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Ella and Max are childhood friends who are next door neighbors until Ella moves away suddenly. 10 years later, Ella moves back to town right across the street from Max, but a lot has changed in both of their lives making them completely different people. Ella is having a hard time coming to terms with her brother's recent sentence to death after he murdered two people. Max is battling his feelings of his mother's abandonment and his father's alcoholism. When Ella returns to high school in the small town, she is met by ruthless bullying and embarrassment by her peers for her brother's actions. Her saving grace is a new friend Brynn and her once best friend, Max. But, tragedy seems to follow Ella wherever she goes and so does Max.
Review:
4.5 stars.
Catch the Sun is a beautiful love story of childhood friends to lover (one of my favorite tropes!). I absolutely adored Max and Ella. Their resilience upon never ending tragedy is something to be admired. The quotes in this books were superior! So beautifully done and you can't help but fall in love with these characters. This is a character driven story, so it is more of a slow burn especially at the beginning. I think that it could have been shortened a little and I would still have felt that same connection with the characters. But, once it picks up in the second half, it does not slow down! The tragedy in this book is intense and I did not see it coming, but it was very well done! I teared up a couple of times, but didn't cry like I thought that I would. Regardless, this a beautiful love story filled with overcoming LOTS of obstacles within themselves and their families. And in my opinion, Jennifer Hartmann never misses!
Catch the Sun publishes on 7/16, and I highly recommend picking up your copy! I already preordered this masterpiece for a trophy on my bookshelf!
Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Hartmann, and Bloom Books for this ARC of Catch the Sun in exchange for an honest review!