled, rarely spoke, and didn’t care about anything or anyone around him. He was just existing. But the pain in his eyes she understood all too well. He was alone. He no longer fit into the perfect package.

I’ve been enjoying the Field Party series so I was excited for a new one. It tackled a lot, from Nash dealing with his injury and dreams of football being over, to Tallulah going from an outcast to popular, to a new football coach who I didn’t trust right away. I did miss the characters from the first three books who have graduated but Nash and his crew seem very able to carry on the football team and the series.

The book had the typical Abbi Glines feel to it. Quick to read, perfect to grab and head outside or to the beach. It had a dual POV, misunderstandings between the two main characters that kept them apart, small issues that seemed huge to them, larger issues that were a theme through the whole book. I liked what she did with Nash’s story, focusing on him having to come to terms with what his injury meant for his future and how hard it was to see all his friends still playing the sport he loved. I thought I would be less invested in Tallulah’s story since I’m not usually a fan of someone coming back “hot” to get revenge, and her plan seemed a little naive.

I did like Nash and Tallulah together. He was overprotective and she was naive and innocent, both were stubborn and it led to a lot of fights and misunderstandings that could have been avoided if they just talked to each other. Of the supporting characters, Nash’s cousin Ryker played the biggest role with their friend Asa also hanging around quite a bit. Either of them would be my guess for the next book. Hopefully there is one.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a feature started on Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming books.

This week’s pick is:

Losing the Field

Release date: August 21st 2018

Goodreads: Losing his dream, his ultimate plan, and his future- Nash Lee never expected to be facing a life without football. One wrong move and it had all changed. Going back to school for his senior year no longer appealed to him. He’d rather not leave his house. Walking back into Lawton High School, seeing pity in everyone’s eyes was just another reality in his nightmare.
Revenge wasn’t a pretty thing. Tallulah Liddell had found it was rather controlling. The way you looked at life changed completely when you clung to the ugly notion. But she’d done it anyway. From the last day of her junior year when Ryker Lee had made a fat joke about her and Nash laughed with him, she’d been driven by pain. It wasn’t like no one had made fun of her weight before. She was used to that. What had hurt so deeply was Nash’s laughter. He’d always been the one person to notice her, include her, not treat her differently. But that one moment had changed it all. From the time she walked out of the school building to the moment she returned for her senior year Tallulah had been determined to lose weight and finally be the size her peers considered acceptable.
What she wasn’t expecting on her return was to find a broken Nash Lee who no longer smiled, rarely spoke, and didn’t care about anything or anyone around him. He was just existing. But the pain in his eyes she understood all too well. He was alone. He no longer fit into the perfect package.

Why I’m excited: I’ve really been loving this football, love, and drama series. It fills a Friday Night Lights void in my life.

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a feature started on Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming books.

This week’s pick is:

After the Game

Release date: August 22nd 2017

Goodreads: Two years ago, Riley Young fled from Lawton, Alabama. After accusing the oldest Lawton son, Rhett, of rape, everyone called her a liar and she had no option but to leave. Now she’s back, but she’s not at Lawton High finishing up her senior year. She’s at home raising the little girl that no one believed was Rhett’s.
Rhett is off at college living the life he was afraid he’d lose with Riley’s accusation, so Riley agrees to move back to Lawton so she and her parents could take care of her grandmother, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. But the town still hasn’t forgotten their hate for her, and she hasn’t forgotten the way they turned on her when she needed them most.
When town golden boy Brady Higgens finds Riley and her daughter, Bryony, stranded on the side of the road in a storm, he pulls over and gives them a ride. Not because he cares about Riley, of course, but because of the kid.
But after the simple car ride, he begins to question everything he thought he knew. Could Brady believe Riley and risk losing everything?

Why I’m excited: I’ve really been loving this series and Brady has been a favourite since book one so I’m excited to see him get his chance to be the lead.

