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Looking for an intensely gripping young adult contemporary romance novel to read this summer? You might enjoy I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios. 😉 Details below!
Title: I’ll Meet You There
Author: Heather Demetrios
Pages: 379 (hardback)
Narration: 1st person (mostly Skylar)
Genres: YA Contemporary
Installment: stand alone
Tropes: the player & the good girl, soldier, friends to lovers
Creek View, a small town in California, inhibiting most of its poor people in a trailer park. One of them is Skylar Evans, who lives alone with her mom after her dad’s death. Spending time with her friends dancing and her job at the Paradise, a quirky motel, is the only thing that gets her through the days until she can leave this town behind and enjoy life as a college student. However, things change when her former co-worker and player of the town, Josh Mitchell, returns home after his time in Afghanistan.
Pot and cigarette smoke hovered above the party, covering the wasted youth of Creek View with a thick, pungent haze. It was like the whole town was swimming in failure, but no one realized they were drowning.
Not your average summer romance
I’ve read this book once before, but it’s been a few years and I completely forgot how much I loved it. I read this beauty in one day; I simply couldn’t put it down. I’ll Meet You There is not your average summer feel-good romance novel. While it is a summer book, it is way more intense and emotionally darker compared to your usual lovey-dovey summer romance. The reason for this is partly, because of the topics it touches on. Among which are PTSD, depression, suicide and addiction.
Josh's PTSD
As most of the story is written from Skylar’s point of view, it is clearly depicted how Josh’s illness is perceived from the outside looking in. However, thanks to the few additional one-page chapters we get from Josh’s perspective, we can see and feel how deep his post-traumatic stress disorder is rooted. The long sentences-perfectly serving as thought processes-are what makes this fight within himself so authentic and real.
I can picture him trying to mow the lawn or fill his gas tank or buy more milk because the milk in the fridge is expired and him thinking, Why the hell am I doing this? He’s tired and the nightmares won’t stop and nobody understands, they just want him to be like he was before he left but he can’t be, he can’t ever go back because you can’t unsee what you saw.
Realistically Flawed
The characters are the best! Realistically flawed and each carrying their own demons, they are able to reach you on a very deep level. Once they do so, they take you on a ride of emotions and won’t let you go without a fight. Each of the characters is very unique and different from the other. That said, despite their differences, Josh and Sky complete each other perfectly.
Wholesome, Intense & Sexy
One minute I was laughing my head off, the next tears were streaming down my face because this rollercoaster of emotions was so perfectly balanced on all levels: humor, intensity, romance, and tears. I wouldn’t describe Josh and Sky’s chemistry as sizzling, but wholesome, intense, and sexy? Yeah, definitely that! There are some hot scenes in this YA contemporary book, so if you do not enjoy that, I would advise you not to read. However, everyone else: have fun! 😉
I had to tell him we were like a collage. Pieces that could be put together in a new way, a better way.
Your Next Favorite Read?
Gripping and addictive, I’ll Meet You There is a novel about love, loss, hope, and desperation, but overall it’s about resilience and the strength to play the hand you were dealt. This novel could easily become your next favorite young adult contemporary romance book. I know it’s become mine. 😉
Did I succeed in making you want to read I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios? If so, you can buy a copy here: Thalia | Amazon USA
