The Edge of Juniper by Lora Richardson - Book Review

How’s it going everyone. Today, I’ll be reviewing The Edge of Juniper by Lora Richardson.  I got this book back in early/mid July on Amazon when I was in search of some new reads.  When I saw this book, it really intrigued me and I knew from the little bit that I had read, that I was going to like this book.  Now, I only got around to reading it recently in late December along with a few other books, which will be coming soon, hopefully.  As long as I keep up with my homework and plan accordingly, I’ll be able to finish up a few of the book reviews that I need to complete.  Anyways, let's get on with my review!

About the Book:

Title: The Edge of Juniper

Author: Lora Richardson

Release Date: June 12, 2016

Series: The Juniper Series #1

Genre: Coming of Age
Pages: 276

My Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

Summary:

Fay is excited to spend the summer in small-town Juniper with her cousin Celia. But she soon becomes alarmed by her uncle's scary temper, and learns of the grudge he holds against the Dearing family. Celia handles the tension at home by escaping with her boyfriend, leaving Fay feeling lost and alone.

And then there's Malcolm Dearing--off-limits because of his last name. Fay has made it clear that she isn't allowed to spend time with him, though she is captivated by Malcolm's warmth and intensity. She finds that trying to stay away from him only makes her think of him more.

"Things are dark for you right now. You're walking in the darkness. I can't pull you out of it. I can't turn on a light. But I will walk through it with you."

My Thoughts:

When I first started this book, it seemed like this book was going to be an innocent sweet teen summer romance story, but there was a lot more once you really got into the story.  Fay is staying with her cousin, Celia, and her family during the summer in Juniper.  When Fay sees Malcom for the first time and asks about him, Celia immediately tells her to stay away from him because of her father’s hatred for anyone from the Dearing family.  With several run-ins with Malcom, Fay almost succeeds in trying to avoid him to please not only Celia, but her Uncle Todd too.  That changes since both Fay and Malcom are attracted to each other.  I loved the character Malcom a lot.  He's such a sweetheart that it’s hard not to like him.  He’s funny, extremely caring, and above all a very likeable guy.  Whenever Fay needed him, he was there for her and you could see how their relationship grew based off of Fay, at first, not wanting to associate with him changing when she gets to know him, trusting him whole heartedly.

One thing that I didn’t expect this story to have was the trouble that plagued Celia’s father, which caused the whole secret relationship between Malcom and Fay.  With Uncle Todd's anger towards Malcom’s father because of his job, he kept a very big grudge and because of that he would drink.  Sometimes he would argue with her aunt and when one of those episodes happened in front of Fay and when she was really afraid, she did the only thing she could, which involved calling the police.  I know Celia didn’t like or want Fay to involve the cops, but I think Fay did the right thing.  Fay was trying to make sure that the people she cared about didn't get hurt and she was looking out for her family, which I think was brave no matter what the situation.  I was glad that Malcom was there and supportive of Fay and her decisions.  I definitely suggest reading this story, it’s such a heartfelt story about teen love, family, heartbreak, and trust.

If you're interested in checking out Lora's pages, the links are below along with places you can get the book.

Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed this review/suggestion.  Until next time!