I was sent an advanced reader's e-copy of this novel via the publicist at Inkitt. All opinions are honest and my own.

Loving Lakyn comes with a list of trigger warnings. The author provides the list on her website, please view before going into it! I will also touch on the hard topics in this review.

This is a prequel to Charlotte Reagan's debut novel, [b:Just Juliet|32069603|Just Juliet|Charlotte Reagan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474201702s/32069603.jpg|50887447]. This can be read as a standalone.

Lakyn has been through many hardships in his young life from childhood to sixteen (present). The story opens up with the night Lakyn tries to commit suicide. There are many suicidal thoughts, and various vivid scenes where Lakyn is cutting parts of his body with razors. Please be aware that this can be very triggering. The reader jumps into Lakyn's past and present relatively quickly. Memories of child abuse occur, another trigger warning because the memories are graphic and occur throughout the novel.

Lakyn has always had a close bond with his Aunt Lily and Uncle Ben, I loved seeing the relationship between Uncle Ben and Lakyn. Uncle Ben was one of my favorite characters because he is an excellent father role and helps Lakyn get the help he needs. He never pities him or treats him any different due to his past and suicide attempt. Uncle Ben treats him as his own son.

Despite his depression and suicidal thoughts, Lakyn is also gay. He has support around him from his cousins Juliet and Rick, as well as Uncle Ben. However, we do see homophobia among his peers leading to Lakyn defending himself. Lakyn stirs up a romance with a fellow classmate who happens to be a football player. I really enjoyed this romance for many reasons. First, we see the "secret relationship" cliche. I liked the way this played out because we get to see two different perspectives of gay males in high school; one in the closet and one who is completely out. We also get to see how well these two characters balance each other out and the love they produce for each other. LOVE IS LOVE.

However, one critique I have is that this novel had one too many sex scenes. I would have been okay with at least one or two at most. It just seemed to me that every time they met up they just spent their time together having sex.

I really liked the realistic aspect of being gay in high school. It doesn't always come with happiness and acceptance, which we see in this novel. There is also an encounter of homophobic parents. There were so many angles of coming out and I loved the way it was incorporated.

Lakyn also attends therapy sessions and I loved that we see Lakyn changing therapists. I feel as if YA doesn't always do the job of portraying starting therapy realistically. Most teens go through more than one therapist to match their fit. Getting to see Lakyn move onto another therapist (who was a better fit) was great to see! Also, there are many scenes of him going to therapy and lots of dialogue with his therapist. This helped for character development.

Character development was excellent in this novel. We start with Lakyn trying to end his life and the misery he is going through throughout the novel. His secret boyfriend doesn't cure him, he experiments with drugs to make the pain go away. He learns to find another outlet, a hobby that can distract him from his mind. Lakyn's outcome at the end of this novel had me smiling and I really saw how much he developed in such a short amount of time.

This novel was very realistic and I enjoyed it so much. Lakyn is a real and very raw character. You may be taken back by his thoughts and actions, as I did. Honestly, I thought this novel was going to be too triggering for me. Some of Lakyn's deep and dark thoughts resonated with me and this novel helped me see how far he comes. I hope you enjoy him as much as I did.

I LOVED THIS. I could really relate to Maggie’s feelings toward Erin at the end. Your first heartbreak is so tough.

Also I loved how the pictures weren’t typical graphic novel style. They looked childish!

But, I do wish this had a sequel or had been longer.

I know understand why this book is so special to so many readers. It has a strong purpose and I could relate to Aaron on a different level than most characters I’ve read. Aaron is figuring out his sexuality when he starts to develop feelings for his new friend, Thomas. Being in this situation when I was figuring out my sexuality, I felt just like Aaron and as emotional as he had.

I also liked that Adam Silvera adds real LGBT violence! I feel like some LGBT novels lack this.

I will be picking up Adams other works, ASAP!

I was sent this book for review from the publisher via Net Galley. This does not change any of my opinions.

