AverieCan you hear it? The pounding of his heart. The deafening roar of the crowd. Football games have been a thing of the past, ever since the love of my life died playing it. One year later and still devastated, my mom decides to help me to leave it all behind. So here I am. New school. New outlook. A new me, still trying to stop the grieving, and still trying to avoid anything to do with a … avoid anything to do with a game I’ve come to hate.
In some cruel twist of fate, I meet Ashton.
I’m instantly drawn to him with no idea who he is until it all begins to make sense. His height, his physique, his long, powerful arm hurling a football. Ashton Haigen is Alpen Springs High top-notch quarterback.
Suddenly, I’m back in the game I swore I would never be in again, only this time, I have a choice. But how does one choose their own heart, over the one that beats for them? How can I put my past behind me and learn to love again?
A captivating, new series about love, loss, and forever with talented boys too cute for their own good.
Can You Hear It is a dual POV, stand-alone sports romance that takes place in senior year high school. Due to explicit content, this book is suitable for 17+
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WOW!! This story was amazing and I just fell in love with it!!
Can You Hear It by Casey Diam is a first in the Alpen Springs series and my first read from this author. The story was so engaging, I couldnt put it down. An emotional rollercoaster, I was hooked from the 1st chapter. I loved the characters and it is so well written and intense! All the feels & really tugs at your heartstrings.
Casey Diam, thank you for such an amazing story!!
This was my first book by Casey Diam, and I was not disappointed at all. She has an unique writing style and is very talented.
Averie was a great student until tragedy hit her life. After that, she struggled….. her parents thought she just needed a new start and moved them to a new town….. they didn’t see how much she was struggling. Averie ,eets Ashton at the new school. They go back and forth for awhile, keeping each other at arm’s length… and then finally they get together. Ashton has secrets he didn’t tell Averie. When he tells her, she doesn’t react as he was sure she would. There’s some great twists…
this is definitely an emotional read. it got me right in the feels plenty of times!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Can You Hear It follows Casey after she loses the love of her life. Going into a downward spiral and switching schools brings Ashton across her path. Can Ashton show her that she still has so much life left? This was such a great story. Ashton is so likable and easy to relate to. Ashton and his crew are such a strange mix of friends that you find yourself wanting to hang out with them. Story is well written and I love it when stories are told from different POVs. I am a fan of all the angst and YA books so this was the perfect blend!
Such a great book! I’m not usually a fan of books set in high schools, but I really enjoyed this one! I loved watching Averie & Ash come together and help each other grow while they were falling in love! It was a book full of emotions (lots of teenage angst); and I’ll definitely be checking out future releases from Casey!!
OMG I loved this book Ashton and Averie is a match made in heaven they can’t seem to keep there hands off each other lmao but hey the more sex the better right couldn’t put this book down it was so good !
Averie suffers a huge loss when she loses her boyfriend James. Now at a new school, she’s still medicating her loss with alcohol and drugs. When she meets Ashton, he gives her hope that life can be good again, but he’s also keeping a huge secret that can crush Averie again.
I did like Averie and Ashton’s friendship-to-romance story and how Ashton’s interest in Averie had some history. I also liked the realistic portrayal of high school including the nasty stuff that the jealous girls engaged in and the partying. It really bugs me to read a YA that ignores these realities, and Can You Hear It did not do that, nor did it glorify the drug and alcohol use.
There’s a nice cast of supporting characters from Averie’s new school that I found interesting, especially Ryker and Brody. The adults were peripheral and uninteresting, excluding Ashton’s dad who has an intriguing backstory.
I did have some minor issues with this story that prevented me giving it a higher rating. I found the first half to be a bit on the slow side and there were some aspects of the story pertaining to Ashton’s behavior that needed more explanation but were never really expanded upon. But in spite of this, Can You Hear It did capture my interest with Ashton and Averie’s story.
4.5/5 Stars
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.
I am so over the moon right now! I inhaled this book faster than a Snickers bar. This book elicited so many different feelings and when I finished the last page I was so satisfied.
The characters in this story are ones that will embed themselves in your heart. While Ash and Averie were both incredible characters, I also loved that the side characters are ones that the reader also falls in love with. I really can’t wait to read the stories of some of the other characters in this book. The side characters are interesting and you can’t help but want to know more and want to know what is going on in their minds as well. The side characters and the main characters have great chemistry with each other. It was very natural and soothing. Averie and Ash’s characters are ones that you can’t help but love. Your heart really goes out to them and the author makes identifying with them so easy through the excellent writing. Averie is in a dark place and is essentially alone after the death of her long-time boyfriend. She is struggling to cope with his loss and also having to shoulder is all by herself because of her absent parents. Ashton struggles with his feelings for Averie in the face of an insurmountable personal secret. Both main characters experienced incredible growth and they both had a lot of depth to start with. I simply adored them.
