ARC Review: Before You Wake by Cheyanne Young
Before You Wake
Author: Cheyanne Young
To Be Published: TOMORROW: June 7, 2022
248 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 11-22, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
The day after Millie’s crush asks her on a date, a comatose teenager arrives at the hospital where she volunteers. He’s labeled as a John Doe, but Millie would recognize Wesley anywhere. Thanks to a teensy misunderstanding by an elderly nurse, everyone thinks Millie is Wesley’s girlfriend.
As Wesley’s condition worsens, Millie spends all her volunteer time at his bedside, reading him Jane Austen and waiting for him to wake up. Then his group of friends show up, including Sloane, a beautiful and charismatic girl who instantly takes a liking to Millie. They invite her out with them, and Millie seizes the moment. She’s never had friends like this before and it feels great to be included.
The longer Wesley’s coma goes on, the more attached she becomes to his friends and her shiny new life in the popular crowd. Millie knows she’ll have to come clean before he wakes up, but she’s in too deep, and her lies have become the foundation of the very real friendships she’s made. Revealing the truth now would cost her everything. But keeping her secrets will cost even more.
Jessica’s Review:
Before You Wake is a YA retelling of the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. I loved that movie, so I was excited when I heard about this one and ready to read it! I was excited to see where a YA novel would go in this direction.
If you have not seen it before, I would recommend watching While You Were Sleeping to see where Young got her inspiration from! Unlike a fun and cute-ish romantic comedy film, Before You Wake came off realistic for me.
We have Millie who is a loner who volunteers at the hospital. And what starts out as a misunderstanding becomes a lie that escalates. Before she knows it, Millie is in way too deep and cannot figure out how to tell these people the truth. Because she knows that when the truth comes out it will hurt all involved and she has formed attachments that become very important to her. And even living the lie a little bit is worth it to Millie.
Before just continues to build on the lie and I did not know what was going to happen. Millie constantly is wanting to tell but also not wanting to tell knowing how everything will fall apart. There is also twist that happens in regards to Wesley’s injuries and I liked where the novel went there.
If you are a fan of Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice, you are also in for a treat with this novel!
I received an arc copy from Young to read and review, and I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a signed copy from her Etsy shop. You can buy Before You Wake from her directly and get it personally signed. And she even sent some extra goodies with the book! I really enjoyed this novel, and have read three of Young’s novels and have given them all 5 stars!
While You Were Sleeping Trailer:
Purchase Links for Before You Wake:
Cheyanne Young Etsy Shop **You can buy a personalized signed copy from the author!**
Amazon US
Amazon UK
ARC Review: If We Break Up by Cheyanne Young
If We Break Up
Author: Cheyanne Young
To Be Published: March 8, 2022
247 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 20-29, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Honey Blackwell’s high school sweetheart is getting on her nerves. Like everyone else in their small town, Luca thinks he and Honey should take over his family business and live happily ever after. Honey wants more. That’s why she secretly applied to her dream college in Colorado. When she gets in, Luca is devastated. After the biggest argument of their lives, Honey discovers a scientific journal that claims people find their true soul mate after being in five relationships. She poses this experiment to Luca, and soon they’ve made a pact to break up, go on five dates with different people, and then decide if they’re truly meant to be together forever. It’s science, after all, and science has never let Honey down.
Finding people to date is awkward, exciting, and a little futile. None of Honey’s dates are soul mate material, which is starting to prove Luca’s hypothesis—that they are already soul mates. When the rest of STEM club comes down with food poisoning, Honey finds herself at the weekend science convention with Mason, her mortal enemy. Mason, the guy who also got into her dream college. The guy she just accidentally kissed.
She likes him. But she loves Luca. As she struggles to choose between the picture-perfect future she already has and the temptation of the unknown, she learns that love isn’t a scientific equation. It’s a choice. And now Honey must make hers.
Jessica’s Review:
I loved If We Break Up! This is a YA contemporary novel with a simple premise to it: Honey (Yes, that is her name!) and Luca have grown up together their whole lives and both sets of their parents were high school sweethearts and all work together. Honey and Luca are ‘the couple’ at their high school and their whole lives are already planned out. But…. Honey has doubts. Then she finds an article that says you find your soulmate after five relationships. Honey and Luca decide to mutually break up and go on five dates and then decide if they want to get back together.
But finding five dates is harder than Honey planned on. And she did not plan on the feelings she felt seeing Luca with other girls… Then Honey starts seeing her long term ‘enemy’ Mason in a different way after a weekend together for a STEM club event.
What will Honey decide to do????
I know what my opinion of Luca and Mason both were and what direction I wanted Honey to go in. You think the novel will end up going in one direction and then Young pulls a jab in there and throws you off. This happened a few times for me as the novel went in directions I was not expecting, which includes family drama.
If We Break Up takes place in Texas and an earlier chapter brings us to Dinosaur Valley State Park. I really enjoyed this chapter because my sister lived in Texas for a few years and when I visited her we went there. I really enjoyed remembering that trip!
The ending was absolutely perfect! This novel ended the way it needed to and I adored it. This is a coming-of-age novel and Honey does learn about herself by the end. Will Honey choose the known with Luca or go for her dream? Or will it be a little bit of both?? You must read If We Break Up to find out!
Many thanks to the author Cheyanne Young for sending me an arc to read and review!
If We Break Up is highly recommended!
Here are some picture of my sister and myself at Dinosaur State Valley Park:
Pre-order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
**You can also directly order a **signed copy** of If We Break Up from the author via her Etsy Shop! If you decide to order from her, let her know Jessica’s Reading Room sent you!
[Top]The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
Author: Cheyanne Young
Published: October 2, 2018
312 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 7-18, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
The day Raquel has been dreading for months has finally arrived. Sasha, her best friend in the whole world — the best friend in the whole world — has died of cancer. Raquel can’t imagine life without her. She’s overwhelmed and brokenhearted.
And then a letter from Sasha arrives. Has she somehow found a way to communicate from the afterlife?
In fact, Sasha has planned an elaborate scavenger hunt for Raquel, and when she follows the instructions to return to Sasha’s grave, a mysterious stranger with striking eyes is waiting for her. There’s a secret attached to this boy that only Sasha—and now Raquel—knows.
This boy, Elijah, might be just what Raquel needs to move on from her terrible loss. But can Raquel remain true to herself while also honoring her friend’s final wish?
Jessica’s Review:
The Last Wish of Sasha Cade captures everything it intends to: Friendship, love, loss, grief, and new beginnings. From the start you are pulled into Sasha and Raquel’s friendship. They are true best friends about to be separated because Sasha has cancer. You know they would have been best friends into adulthood. Not many people get to experience that.
Though we only briefly meet Sasha, we care about both her and Raquel and what will happen next. When Raquel starts receiving the communications from Sasha from beyond the grave, you want to know what the next adventure will be. Sasha herself helps Raquel through the grieving process; Sasha shares a secret that she was unable to tell Raquel while she was alive.
This is a truly touching read and one I will not forget. I surprised myself by not tearing up at all…Until I read the epilogue…. Though a complete story, I would love a second book where Raquel continues to receive letters from Sasha throughout the important events in her life. Even though death separates them, you can see that these two girls are BFF’s for life.
Thank you so much to KCP Loft for my copy I received! I really enjoyed this read.
Special thanks to the author, Cheyenne Young who sent me some swag:
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK