Thursday, August 25, 2016

BOOK REVIEW: Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is August 30, 2016.

Gideon always has a plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee, and having his choice of colleges. They do NOT include falling head over heels for his best friend and next door neighbor, Kyle. It’s a distraction. It’s pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn’t know what to do. Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can’t quite figure out what he did wrong

Do you know that Taylor Swift song, "You Belong With Me?" This story is basically like that song in book form, except with the twist that it's two guys instead of a guy and girl. That was pretty much the main reason I requested this one. 

There were a few flaws with this one, so let me start with the positives: the friendship between Kyle and Gideon. Their friendship was just so cute and sweet and it was everything I would want in a friendship. Kyle is bisexual and is dating Ruby. Gideon is the boy next door who has known him since he was five or something. Gideon has this sudden realization that he is gay AND that he's attracted to his best friend. Gideon is a list maker (like ME!) so of course his first reaction is to make a pros and cons list. I fell in love with him right then. I don't usually like love triangles, but I didn't mind this one. I felt like it was a bit realistic and I felt for both Kyle and Gideon. I rooted for them and wanted them to get together so badly! The family dynamics of both boys was so great. 

This book is told with four POV's: Kyle, Gideon, Ruby and Ezra. And now we get to a few of the negatives. Kyle and Gideon's chapters sounded way too similar. I could barely tell who was who. Ezra is Gideon's brother and his POV was completely unnecessary. It added NOTHING to the story. There was some kind of drama about why Ezra came back home, but that was never addressed so I didn't get it. The only character that I absolutely hated was Ruby. She did awful things for stupid reasons and I get that she's young, but that doesn't change the fact that I hated her. I could have done without her POV. Actually, some of the drama that she caused was completely unnecessary. 

For the most part, this was a cute story about two friends who may want something more. It was predictable and there were a few flaws, but not a bad read.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Borrow this one.

12 comments :

  1. I weirdly didn't hate Ruby. I mean during the story maybe a little but by the end I didn't. I agree her and Ezra's POVs weren't really needed though. Still I thought it was just really cute. Great review!

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    1. Thanks Grace! I do understand why some people loved it. She just got on my nerves. Oh well. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  2. Oh, I love the sound of this one! I like the friendship you mentioned and the family relationships of the two characters. Hopefully, Ruby won't get in my nerves too much.

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    1. Joy, I would be interested to hear your thoughts once you read it. :)

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  3. I haven't read this, but I feel like I've seen Sandy Hall's books around a lot! And I had no idea what this was about until now!

    This does sound really sweet and cute. I'm a little worried about what the plot is actually, and it kind of sucks that you couldn't really tell Kyle and Gideon apart. When it comes to contemporary, I'm huge on characterization, so this is kind of a bummer!

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    1. Valerie, this was actually my very first Sandy Hall book! And I would definitely read her again, even though one of the characters in this one irritated me. And even though I couldn't really tell the POVs apart very much, I still enjoyed Kyle and Gideon. I thought they were pretty adorable.

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  4. This one does sound really interesting, and yup yup–I can’t stop singing “You Belong With Me” every time I see the title, haha! Sad it wasn’t all amazing, but glad it still a good read! Great review :D

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    1. Hahahaha. I'm glad I'm not the only one! I swear, I actually played that song on my iPod when I heard that title because it was on my mind so much.

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  5. Great review! I loved the friendship in this one but totally agree with you re: Ezra -- why was he even in this book?!

    my review

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  6. I agree with you that Ezra's and Ruby's POVs didn't add much of anything. I think I liked this one more than you, but I agree it had some flaws.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Nicole, I saw your review and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I understand why some did. Guess I am kind of a black sheep on this one. :)

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