Now This Is Us (Fair Oak Book 1)

I wasn't sure how I'd feel reading about kids still in HS but it worked. I loved harper and Jordan and even though it was painful to have to go through I appreciated the growth of the characters. It was the best interpretation of right person, wrong time. I am so excited to read more by this author I'm definitely impressed!

I loved Harper and Jordan. There was points in the story where I honestly was not a fan of the anger and that made the story drag out, but the ending was good and I am glad I powered through.

There are more than a few genre's included in this one story. Best friends to lovers, Enemies to lovers, second chance, small town and millionaire, ironically they all worked. Harper and Jordan are bff's until lies and sibling rivalry get in the way. Almost overshadowing the main couple are a pretty interesting cast of characters, in fact the author made it a point to give the secondary characters a POV in the last quarter of the book. I believe this sets up future books nicely. But Harper and Jordan are the main focus. Friends to enemies to lovers to heartache, lies and break up. Each have family drama, so as you can see there is a lot going on.The characters are written well so I didn't lose interest in them, which could have easily happened and unfortunately has in other stories of this caliber. I will bolo for other books in this series.

It was a good read. The H suffering got to me and I kind of disliked the h, but overall it was okay.

It’s so fun to see the type of storyteller a debut author will be and let me tell you: Jenn has a beautiful voice and she did an amazing job crafting this story. NTIU is a new adult, second chance, coming of age romance that follows Jordan + Harper through many ups and downs. From friends to enemies to lovers, their emotional journey to a happily ever after spans several years and is full of tension, undeniable chemistry, and self discovery. Jenn’s writing pulled me in immediately - the way she strings together a sentence and describes things is just so beautiful and poetic. I was so invested in these characters - their struggles, their growth, their obstacles, their dreams, their reconciliation. NTIU is angsty, romantic, steamy, and filled with lots of small town greatness, and a cast of supporting characters that really helped to build the story. I’m so excited for more in this world!

It’s honestly hard for me to believe that Now This Is Us is a debut because the storytelling, the way it flows, and the engaging banter that’s consistent throughout reads like some of my favorite seasoned new adult authors. Jennifer Lee had me hooked from the very start of Harper and Jordan’s story. These two had a tension and electricity between them that was hard not to root for even when they were at odds.Their story starts in high school and spans a handful of years, so as you can imagine ALL OF THE ANGST. Besties to enemies, and then well you’ll have to read it to find out. Sorry not sorry. Not only did I love the main characters the side characters and subplots added so much NTIU. The dynamic between Harper and her grandfather and mother. The way Jordan’s family had high expectations of him that he wasn’t sure he could or wanted to meet. The friendships that were amazing and the ones that were not so much. The growth from where these two start to where they end up. I don’t know I just loved this book so much, and I can’t wait for more in this world and from this author.

Jordan and Harper were childhood best friends, turned enemies, turned lovers.“When it came to Jordan and me, things weren’t black and white. We existed in a world as gray as a rain cloud and as stormy as the sea. Alarmingly beautiful until it swallowed us whole.”Their actions were spent on what ifs, misunderstandings and the history of who they were in their town and where they came from. Jordan was caught up in heartache and gravitated towards addiction, while Harper focused on herself and trying to lead a life that wasn’t her mother’s. “Now This Is Us,” had me interested me from the get go - normally I don’t gravitate towards high school love, or second chances - but there was some time spent later on in life. For a debut, this was a solid read. I was interested in the overall plot, and the characters I found myself being invested in for future stories (Hopefully). Their love started out young and messy and, although I wished to have seen more of their growth and angst on page; overall, I enjoyed this story!

Now This is Us was a great small town romance. I didn’t loved it and I didn’t hate it. It was ok! For some reason I couldn’t seem to invest myself into Harper or Jordan. Their reason for keeping their love a secret when they were 18 was pretty thin. They didn’t work for me. I felt everything that happened between was so predictable and I lost interest in them halfway through.Harper’s relationship with her grandfather Jim was a highlight along with her and Kylie.I was more interested in Jordan’s older brother Devlin and Harper’s bestie Kylie so imagine my surprise when I found out that their book is next. So even though this book wasn’t what I expected I’m still going to continue on because they got their hooks in me pretty good.

I found this book because of an aesthetics reel on Insta about it and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed the book and enjoyed the characters. It's well written and has a decent arc of character development. I will be definetly reading book 2.My only cons would be:- the big twist in the third act felt forced, melodramatic and not needed. Its a shame because I had loved the book until that point.- the tension from the beginning wasn't truly there. They fell out because of a really dumb miscommunication and then a childish retaliation. I expected something more serious.-

I really enjoyed this book at the beginning but it started to get a bit disjointed. While events happened in time they seemed to just all of a sudden happen as if we needed to be onto the next bit and snap, we were! It felt like perhaps bits were missing for example, Jordan hates her then all of a sudden he likes her. I kept going back to see if I’d missed bits! The second chance part was a little flat too!

Now This Is Us was perfectly readable but nothing unexpected or particularly captivating about it. First half better than the second

"I knew falling for you would annihilate my heart, and like an idiot, I let it happen anyway."What You'll Find:✔️Second Chance Romance✔️Small Town✔️Friends to Enemies to Lovers✔️Childhood Friends✔️Dual POVMINI REVIEWI really loved this debut. For someone who usually only likes adult romance, to enjoy a story that is set mostly in high school, that is a feat of it's own. And she pulled it off so well. The author made me FEEL. And I often find that can be missing sometimes in debuts, that connection to the feelings. But this author nailed it. This story had all the angst of a friendship turned enemies. Your pulled in from the very start and then it rewinds back to the beginning, and your left guessing what happened, what these secrets are. Was it perfect for me? No. I felt it was rushed in places. That transion from enemies to lovers for one could have had a bit more lasting tension for me. But it matters not what I wanted. Jordan I adored. He gets lost along the way, but comes back stronger than ever. Harper annoyed me at times, I can't lie, but I think it was appropriate for her age. I really rooted for them though. This review seems a little all over the place. But overall I loved this story, this town and its side characters. And I'm excited to read more from this author in the future!

2.75⭐️There was drama, there was depth, there was character developing.The problem? The plot didn’t justify said things. Suddenly, there was alcoholism but I never understood completely why.A tormentor that was suddenly popular but months before he was a geek?The tormented assuming nobody remembered their friendship (and nobody seemed to) but only 6 months passed after they were super close?Hate and resentment because the heroine dated the brother’s love interest to upset him? I got that one.She did it to hurt him because he rejected her but I never understood why he did it. I mean, there was an explanation but it seemed… random.And the heroine going out six months with the brother, but getting upset because others judged? I mean, that was disloyal AF.Nevertheless, I wanna read Dev’s story and I hope Ky is the heroine!