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3.5
Close to You: An Epic & Emotional Coming-of-Age Romance
ByPublisher Description
Milow can’t speak. Her father took her voice before she ever had a chance to use it, leaving her trapped in silence and haunted by memories no one should ever endure. Every day is a reminder of what was taken from her, and every moment is a quiet battle to survive the shadows of her past.
When she arrives at a new foster home, Milow expects nothing. Just another place where she doesn’t belong and isn’t loved. But then she meets Ashby, her new foster brother, who has lived through his own hell. Somehow, he sees her, and without words or judgment, he understands her in a way no one else ever has.
Growing up together, their bond deepens into something unbreakable. Ashby becomes her protector and the one constant in her life. They spend years leaning on each other, but childhood doesn’t last forever, and that closeness starts to shift into something more complicated and intense.
As they grow older, the world gets crueler. The bullying Milow has endured her whole life never lets up, and it only becomes heavier. At the same time, the pressure on Ashby keeps building as school and swimming demand more from him.
Milow has to decide how much of herself she can risk in a world that has never treated her gently, while Ashby has to choose what he’s willing to sacrifice to reach his goals.
But after everything, they know one truth: no matter what it costs, they will always choose each other.
CLOSE TO YOUCLOSE TO YOU is an epic and emotional coming-of-age novel with a HEA that deals with heavy topics.
This book is not meant for sensitive readers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Each book in this series focuses on a different couple and tells their story. All the stories take place during the same time period, so events in one book may overlap with those in another. You will encounter familiar situations, locations, or characters from the other books, but from the couple's perspective featured in the current story. Because the books share the same timeline and interconnect in this way, they are meant to be read in order (or, in the future, as tandem reads) and cannot be fully understood as standalone stories. Together, the books form a continuous, interconnected series.
That said... Milow and Ashby will get at least 1 more book!
When she arrives at a new foster home, Milow expects nothing. Just another place where she doesn’t belong and isn’t loved. But then she meets Ashby, her new foster brother, who has lived through his own hell. Somehow, he sees her, and without words or judgment, he understands her in a way no one else ever has.
Growing up together, their bond deepens into something unbreakable. Ashby becomes her protector and the one constant in her life. They spend years leaning on each other, but childhood doesn’t last forever, and that closeness starts to shift into something more complicated and intense.
As they grow older, the world gets crueler. The bullying Milow has endured her whole life never lets up, and it only becomes heavier. At the same time, the pressure on Ashby keeps building as school and swimming demand more from him.
Milow has to decide how much of herself she can risk in a world that has never treated her gently, while Ashby has to choose what he’s willing to sacrifice to reach his goals.
But after everything, they know one truth: no matter what it costs, they will always choose each other.
CLOSE TO YOUCLOSE TO YOU is an epic and emotional coming-of-age novel with a HEA that deals with heavy topics.
This book is not meant for sensitive readers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Each book in this series focuses on a different couple and tells their story. All the stories take place during the same time period, so events in one book may overlap with those in another. You will encounter familiar situations, locations, or characters from the other books, but from the couple's perspective featured in the current story. Because the books share the same timeline and interconnect in this way, they are meant to be read in order (or, in the future, as tandem reads) and cannot be fully understood as standalone stories. Together, the books form a continuous, interconnected series.
That said... Milow and Ashby will get at least 1 more book!
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesClose to You: An Epic & Emotional Coming-of-Age Romance Reviews
3.5
“I kept seeing this book ALL OVER instagram and decided to read it because why not. It’s honestly hard to rate this book because although I enjoyed it I have some mixed opinions on it… The writing in this book was fine but felt VERY repetitive at times?? I swear I should’ve counted how many times a character scrunched their nose. There were just some phrases and or feelings that were displayed in the same way too many times. I think the ending of the book was different than I expected. I assumed one complex issue was about to be resolved, but instead it was something different. A whole new situation had been thrown in that although I think was valuable to the storyline and message, really seemed kind of like a last minute addition that I wish was displayed a bit earlier and had more time to sink in. The issue that I believed was going to be brought to light was not, which leaves some questions but nothing that’s maddening. I know the author plans to continue this series, including having another book for this couple so maybe all questions will be answered throughout.
The next book for the series comes out in January which is for a different couple portrayed in this series (Scottie and Stan) so I’m excited to see what is done with that as well as the couple portrayed in this book (Milow and Ashby) in the future.
Overall this book was good 🙃 although there were some things that could have been better, I think I’ll continue reading the series as it releases.
PS. I have more opinions on various aspects on this book some good some less good but there is too much to go into and I don’t want to recall all of it right now”
“This book was like a small breath of fresh air! As someone who prefers fantasy, it was nice to read something simple, and something that didn't include hundreds of pages of world-building for once!
There was a lot of telling, rather than showing, but I didn't mind it. It was pretty straightforward, and I enjoyed the general story 😌
The beginning was quite engaging! I can't finish a book if it starts off extremely slow, but I usually can get through it if the beginning is fast-paced, and the middle is slow instead ✨ But in saying that, the events that take place in Part Two seemed...repetitive? Or predictable?
I was satisfied by the outcomes of most of the events though, but it seemed like it was a whole lot of: "Then this happened, then this happened, then this happened..." if that makes any sense whatsoever 😭
This was also marketed on TikTok as a "slow burn" but....the "burn" burned pretty early for my taste 🫢
But the general story was simple, easy to read and straightforward...The trauma the kids went through was quite challenging to read and I was physically uncomfortable reading some of it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it got a reaction out of me which (I assume), the author would've wanted :)”“Close to You absolutely devastated me. This book broke my heart in the best way possible, and I was emotionally invested from the very first page. Milow and Ashby's relationship was so beautiful, protective, and full of quiet love that I couldn't put it down. Their bond felt incredibly genuine, and the found family aspect made every emotional moment hit even harder.
The only reason this wasn't a full 5 stars is that I desperately wanted more of Ashby's past. We get enough to understand what he's been through, but I kept wishing the story explored his trauma and experiences in greater depth. I feel like that would've made his character even more impactful and made the emotional moments hurt even more.
Even with that, I loved this book with my whole heart. It was emotional, addictive, and impossible to put down. I laughed, I cried, and by the end I was just sitting there staring at the wall trying to process everything.”
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