It Was Always You (Ridgewater High #3) by Judy Corry {Review}

 It Was Always You (Ridgewater High #3) by Judy Corry

Kindle Edition, 292 pages

Published July 6th 2018 

Source: Audiobook

 

What’s the first rule when pretending to date your brother’s best friend? Don’t let feelings get involved.

Sixteen-year-old Lexi Stevens has never been kissed—never even been asked on a date. So when she humiliates herself in front of her crush and her brother’s best friend offers to be her fake boyfriend for the week to make her crush jealous, she doesn’t know if it’s the stupidest idea ever, or a dream come true.

When Noah Taylor’s abusive stepdad kicks him out of the house, the last thing he needs is for anyone at school to find out—not even his best friend. But when his new “girlfriend” discovers he’s homeless and lets him sleep in her closet, he starts to wonder if he’s found someone he can confide in after all.

Soon Noah and Lexi are putting on a big show in front of the whole school while sneaking around behind her overprotective father’s back. It isn’t long before feelings develop, and it becomes harder and harder to discern between what’s fake and what’s real.

     

 

My Review: 4 Stars

 

This series has surprised me. I haven't read it in order and believe each installment can stand alone, yet there is a depth to the characters that can't be understood without delving into each story. Noah was a big, fat jerk in Book 1, but realizing his situation redeemed him. Why the surprise? I feel like most high school teen romances are fluffy and superficially deal with drama and angst, but this series digs deep into sensitive modern-day issues, and because of that, an unexpected depth is delivered.

 

Noah and Lexi began with a mutually beneficial fake relationship, but things quickly take unforeseen twists and turns that convey all the feels. Abuse is one of the hard issues addressed and it was hard to read about that as a parent, yet was written about in a realistic and tactful way.

 

This opposites attract, brother's best friend, fake romance, young adult romance stuck with me for awhile. The romance is a little heavier than I prefer for a teen romance, but it's reality and in all honesty, kind of swoony. Corry does a great job of playing on the reader's emotions in this series. While each story is super cute, they're real, raw, and believable.

Content: abuse (not graphic); mild-moderate romance (talk of sex and waiting, some innuendo, steamy clean kissing, implied teen relations)