At the beginning of the story, I thought that Ash’s feelings for Averie were a little strange. He has been crushing on her for a long time after seeing her at football games when his team would play against her old school. He would see her and how supportive she was of her then-boyfriend and a little crush grew from that. It isn’t unheard of, for sure, but at first, it seemed odd to me that his feelings for her were so strong because of a little crush. He didn’t really know her enough to feel so strongly, at least in my opinion. Though as the story goes on he and Averie hang out and he gets to know the real her. He can see her struggle over the loss of her ex-boyfriend and he can see the downward spiral that she is in. He wants to help her in any way that he can. He doesn’t want to see her drown. The fact that he saw this in her was very romantic. He saw what no one else could see, that she needed help. Their initial interactions were based on attraction, yes, but I don’t know that I would define it as insta-love or not. It’s a fine line, really. They do get to know each other and they enjoy spending time with each other. And what’s better is that they really bring out the best in each other when they are together. Ash is extremely romantic in the story and his gestures had me swooning. Averie’s concern for Ash was just as touching. The two of them really made a perfect pair and their love story was beautiful.
The plot of this story is excellent and the flow of events is pretty perfect. I was completely drawn into this story and I couldn’t pull myself away from it. The only thing that I would have changed would have been the urgency of the conflicts that occur in the story. There are some serious issues that cause conflict for the characters, but the unfolding of them didn’t feel entirely dramatic enough. Serious, yes. But I would have liked the characters to experience more in terms of their conflicts than they did. The story is still great without this, but I believe that it would have added something more to the story to add the urgency.
Overall, this book really wowed me. There is so much to love about this book. This story is moving, inspiring, and heartwarming. The characters bring the story to life and it’s a story that you will want to hold in your heart. This book is a journey that I encourage you to take. I’m so excited for more books in this series and for more books from this author!
I don’t normally jump on the high school romances but the blurb on this one was just to good to pass on. This book was full of high school angst. You have the football team who are the popular ones to hang out, the cheerleaders who think they are better then you, the good church girl and the girl who is starting over after a heartbreak.
Averie is seriously an amazing character. She had a love that made everyone around them jealous. Then tragedy hits. She’s grieving and acting out. Drinking and smoking is how she deals with it. Ashton makes her see that she doesn’t need all that anymore. He makes her see that she can live with her ex. She is able to move and heal from this. Her mom is narrow minded and no help whatsoever. Ashton is the star quarterback. The one that all the girls want but he’s holding onto a secret..one that could end his career or life. He’s been very lucky so far. Him and Averie develop a friendship but that brings issues especially for Averie. The mean girl is jealous and has to show her power towards her. I loved that we get both Averie and Ashton’s point of views in this book. It made the story so much for real. We got to see the real sides to them. The heartbreaking and explosive moments between them and their families. Some are supportive, some not so much. Throughout their friendship they realize they want more but there’s still that secret. Ashton has to make an important, life changing decision and thankfully it all worked out for the best. I loved how drawn in I got into this story. I so want more!!
A book that can have you feeling every emotion there is. You’ll smile at times, find yourself with tears in your eyes and feel your heart breaking for the characters and story line of this book. A definite emotional yet really good read that has tragedy, loss, depression and love all at the same time.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I absolutely devoured this book. It was an amazing read full of unexpected twists and turns. I will definitely be recommending it to my friends. It was also so romantic it squeezed and my heart strings and has you tearing up a little.
Ever unable to resist a football romance, I was drawn to this alluring mix of football, YA/NA, angst-fest based on the blurb and the cover alone, and so I had to take a chance on this new-to-me author.
And?
It did not disappoint!
There’s something in the way Ms. Diam has written her characters that was positively addictive to me. The storyline was occasionally a little bumpy for me, but I attached quickly and fiercely to the characters. And not even just Averie and Ashton, whose story was – as promised – filled with all kinds of intense emotion and fiery passion. The secondary characters? I fell a little bit in love with them too. And in the end, I think it was this sort of fantastic character-development that completely won me over.
Well, that and the fact that the story itself played out like some kind of crazy addictive CW show storyline. I cannot resist these sort of emotional, angsty – with the slightest shades of darkness hazing up the edges – types of stories. I did sometimes feel like I was left with some dangling threads, however. In some ways I kept expecting the angst to ramp up to explosive levels, but instead things sort of fizzled out completely and disappeared, which made me feel like the storyline wandered unnecessarily sometimes. I mean, I gobbled the story up, regardless, but still maybe would have liked some of those disappearing threads to have been resolved.
Niggling complaints aside, I still really enjoyed this book. It was emotional and compelling, but also playful and salaciously saucy. It’s definitely a very mature read. Don’t let the fact that these characters are in high school fool you, they mostly function as adults and things get pretty steamy. They’re also endearing and heartwarming and caused me to sigh and swoon on more than one occasion. And I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg. I am definitely invested to the point where I need to know where things go from here. I want everyone else’s stories, and so I am 100%, all-in for more! ~ 3.5 Stars
Ok WOW there are no words to explain everything I went into while reading Can you Hear me this would be the first and hopeful not last that I read by this amazing author . I knew by reading the blurb that I was in for a ride but dang wasn’t expecting that at all . My heart really went out to the characters everything they go through just blew my mind . The characters are really likable everything about them just drew me in from start to finish I can’t wait to read more by Casey Diam in the future .
