Defending Taylor

Source: earc from netgalley Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not effected by the book being free. I wanted to read this one because I have enjoyed Miranda's other books in this series. I usually like the characters and romance, and hoped this would follow the same pattern. Taylor is new to the high school since she got kicked out of her private school. She worries about grades and college, and losing the approval and support from her parents. She has a hard time fitting in her new school and the soccer team doesn't really feel like a team. She struggles with covering up the lie, and the consequences of both the drug charges and the lie building up everywhere she turns. The romance is nice, Taylor and Ezra has liked each other for a while, but miscommunication and timing has always gotten in their way of becoming more. I liked that they were finally able to talk and work things through then act on their attraction. They were able to encourage the other to figure out what they want as far as college and careers, and pushed the other to go after it. The family aspect was interesting as well. She felt a lot of pressure from her parents, because her dad is in politics and trying to get re-elected. Her getting kicked out of school and the misunderstanding about the prescription pills (not hers) that was in her system and found in her possession does not look good for the presses. But she came to more of an understanding with her parents and siblings, and they all acknowledged how they'd been hurt and worked on their relationship, and that was nice to see. It was a quick read with a nice HEA. Bottom Line: Good read, what I have come to expect from this trilogy.

I'm disappointed by this book. What I had enjoyed about Kenneally's previous books is that the characters didn't seem to fall into an insta-love, they were good at reflecting on their previous decisions and were able to learn and grow. This book contained none of those things. Taylor was an unlikable character to me. She lacks common sense, is incredibly immature and is flighty. I kept waiting for her to grow up and understand how she could handle life better, but it just never seemed to happen.