Book Review: Under the Lights by Abbi Glines

Under the Lights

Release date: August 23rd 2016

In the follow-up to Abbi Glines’s #1 New York Times bestseller Until Friday Night—which bestselling author Kami Garcia called “tender, honest, and achingly real”—three teens from a small southern town are stuck in a dramatic love triangle.
Willa can’t erase the bad decisions of her past that led her down the path she’s on now. But she can fight for forgiveness from her family. And she can protect herself by refusing to let anyone else get close to her.
High school quarterback and town golden boy Brady used to be the best of friends with Willa—she even had a crush on him when they were kids. But that’s all changed now: her life choices have made her a different person from the girl he used to know.
Gunner used to be friends with Willa and Brady, too. He too is larger than life and a high school football star—not to mention that his family basically owns the town of Lawton. He loves his life, and doesn’t care about anyone except himself. But Willa is the exception—and he understands the girl she’s become in a way no one else can.
As secrets come to light and hearts are broken, these former childhood friends must face the truth about growing up and falling in love…even if it means losing each other forever.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Until Friday Night, so I was excited for this one. I like getting to go back to the same world but with different characters, who are still friends with the characters I already fell in love with from previous books. This time we got to see Maggie’s cousin Brady’s POV so we still spent some time with Maggie and West from Until Friday Night.

I knew going in that there would be a love triangle so I was prepared. And I didn’t hate it. Brady, Willa, and Gunner were close friends growing up and were just beginning to discover possible feelings for each other when Willa moved away. They never had the chance to explore what those feelings meant so when Willa returned years away, so did all the feelings. All three of them have changed since Willa left and navigating their old feelings and friendship with the new people they were was complicated.

I liked that this book was similar to Until Friday Night but different enough to stand on its own. It brought me back to the world of the Field Party that I fell in love with and added more dimension to it. It was an interesting dynamic between the three involved in the love triangle. Brady’s life had been pretty decent and his future was set because of football. Gunner and Willa were both broken in some form. Gunner was often ignored by his parents, and with his older brother off at college, the housekeeper was the only person in the house to show him affection. That housekeeper was Willa’s grandmother, who took her in after her mother kicked her out. Willa was also familiar with feeling unwanted by family and her and Gunner ended up having a lot in common, a good understanding of each other.

The relationship drama and personal drama was at the forefront for most of the plot. It made for a quick read. The three POVs worked well since with this style of series, the one not chosen in the triangle usually ends up being the main love interest in the next book and I liked both guys’ POVs. It gave me something to look forward to in the next book, if he does indeed become the main guy in the follow-up.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Exposing My-Shelf: Shelf Thirty-One

I am notorious for being very, very particular about where my books go on my shelves. I have reasons why they’re placed where they are. They might not make sense to anyone else but they make sense to me, so that’s all that matters. Every now and then my reasons will change or there will be an influx of new books(looking at you April/May/September) that will make it necessary for the system to be tweaked. Every Friday(hopefully) I’ll be posting a picture of one shelf and explaining the reasoning behind it. By the time I’ve posted every shelf section, it’ll be time to re-arrange and start all over again.

Shelf Contains:

Everything this by Abbi Glines, just so I don’t mention it a hundred times while making this list.

Fallen Too Far                        The Vincent Boys

Never Too Far                        The Vincent Brothers

Forever Too Far                     Breathe

Simple Perfection                Because of Low

Twisted Perfection               While It Lasts

Take a Chance                       Just For Now

One More Chance                Sometimes It Lasts

You Were Mine                    Misbehaving

When I’m Gone                   Bad For You

When You’re Back              Hold On Tight

The Best Goodbye               Until the End

Until Friday Night

Waiting on Wednesday

This is a feature started on Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming books.

This week’s pick is:

Under the Lights

Release date: August 23rd 2016

Goodreads: In the follow-up to Abbi Glines’s #1 New York Times bestseller Until Friday Night—which bestselling author Kami Garcia called “tender, honest, and achingly real”—three teens from a small southern town are stuck in a dramatic love triangle.
Willa can’t erase the bad decisions of her past that led her down the path she’s on now. But she can fight for forgiveness from her family. And she can protect herself by refusing to let anyone else get close to her.
High school quarterback and town golden boy Brady used to be the best of friends with Willa—she even had a crush on him when they were kids. But that’s all changed now: her life choices have made her a different person from the girl he used to know.
Gunner used to be friends with Willa and Brady, too. He too is larger than life and a high school football star—not to mention that his family basically owns the town of Lawton. He loves his life, and doesn’t care about anyone except himself. But Willa is the exception—and he understands the girl she’s become in a way no one else can.
As secrets come to light and hearts are broken, these former childhood friends must face the truth about growing up and falling in love…even if it means losing each other forever.

