Sometimes all you need at the end of a long day is an easy breezy contemporary read to fly through and By Your Side was exactly that. While it was not the most complex of storylines or the even the most charming romance, it was undeniably fun and enjoyable. I have heard legendary things about West’s contemporaries before and even if this book didn’t quite meet those expectations, I can still see why her stories are so well-loved.

Autumn and Dax were both decent protagonists and I loved that the story was written from both of their perspectives (dual narration will always be my favourite). Dax had this almost irresistible quality about him that drew me in. He was obviously hiding a lot of inner turmoil and while this was taken advantage of to create some tension and conflict between him and Autumn, I still think that West did his story justice. He was a complex character with a sweet side that I enjoyed getting to explore. Autumn was not as enjoyable of a protagonist as Dax but she was is no way unlikable. I also wanted to point out that while the existence of a love triangle in this story was bothersome, the fact that it allowed us to explore the ‘protocols’ of dating someone comatosed was fascinating and worth it.

I also loved that Autumn was suffering from anxiety. I have heard some minor complaints that her triggers were never discussed - so it was unclear whether she had social anxiety or GAD, etc. - and while I personally could not relate to her ‘type’ of panic attacks, I don’t think this makes her representation less accurate. In fact, I found that it was a clever way of showing that the condition affects everyone differently. There is no clean-cut way to experience anxiety. I also really appreciated that she talked about taking medication which is - thankfully - something being openly discussed more and more in new releases.

Plotwise, I actually found it quite hard to get into this story. It just did not have a strong beginning. The entire first half - which is the part set in the library - was slow and kind of… awkward? Autumn and Dax’s interactions within this half were a little bumbly and while that was sweet in theory, the awkwardness was a little bit much at times. It probably didn’t help that I could not buy into the fact that they were locked in the library in the first place. Who the frick forgets their friend? But it was the stuff about the doors being locked and the computers being inaccessible and the lack of landline phones which bothered me the most. It did not seem realistic in the slightest. The second half was much more enjoyable and I found myself sinking into the story just as it was wrapping up… typical.

I do feel the need to point out that although the synopsis tells us that this story is about a girl who gets stuck in a library with a cute boy, there wasn’t anything bookish about this story at all. Personally, I was devastated! Our protagonist has no interesting in reading and our romantic interest was only interested in one book that he carried with him everywhere. I really wanted this to be a bookish romance, especially because that is how it is being pitched, but it had nothing to do with reading or books at all.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.