I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Upside Down by Lia Riley is the first in a new adult contemporary series about a girl trying to make a new life for herself and a boy running from his past. It’s sweet, laugh out loud funny, and yes even brought tears to my eyes. If you’re looking for a light, easy read this is it!

I loved Talia, although I didn’t think I would at first. She’s this good girl from SoCal who has really lost her way. Her sister is dead, her dad has checked out, her mom is drinking her life away on the beaches in Hawaii, and she’s flunking college. Basically her life sucks, add to that an OCD diagnosis and you have our Talia. She’s high strung, super smart, and one step away from snapping and losing her mind. But can you really blame her?! Her life in the last two years has literally crumbled around her so like any sensible person she gets the heck out of there. In her own words she heads for “Tomorrowland” aka Australia.

Then there’s Bran <3 I adore Bran but he also had to grow on me. He’s rude, crass, and just in general an all-around jerk to Talia when she first enters his life. But our Bran has a crappy past as well one that I will not spoil. You must read and experience it first hand as I did. Trust me you’ll love him!!

The relationship between Bran and Talia is volatile to say the least simply because neither of them want to admit feelings for the other and risk getting their hearts broken. To say the book is full of irony and angst would be an understatement. Riley does an amazing job of writing the characters in such a way that you really can’t pick a side. I saw both their points and empathized with them throughout the book.

I was a little disappointed in the character development though. Don’t get me wrong. Bran and Talia are fully developed and I expect to meet them one day in the future ;) it’s the other minor characters that got to me. There’s a lot of minor characters who enter Talia and Bran’s day-to-day life but they are just mentioned in passing or only seen at face value. I would’ve liked to see more than just the two main characters developed. Hence the reason for four stars instead of five.

Overall as the first book in this series goes it is fantastic! I’ve already bought the next two and can’t wait to devour them.