Christine Hurley Deriso

Jade Fulton works at Royal Gym, who is brillant and a bit pretentious with her best friend Gia. One night Ethan Garrett comes into the gym right at closing. Jade is required to stay until Ethan finished his workout. Ethan is the star quarterback, dates a cheerleader, a devote Christian, and all around good guy. While Jade is waiting for Ethan to finish his workout, a masked man enters the gym--robs them and locks both of them in the aerobics room. The duo spend over eight hours together talking, joking and pondering various aspects of their lives. Jade questions Ethan's devotion to Christianity even though Jade's stepmother is a practicing Catholic.
Shortly after the two are rescued, both return to their normal lives. Jade is still sarcastic but now realizes hoe empty her life is. Ethan questions how much of a nice guy he is. Both teens ponder their roles in life and what impact their actions are within their loved ones lives. Though Jade and Ethan have vastly different lives, they have a common ground--being locked in that room and questioning their place in the world.

This is a terrific novel for teens who are confused bout their place in the world.… (mais)

// I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review //

"I'm thinking perfect is overrated"


This started out pretty great okay. The ending touched my heart too.

But I had such a huge problem with the inconsistency of the plot, the characters and the theme of the story. I mean, Liam's death was suppose to be the focus of this book but it was gone completely by the middle of the book but revived again by the end. It turned more into a love story when I think the love story should just be a part of it and not the focus of everything all together. It made the book more generic and it really lost its potential rather than if the author just focused on how Scarlett gets over her brother and meets this one guy on the way or something. This book turned to be more on Scarlett getting over a guy she got romantically involved in. (she literally said she was going to get over him 4 times and she did the exact opposite of it and went out on a date with him and even made out with him and everything)


in a detailed conclusion. . .



What I liked:

- Z A C H
- initial idea of the book (Liam's death and Scarlett trying to get over it)
- Vadu, Vandaan, Vundan, . . . what?? well, that guy. he's cool.
- writing style
- other band members, except Declan
- Scarlett talking about Liam in the first and last chapters


What I did not like:

- that "out-of-nowhere-plot-twist" near the end (that was just so random, there was barely any explanation and it was never stated and explained how it fit into the plot)
- inconsistent theme
- Scarlett being a badass woman who doesn't need anybody one minute then having a complete 180 character change wherever Declan is involved
- (which reminds me) D E C L A N




Speaking of Scarlett, I was so annoyed of her character. I think this was a weak point of the book as well, the characters. I did not get hooked with them as I usually do and I think character connection to the readers is really what keeps the readers of a certain book hooked to the story.



this book also had some technical mistakes that might need fixing. the cover could be better. . . ? maybe changing the color scheme and some minor things could make it so much better.


BUT PLEASE DO KNOW THAT I ENJOYED THIS!! It does not mean I rated it 2 stars it means I don't like it. There were parts that I liked a whole lot but the negative comments outweigh the positive ones. It just needs a lot of improvement.… (mais)

I received this eARC from North Star Editions on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way.

Dnf'd at 31%

I would first like to say that the religious aspects of this book were not in anyway a flaw and anyone who believes otherwise needs to seriously reexamine themselves because they're hypocrites. A lot of the religious stuff was a little preachy sometimes but that was obviously intentional on the author's part.

This book was not, however, particularly good by any means. Honestly, everything after the two leads finally get rescued from the gym was extremely boring and I lost interest quickly. The book did what it was trying to do well enough but it's just not the kind of story (namely, a contemporary romance) that I enjoy by any means.… (mais)

DNF after 10%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I enjoy books that touch on different religions and beliefs, and I actually thought Ethan would offer a unique perspective we don't often see in YA books. However, I do have a problem when it feels like the religion or beliefs addressed in the story are being crammed down my throat. Jesus was mentioned every other sentence, and even Jade was voicing her opinions.

At one point, Ethan is trying to sneak up on the robber with a gun, but he's thinking about God. "He doesn’t know you’re going to sneak up on him. Plus, God is with you. He’ll be right by your side. 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.' You can do this, Ethan." I would have been okay with that, because maybe that's where his mind goes when he's afraid, but the entire robbery felt unrealistic. The robber barges into a building and doesn't check for other people before demanding money? Then there are a thousand mirrors in the gym, but Ethan remains invisible? How did the robber not notice him until the last minute?

After being robbed and nearly killed: "He looks at me and squeezes it gently [Jade's hand]. “He’s probably just a junkie looking for a quick fix. My church ministers to that type all the time.'"

Wanting to pray after a near-death experience: "Jade no doubt has me pegged as a Jesus freak and is way too cool for things like prayer. I think she and her weird friend Gia are atheists." (How judgey is he? Really?)

When Jade agrees to prayer: "Maybe this is a way to introduce her to Jesus. Maybe this is all part of His plan."

Some reviewers said the story improved after awhile, but it was just a bit too much for me. I understand that Christianity is a huge part of his identity, but I think it could have been presented a little more delicately. I felt like I was choking on a Bible.


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