Hello
happy readers! I hope you had a
fantastic weekend. If you missed it
Friday I had the opportunity to host an interview with debut author Hannah
Bucchin about her book Paintbrush so
head over and check it out. The rest of
the weekend I mostly worked but last night with the season finale of Game of
Thrones…..OMG! Seriously thought that I have to wait for 2019 is a night
mare. On a much different note I have
some thoughts on a contemporary story I recently finished. Not much of a segway but I’m taking it. I read The
Edge of Juniper (review)earlier in the year and really enjoyed the story and its
characters and felt there could still be more story to tell. Well author Lora Richardson did as well as
she turned it into a duology with JuniperLimits where we follow book one but focus the cousin and best friend of our
MCs from the first book. I was excited
to hear about this book and eager when I was provided a copy in exchange for an
honest review.
Rating: 5
Stars
When
we left off Fay was returning to live in Juniper with her mom and things had
started to get better with Celia’s dad having had a confrontation. Fay and Malcom are in love and inseparable
and totally in love. Celia is happy to
have her cousin back and to see things on an upswing with her dad, and the
blooming of something real with Paul but she isn’t one to accept things
easily. She is always prepared for the
next crisis unable to trust in anything good.
Paul is also happy to have Fay back in town to make his best friend
Malcom stop mopping around but he knows Celia is happy to have her back. He’s been interested in her for a long time
but this is the first time she’s ever given him any type of chance to really
show her. Even as his own family life
isn’t the best he tries to break through her walls and constant trepidation and
see if they can have something real or will her inability to trust in anything
good keep them apart.
Where
to start off. Celia was interesting for
me in the first book, a bit aloof and rough around the edges for sure. Sometimes she came off as disinterested in
everything and uncaring and self-destructive.
While you did grow to understand some of her actions and her attitude within
the book through Fay seeing things from her POV made her come to life in a
whole new way. I not only understood her
but I related to her much more than I did in the past. Seeing not only how things felt for her in
the present but in the past as well, how things circle back. As close as she and Fay were she didn’t let
her in on everything. Also being dual
POV with Paul I got to know so much about him from the optimistic and happy go
lucky best friend. He has so much more
going on for him, there is much more to him than the happy attitude. I loved seeing that depth. His take and outlook on life seriously
inspired me. He, like his best friend is
serious book boyfriend material.
The
chemistry between Celia and Paul is there from the start. They are both dealing with a boat load of
stuff that someone in high school shouldn’t have to. Neither want everyone to know the depth of
the problems but they have went about things differently. I loved the dynamic in the story. This book focused on some serious and hard
hitting issues and I think it gave them justice. It felt very real in having to deal with the
issues with the ups and downs showing the pain and damage they can cause to not
only the person dealing with the struggle but everyone close to them and to
them. It's a domino effect that continues
to radiate out.
This
book is all about the emotions and connections between people. I loved seeing so many relationships. Both the romantic, which yes was my favorite
because come on again Paul is a dream boat but the others as well. We focused on relationships between
friends. Between family both good and
strained. Relationships in all stages
both healthy and negative. Juniper Limits really managed to capture
so many moments of such emotion that it really pulls you in. I really enjoyed this story and seeing more
that Juniper had to offer. I highly
recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good story focused on characters
with a healthy dose of sweetness.
Until
next time…