Why I’m excited: Not too sure how I feel about the dramatic love triangle but I really liked the first book and wanted to see more of this town and this team. I know I can count on Abbi Glines for a summer read that I’ll enjoy.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday there’s a different topic. This week is Top Ten most read authors. I included novellas in the totals.

Brigid Kemmerer: 8 books. Elemental, Storm, Fearless, Spark, Spirit, Breathless, Secret, Sacrifice,

Maggie Stiefvater: 8 books. The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue, The Scorpio Races, Shiver, Linger, Forever, Sinner

Jennifer L Armentrout: 9 books. Shadows, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Origin, Opposition, White Hot Kiss, Half-Blood, Wait For You.

Julie Kagawa: 9 books. The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, The Iron Knight, The Iron Legends, The Lost Prince, The Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure, The Forever Song.

Rachel Vincent: 10 books. My Soul to Take, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Steal, If I Die, Before I Wake, With All my Soul, My Soul to Lose, Reaper, Never to Sleep.

Cassandra Clare: 11 books. City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess, The Bane Chronicles, The Iron Trials.

PC/Kristin Cast: 11 books. Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted, Burned, Awakened,  Dragon’s Oath, Lenobia’s Vow, Neferet’s Curse.

Richelle Mead: 12 books. Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle.

Abbi Glines: 12 books. Until Friday Night, Fallen Too Far, The Vincent Boys, The Vincent Brothers, Breathe, Because of Low, While it Lasts, Just for Now, Sometimes it Lasts, Existence, Predestined, Ceaseless.

Rachel Caine: 15 books. Glass houses, The Dead Girls’ Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, Carpe Corpus, Fade Out, Kiss of Death, Ghost Town, Bite Club, Last Breath, Black Dawn, Bitter Blood, Fall of Night, Daylighters.

Book Review: Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

Until Friday Night

Release date: August 25th 2015

A new Abbi Glines series. Maggie comes to live with her aunt and uncle after a tragedy that leaves her unwilling to talk. West is a big shot on the football team but barely holding it together at home. They shouldn’t work, West knows Maggie should be running away from a guy like him, but somehow they find their way to each other. For him, Maggie is someone he can talk to without worrying about his secrets getting spilled as gossip. For her, West is someone who needs her and gives her a purpose. Slowly, they’re helping each other find their way back.

I was excited going into this book. I’ve enjoyed Abbi Glines’ other books and this one was no exception. If I had to put them in order, The Vincent Boys series would still be my favourite just because they were first but this new one is a very close second. I really liked the character, the setting, and the feel of the small town.

The book went back and forth between Maggie and West’s POV and I found myself enjoying them both about the same. Both were suffering in different ways and both were avoiding dealing with reality in different ways. Maggie stopped talking and did her best not to be a burden to anyone. She was good at observing people so it was easy for her to see through West’s mask even when his best friends couldn’t see. She was really sweet and while she did have some insecure moments, she showed she was strong and could be an anchor for West even through her own tragedy.

West was almost the exact opposite. He deflected his pain and suffering by being loud and crude and he used girls to distract himself. Really, I should have disliked him. But I found myself empathizing with him as he opened up to Maggie, the way he treated his teammates like family, the way he protected Maggie. I wasn’t a fan of the way he, and the other guys, spoke about girls but it was believable that their characters would talk like that.

The interactions between the football players were great. It was obvious some of them were closer than others but they were a family. They cared for each other, they would be there to help if any of them needed it. Their interactions quickly became some of my favourite scenes in the book. I found myself wishing Maggie had some girlfriends to interact with as a counter balance but that could come later in the series. Hopefully.

I really liked the way both Maggie and West’s stories were handled. It was never going to be a ‘flip switch, over it’ resolution, it took time and struggle for them to open up to more than just each other. It was the same with their relationship. Maggie was quite innocent and West was not, but they were both trying and they really fit well together.

The writing was that familiar Abbi Glines style I’ve come to enjoy. It was easy to read, the plot kept moving forward at a good pace, there was some set-up for which characters might be staring in the next book of the series. This is definitely a series I know I’ll be enjoying for a while.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.