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
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hero=10 heroine=10 secondary characters=10
Chemistry=10 steam=5 romance=10
humor=3 darkness level=4 action=4 mystery=4
enjoyment=10 angst=4 story line=10 Story ending=10
character development=10 pacing=10
cover=10 Blurb =10 Stars =4
would I recommend this book=yes
would I re read this book=yes
would I read future books by this author= yes
Averie’s life as she knew it changed in an instant. One second she was watching her boyfriend doing what he loved…playing football and next a horrible tragedy struck. Now she is starting her senior year of high school in a new town, at a new school with all new people. Her Mom calls it a fresh start but to Averie who is drowning in sorrow and still feels so broken, nothing and no one can help. Not even the alcohol and drugs she turned to in order to numb the pain.
“In the next second…my life would change forever.”
Averie wasn’t exactly welcome with open arms at her new school, but she couldn’t care less what other people think of her. When the school’s star quarterback Ash strikes up a friendship with her, things get a little off track for Averie. She wants nothing to do with anything remotely football related but can’t help the feelings she starts to develop towards Ash or the attraction that’s so obviously there between the two even though they feel like she is betraying her past. But Ash has a secret. He knew who Averie was before she transferred to his school and she doesn’t realize it. He tries so hard to just be the friend she needs and help her heal but how is that possible when she is all he can think about and all he wants?
“The girl I’d had more wet dreams about than I could count was here. In my part of the city. In my school. In my world. When I couldn’t have her in it. She wasn’t ready for it. I wasn’t ready for it.”
There was a ton of angst in this book and my emotions were all over the place. There was also your typical teenage drama and some really fantastic secondary characters. My heart broke so many times for Averie as she tried to navigate her new reality and heal. There’s so much I can say about Ash because he was amazing. He truly cares about Averie. He sees her drowning and wants so desperately to be the light at the end of her tunnel. I’m not sure what I expected out of him when I first met him and if being near him would help her heal but he went and proved himself over and over again. But when Averie discovers Ash is hiding a secret will it destroy what they have or will it help them both find what they didn’t even realize they were looking for?
“I wanted her to fall in love with me, but her heart belonged to someone else. Maybe it always would.”
I always love finding a new author I haven’t read before and falling in love with their stories. This was such a great book that dealt with some tough subjects especially for high school kids but the author did such a great job with it all. I loved Ash and Averie so much and am so excited that some of the secondary characters from this story are getting their own books! I can’t wait to read more from this author.
“I never though I could fall like this again, but there I was. With this guy. This athlete. This man. In love.”
Casey is a new author to me and even after just one book I’m a huge fan.
I love when books intrigue me to the point that I can’t put them down. Averie and Ashton were believable and relatable characters. The author wrote their stories with such depth and passion I defy you not to fall in love with them.
Averie’s pain is like a living breathing entity, it’s in all her actions and every decision she makes. Ashton is the star quarterback who’s keeping secrets. I really loved then together, the way he steps up to protect her mostly from herself. The slow build from friendship to lovers was beautiful.
A coming of age story and one about overcoming heartbreak and loss.
reviewed by Sweet Spot Sisterhood
The book is a good sweet romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry. The story is an enjoyable sports romance read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Can You Hear It is a sweet with a little bit of sour read. Not that the book is sour, no my emotions soured. I got snippy and testy. I wanted to choke out a certain main character who did not do what I want them to! Yes, I’m feeling indignant but in the end the light was seen and they corrected their behavior! (Coughs “good job”)
Lol. My scolding aside, Can You Hear It starts off rough and our dear young impressionable Averie makes some very bad decisions. She is the new “bad girl”. Ash our knight in shining armor, or vehicle, is everything she never wanted, knew she needed, or thought she’d have again.
The meaning of the title is a sigh inducing, swoony moment. Can You Hear It is only the beginning too! Casey Diam plans on spoiling us with stories about more of our favorite people from Alpen Springs.
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
I just loved this heart warming novel! Seeing these characters come alive and overcome their past is amazing. The portrayal of ash and Averie together is perfect. Hearing and feeling the pain of Averie’s past is gut wrenching. But seeing the growth and the love of ash and Averie is perfection. Sublime perfection!
What an intense story. Taking place, Averie and Ashton’s senior year of high school, the two fight their attraction to one another. She is broken, lost, in self destruct mode after losing her childhood sweetheart in a tragic twist of fate. He is an up and coming football star living with hIs own demons. I had a hard time putting the book down, I needed to find out what would happen next. I just loved the way the story flowed and how they both fought their attraction to one another but ultimately could not. Theirs is a beautiful love story and their HEA left me with a huge smile on my face. I’d also like to give a shoutout to the other characters in this book that help make it so good – Ryker, Brody and sexy firefighter dad Will and am happy to hear that their stories will come out too. Also, I really enjoyed downloading the music mentioned throughout, it made it that much more real. This is a phenomenal book.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.