What’s the first rule when pretending to date your brother’s best friend? Don’t let feelings get involved.Sixteen-year-old Lexi Stevens has never been kissed—never even been asked on a date. So when she humiliates herself in front of her crush and her brother’s best friend offers to be her fake boyfriend for the week to make him jealous, she doesn’t know if it’s the stupidest idea ever, or a … idea ever, or a dream come true.
When Noah Taylor gets kicked out of his house by his abusive stepdad, the last thing he needs is for anyone at school to find out—not even his best friend. But when his new “girlfriend” discovers him sleeping in his car and offers to let him sleep in her closet, he starts to wonder if he’s found someone he can confide in after all.
Pretty soon Noah and Lexi are putting on a big show in front of the whole school while sneaking around behind her overprotective father’s back. It isn’t long before feelings develop and it becomes harder and harder to discern between what’s fake and what’s real.
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All books in The Ridgewater High series are sweet and swoon-worthy and can be read in any order.
When We Began (Cassie and Liam)
Meet Me There (Ashlyn and Luke)
Don’t Forget Me (Eliana and Jess)
It Was Always You (Lexi and Noah)
My Second Chance (Juliette and Easton)
My Mistletoe Mix-Up (Raven and Logan)
Forever Yours (Alyssa and Jace)
more
This is one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long time. If you’re looking for a great read, pick this one up. 🙂
This book is the CUTEST! I can’t stop thinking about it.
I absolutely loved this book. Judy Corry just keeps getting better as an author. Noah was the best! He was such a wonderful character. I was almost in tears over how he was treated by his family. It had several swoon worthy moments in it.
No cursing and is clean. Trust me you’re going to love Noah and Lexie.
This was a really cute YA love story. Lexi and Noah were both charming and I totally enjoyed this fun make-believe romance as it became a reality. I loved Lexi’s kind heart and quirky character and I loved seeing Noah wake up to the amazing reality of how much he needed Lexi in his life.
I also listened to much of it in audiobook format and it was very well done!
Absolutely wonderful, and I mean both of those words; this novel was absolutely wonderful! This is the first book that I have ever read by Ms. Corry but I can promise you that it will not be the last! The challenges that this young lady faced was so real that I feel as if I could reach out and touch her right now to help her through her troubles. I love to read and I read a lot, but a book has not moved me like this has in a long time. I look forward to reading more of Judy Corry’s novels, I hope to find and feel just as deep a connection.
It Was Always You by Judy Corry
Noah had a bad rap. Even his dad thought he was headed in the wrong direction. . .
Poor Noah was so misunderstood. He had a heart of gold but having an abusive stepdad put him in situations that didn’t look good. In the typical “I’m hurting but can’t let anyone know” manner, he ended up with a reputation. I fell in love with him a little as my heart went out to him.
He was actually very noble. He had been injured more than once in defending his mom. His young half-sister adored him and ran to him for protection and comfort. And he rescued Lexi from teen-hell when she ended up at the movies without a date with a group of snotty girls who are quick to bad-mouth her. Aww! What isn’t to love?
Lexi was adorable. This nerdy, band-geek, trumpet-playing, excellent student fit all the stereotypes. She was slightly-awkward with big dark glasses. And she was Noah’s best friend’s little sister. She is such a nurturer. I love the way she refused to let Noah sleep in his car. In the middle of winter. In New York. Her solution of letting him sleep in her closet was such a cute way of solving the problem. (Okay, if she was my niece, I’d be giving her a major lecture for not telling an adult of his dilemma so they could help him, not her – but it makes for a good story.)
I also loved the way that Lexi was so nervous about things like holding Noah’s hand. There were paragraphs about her concern about whether she might do it wrong. Her innocence was precious. I included an excerpt from one of those scenes.
Another great part was when Noah and a fellow jock were watching Pride and Prejudice to help with a test they had coming up. Lexi was there because, well, it was her house. The way the guys reacted to the movie was so funny (Jake admired Darcy for proposing and insulting Elizabeth at the same time!), and the fact that they ended up liking it while Lexi fell asleep. . .
Here is a great example of how good the story is and how well it drew me in. I was reading the part about Noah and Lexi discussing why he can’t sleep in his car (did I mention it was the middle of winter? In New York?), and I knew I needed to go outside and feed the cats. I looked down at what I was wearing and thought, “I need to get something much warmer on before I go outside!” And all of a sudden started to giggle at myself for the thought. Because it’s July. In Florida!
It Was Always You was sweet, sensitive, romantic and fun all wrapped into one. I loved the book.
Read the full review of It Was Always You by Judy Corry with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Judy Corry for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
This series has surprised me. I haven’t read it in order and believe each installment can stand alone, yet there is a depth to the characters that can’t be understood without delving into each story. Noah was a big, fat jerk in Book 1, but realizing his situation redeemed him. Why the surprise? I feel like most high school teen romances are fluffy and superficially deal with drama and angst, but this series digs deep into sensitive modern-day issues, and because of that, an unexpected depth is delivered.
Noah and Lexi began with a mutually beneficial fake relationship, but things quickly take unforeseen twists and turns that convey all the feels. Abuse is one of the hard issues addressed and it was hard to read about that as a parent, yet was written about in a realistic and tactful way.
This opposites attract, brother’s best friend, fake romance, young adult romance stuck with me for awhile. The romance is a little heavier than I prefer for a teen romance, but it’s reality and in all honesty, kind of swoony. Corry does a great job of playing on the reader’s emotions in this series. While each story is super cute, they’re real, raw, and believable.
Content: abuse (not graphic); mild-moderate romance (talk of sex and waiting, some innuendo, steamy clean kissing, implied teen relations)
his Noah I feel was very different from the Noah you meet in the first book. Although I would still consider this on the cleaner side, its not as clean as the others. It does deal with some non-described sexual content (handled well) and has heavier kissing scenes.
It is also probably my favorite of the series though as it delves a little deeper into emotions.