Review: The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen
SYNOPSIS:
A passionate summer love story about a girl, her childhood best friend recently released from juvie, and the small-town lies that have kept them apart. A teen romance debut with a dark edge.
Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life. She and her friend MacKenzie are getting invited to all the best parties, and with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.
Local teen convict released early.
Jason Sullivan wasn’t supposed to come back from juvie. A million years ago, he was her best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd. Before he attacked Innis’s older brother, leaving Skip’s face burned and their town in shock.
“Everything is not what you think.”
Liz always found it hard to believe what they said about Jason, but all of Bonneville thinks he’s dangerous. If word gets out she’s seeing him, she could lose everything. But what if there’s more to that horrible night than she knows? And how many more people will get hurt when the truth finally comes out?
“You’re the one person who believes in me.”
Leah Konen’s southern romance swelters with passion as it explores the devastating crush of lies, the delicate balance of power and perception, and one girl’s journey to find herself while uncovering the secrets of so many others.
REVIEW:
This was a super quick, light read that is perfect for the start of summer. Leah Konen has been on my TBR list for ages and I am glad that I finally picked up one of her books to give it a go. The Last Time We Were Us was exactly what I was looking for in a summer romance, the fuzzy feelings, the drama and tension, and just enough plot twists to have me not wanting to put the book down.
So I have to disclaimer that there is a love triangle, if you want to call it that. But it is one of those triangles where you know who Liz is gonna end up with. Sorta like Twilight, you know Bella will never end up with Jacob…the same can be said for Liz and one of her love interests. That being said, Liz is heavily influenced by other peoples’ opinions. And over the course of the novel her attitude goes from fickle to finding her own voice and not caring what others think. Liz has a complicated home life, let’s just say she would be the black sheep of the family. Her sister is a snob and full-of-herself, her mom is only concerned with keeping up appearances, and her dad is just the passive, comic relief.
In contrast, I adored Jason. He was all rough edges and a squish, big heart. His resilience and determination were giving me all the feels. While his home life is equally as complicated as Liz’s, he has a whole other slew of problems. The romance itself was all the dang feels. I loved it and was cheering and swooning. What can be better than a friends-to-lovers troupe, I mean really?!
But there was a lot of unnecessary side drama occurring that I thought really took away from the main plot line. The hidden secrets Jason holds, which lead up to an anti-climatic conclusion, left me feeling very empty. Why even have that drama when it seems to amount to nothing? The timing of everything felt a little rushed too. At one point, Liz is seeing both Innis and Jason, and that just felt wrong. I would have liked her to have an introspective moment to figure out what the heck she actually wanted. Her relationship with Jason also felt rushed, I would have liked more of a build up there as well. Overall, I enjoyed the story though and would read more of Leah Konen’s work.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