Ava is me, I need more of Ava & Gen they complete me. I love how Allison & Gaby promotes their channel in their book hahaha!

I love reading dialogue. So I had no problem with the writing style, the story of Gen & Ava's first semester of college, apart from each other is told in texts & emails. They had me LOLing!

However, some of the queer comments rubbed me the wrong way. Especially from Ava, who wasn't knowledgeable of the LGBTQIAP+ community. I understand her comments but they hurt me like they hurt Gen. Gen comes out as bisexual but, is discovering herself & her sexuality. This is own voices because the author, Gaby is also bisexual.

There is also a transgender man included in this story and transphobia is addressed.

Great characters, realistic & relatable. I could really relate to Ava because she struggles with anxiety & social anxiety (like myself) I saw a lot of myself in Ava, the anxiety rep is own voices because Allison struggles with anxiety & OCD, like Ava.

This story felt very genuine & I loved it and want more!

I was sent this novel from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun, suspenseful read! We follow Addie who is trying to get to the bottom of the mystery that is the Spill Zone. Reminded me of I AM LEGEND. Leaves you on a cliff hanger. I will be picking up the next one for sure!

Do you want a great book about social anxiety? Well, Top Ten is that book you’re looking for. Katie Cotugno inserts her own social anxiety into her character, Gabby. Gabby is a homebody and finds it hard to easily make friends. She is constantly ridiculed by her older sister to stop sitting around every weekend and is forced to go to a party. If you know someone with social anxiety or you deal with it yourself, you will understand Gabby’s struggles.

This novel is set in dual POV and flashbacks. We see Gabby and her best friend, Ryan struggle through 4 years of high school and other serious issues. Ryan is a hockey player and he suffers numerous concussions. Through Ryan’s POV, the reader learns how serious concussions are especially if not treated correctly. Struggles of college acceptance and college decisions are also focused on for Gabby and Ryan.

I love the way Cotugno writes family dynamic, it’s complex yet realistic. Gabby comes from a family who tries different recipes and hosts family game night. She also has two sisters. However, for Ryan, he is in the middle of a divorce between his mother and father, also tight on money.

Cotugno also addresses romance in Top Ten. Gabby is bisexual and we see her relationship with a boy AND a girl. Gabby’s relationship with Shea made me melt and I want to have a Shea myself. The topic of “girls and boys can be friends” is also included and it’s AWESOME.

This book met all of the standards I look for in a book: mental illness rep, LGBTQIA+ and hockey. I knew from the beginning I would love this book but I didn’t know how much I would fall in love with it.

This is the most realistic book I have ever read and I loved that about it. We see all different angles of Gabby and Ryan’s lives. If you’re approaching senior year of high school, you will resonate with these characters.

I was sent this book by the author. All opinions are my own.

Danielle has had her college plans all set for her. She would be going to Ohio State. That's what she thinks until the day she gets a letter saying her application has been revoked due to failing her AP English class. Danielle is mortified and so, she keeps this a secret for as long as she can.

Until one big dinner with her parents, and cousin she is enemies with....the truth comes out. This puts Danielle and her mother on rocky terms. Her mother, a "college physic" who helps teens figure out their major and college, is furious about the situation.

Danielle enrolls in community college to retake an English course that will help her get back into Ohio State. I absolutely loved that this was the direction she took. I am a community college student and I've never read about a character in CC, it's almost always a university/dorm situation. Danielle learns a lot and meets people during her first semester of college. I loved how ambitious she was spite the circumstances for her being at CC. She takes on a lot and made me proud! The college aspect of this story was so true. It shows that when you first arrive to college you don't know what you want to do, and that's okay. Danielle ends up taking opportunities to lead to what she wants to major in.

Danielle spends most of her time working in the bookstore at the college. I loved the scenes in the bookstore, they were fun! She had great co-workers that made the time go by fast. Even her co-worker, Porter who always has a pizza delivery up his sleeve. Porter and Danielle bond the most, and I enjoyed their conversations and the way their relationship progressed.

I really loved the friendship between Danielle and her best friend, Zoe. Zoe has an eccentric personality and is always doing something DIY (buttons, her own dress) and works as a baker at the local grocery store. She's also loyal to Danielle and honest with her. Their friendship was genuine and realistic, I loved that Zoe didn't pull the common "angry at friend for being too busy", Zoe understood.

This story has many different elements, especially a romance. Danielle ends up catching up with her old neighbor from childhood, Luke - who she's had a crush on since she was 11. I did think their relationship was quick, which is why the feeling was partially there. But, I can relate to Danielle because I've been there. I really loved Luke though, he was so cute!! However, Porter is another story. He's a broody yet sarcastic and is always wearing a leather jacket. I remember Maggie mentioning once that she had a character much like Jess from Gilmore Girls, Porter is definitely Jess' twin! I liked his fascination for notebooks where he would write observations about people. But, he was always there for Danielle when she needed him. I loved their pizza tradition. I was so into Luke and his cute gestures, that it was hard for me to see Danielle and Porter.

Danielle's character development was good, could be improved a little more but I liked seeing how Danielle went from failure to success. She became independent and overcame what she was in the beginning, a girl going to Ohio State and at the end her mind was completely changed!

A really great coming of age story, I devoured this and loved every second it had to offer. Especially each of the chapters having a word that starts with F. Of course, I highly recommend.

As always, I devoured another Kasie West book!

The only thing Maddie has going for her is her academic achievements. She loves learning and is eagerly waiting to hear back from her top schools, UCLA, Stanford and San Diego State. But, she's constantly feeling the weight on her shoulders of how she will afford it, hoping for a scholarship. This story was true to teenagers who are about to graduate/have recently graduated high school. This is the biggest struggle and the hardest.

Maddie is also trying to fix her parents marriage. They're constantly bickering and arguing with each other over nonsense. There's speculation that Maddie's parents will get a divorce, and I liked seeing this side of a family dynamic rather than the usual parent scenarios West writes. West writes parental relationships very well and I love that her books almost always include parents!! Plus, Maddie has a brother, Beau who is depressed because he can't afford to go back to college.

On the night of Maddie's *boring* eighteenth birthday, she buys a lottery ticket when persuaded by the cashier, Maxine she isn't fond of. Everything changes in Maddie's life after she ends up winning the lottery. I really liked seeing how Maddie's character developed through the story as she went through tough times as the lottery winner. She quickly learns that people will only want you for your money & sometimes money does buy happiness. Winning the lottery does get to Maddie's head, but in the end everything eased out.

Maddie has a small friend group consisting of two girls, Elise and Blaire. Honestly, I really liked seeing the small friend group opposed to a large group of friends because it can be hard to keep everyone in order and it felt realistic! Blaire was a great character and a great friend, I loved her because she always kept it real with Maddie and told her straightforward what she was feeling.

Another thing I love about Kasie West is that her characters are realistic and have hobbies/aspirations. Maddie is an animal lover who works at the local zoo and is planning to become a veterinarian. She also has a deep love for the anteater at the zoo, which everyone thinks is weird. This was so great to see a character who is an animal lover but can't have pets because of money and her Dad is allergic.

THE ROMANCE. This may be one of the most realistic romances besides some predictability. The romance is a friends become romantic. Seth was hilarious and sarcastic - I LOVED HIM!! He's also a diverse character, he's Asian and Vietnamese. He even goes into depth about how people treat him because he's Asian. He's also an aspiring filmmaker, but his parent's don't agree with his choices to peruse film in college. He never makes Maddie feel different and he's super nice and sweet! Their romance develops gradually which felt realistic, to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel! I would have given this a 5 star but I don't think it's my favorite West and I didn't like how Maddie treated her friends and all of the sudden became vulnerable. But, I also haven't ever won the lottery.