Review: No One Needs to Know by Amanda Grace

No One Needs to Know by Amanda Grace

Series: Standalone

Published: September 8th, 2014

Publisher: Flux

240 pages (eARC)

Genre: Contemporary young adult/LGBT

Acquired this book: From the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Olivia's twin brother, Liam, has been her best friend her whole life. But when he starts dating, Olivia is left feeling alone, so she tries to drive away Liam's girlfriends in an effort to get her best friend back.

But she meets her match in Zoey, Liam's latest fling. A call-it-like-she-sees-it kind of girl, Zoey sees right through Olivia's tricks. What starts as verbal sparring between the two changes into something different, however, as they share their deepest insecurities and learn they have a lot in common. Olivia falls for Zoey, believing her brother could never get serious with her. But when Liam confesses that he's in love with Zoey, Olivia has to decide who deserves happiness more: her brother or herself?

I really enjoyed No One Needs to Know. Olivia and Zoey were both complex characters, and I enjoyed their separate stories, and also how their lives intertwined. There was a part of me that knew I should be upset because cheating isn’t okay, and a love triangle involving twin brother and sister should be weird, but…I just couldn’t get too upset over it. I knew it was wrong, and I wouldn’t condone it in real life, but somehow it worked for the purpose of the book.

Olivia and Zoey weren’t what they seemed - to each other or to themselves. They were stuck in the roles they thought they had to play, for whatever reason, and didn’t know or think they could be anything different. They seemed like the typical snotty rich/mean girl, and the ‘charity case’ with a chip on her shoulder. And while they did fit into those roles at times, they were both so much more. They learned a lot about themselves and each other through the course of the book, and I really enjoyed watching their growth. I loved seeing how they surprised each other, and how that surprise turned into admiration and then something more.

No One Needs to Know had a bit of everything. There were sweet, touching moments, funny moments, romantic moments, moments that made me mad (usually on behalf of one of the characters), and moments that made me nod my head in approval as I watched the girls evolve. This book won’t be for everyone - I’ve already seen people saying they had major issues with the love triangle - but I found it entertaining and compelling. 

 

 

{Read my review of The Truth About You and Me}

  

Have you read No One Needs to Know? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? How do you feel about love triangles? What's your favourite LGBT book?

 

 
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Review: The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

Series: Standalone

Published: September 8th, 2013

Publisher: Flux

229 pages (eARC)

Genre: Contemporary young adult

Acquired this book: From the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

{GoodReads || Buy this book: Amazon || Book Depository || Chapters/Indigo}

Smart girls aren't supposed to do stupid things.

Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennett. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.

There's only one problem. Bennett is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't 
told him the truth.

The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennett - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

 

When going into books about student-teacher relationships, you never really know what to expect. Is it going to be a sexy clandestine affair? Is it going to be full of drama and tension and misunderstandings? Is it going to be a romantic but doomed love affair? Will they find some way to make it work and have a happily ever after? The Truth About You and Me was all and yet none of these things. It wasn’t what I expected at all, and while many of my blogging friends didn’t enjoy this one, I actually did.

I loved the style of this story. It was told through letters written by Madelyn to Bennett after they’d been caught having an affair. People had said Maddie was a victim, that Bennett had seduced her using his position of power, and Madelyn wanted to set the record straight by telling not only Bennett the truth about her feelings and actions, but also the authorities if they read the letter. It was basically an account of their entire relationship from her perspective, and I thought it made for a really unique story. 

One of the things I liked best about the story was how it shows that age doesn’t always matter. Bennett thought Madelyn was about 7 years younger than him, and while that freaked him out a bit, it didn’t affect their relationship. They talked about anything and everything, and with the exception of Madelyn’s huge secret (her real age), they were real with each other. It was nice to read a book where the love interests connect emotionally with very little physical contact. For weeks, they didn’t kiss, and they touched but not that much. It was all a mental and emotional connection, and it was nice to see a relationship built on something other than the physical stuff. Plus I thought the anticipation was really sexy and added nice tension.

I also liked that through the whole ordeal, with Bennett’s help and the new-found independence of being in college rather than high school, Madelyn learned a lot about herself and what she wanted out of life. Her whole life had been planned for her and laid out by her parents, and she always went along with it. It was nice to see her gaining some independence and thinking for herself. I enjoyed watching her journey of self-discovery.

I guess my only real issue with the story was how Madelyn dragged things out. She kept saying she was going to tell Bennett, she meant to tell him, she had opportunities to tell him, she’d tell him after a certain date, etc., etc., but she never did. She let Bennett think there was a future for them, let him get close to her and become vulnerable, but all that time she was lying to him about something huge. And yet, on the other hand, I can understand her point of view and why she was so afraid to tell him. Also, the climax was a little anti-climactic; through Maddie’s letters, it seemed like something earth shattering had happened, so when things finally happened, I found myself thinking ‘Oh. That’s it? Hmm.’

The Truth About You and Me is a bittersweet love story, but it’s also a poignant coming-of-age story. Told in a unique and compelling way, from a strong, relatable female character, it’s a book that will likely appeal to many fans of contemporary young adult. 

 3.75 stars

Have you read The Truth About You and Me? What did you think? If you haven't, does it sound like something you'd be interested in? Have you ever read a book told through letters?

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