In a sprint, every millisecond counts.
When you’re waiting for love, those milliseconds can feel like eons.
High school senior Lucas Preston has it all: star of the track team, a scholarship waiting for him, an apartment to himself and a revolving door of girlfriends. He also has an older sister, five younger brothers and a father who relies on him to make sure those brothers don’t kill each … kill each other.
His saving grace? Lois “Laney” Sanders, a girl he started to fall in like with when he was just eleven.
A girl who became his best friend, his confidant, his courage.
It took only sixteen clicks and eight seconds for Lucas to realize that his like for Laney had turned into love.
Eight life-changing seconds.
It’s also the exact length of time it took to lose her.
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I can always depend on Jay McLean to deliver an emotional and angst-filled NA romance. I don’t know I had waited this long to read Lucas, if it probably because the New Adult genre isn’t my favorite. However, this book hooked me and made me fall in love with all the characters. Friends-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites and I especially love it when the characters are younger. Even though the friendships are strong it is still delicate enough that it can break with at any moment. I loved seeing Lucas and Laney’s friendship develop and grow over the years. However, I knew heartbreak was coming and was even if I wanted to not fully prepared. I loved all the relationships with the Preston boys, they are a broken but a very loyal and protective family. Both main characters are great and you can’t help but love them. Their road to happiness wasn’t easy but totally worth it.
I really really liked this book! These Preston Brothers!! Gah I can’t wait for each one of their books, each brother stole a piece of my heart in this book.
My heart broke for Lois in this book, she went through so so much. It always makes me really think about how many women/men go through domestic violence in a day. I like that the author wasn’t afraid to talk about such serious topics & I think she did so very very well.
These two together were so cute but also so extremely frustrating for the first half of the book. But it is set in High school & who truly talks about their feelings in high-school?! So I liked that the book was realistic.
I can’t wait to read the next book!
If there’s one thing I can always depend on when it comes to reading something from Jay McLean, it’s ALL THE FEELS! I fell in love with the Preston family when I fell in love with the way that Lucy and Cameron fell in love. Getting a chance to immerse myself in this world… it’s the stuff dreams are made of!
Lucas and Lois met when they were eleven years old. Honestly, it was love at first sight. Their friendship, their connection, their unbreakable bond was solidified from their very first meeting. From sharing his secret stash of Snickers bars to sharing his mom’s affections, it was obvious that there was nothing Lucas wouldn’t be willing to give to his Laney. But then adolescent innocence, that purity in hopes and dreams and wants and wishes, changes into teenage mistakes. Feelings get hurt. Feelings get felt. Feelings get lost. Confusion and resentment build. And being human just may cost them everything.
“You need to leave because I don’t want you here. I don’t want you standing at my door, apologizing, trying to make me understand why I can’t be hurt by this because I am hurt. And I don’t want to hurt.” – Laney
Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy doesn’t tell girl. Girl likes boy. Girl doesn’t tell boy. They both do stupid things that hurt each other, but then they don’t tell each other about how hurt they are. Boy dates other girls because he can’t have the one he wants. Girl does the same. Girl and boy finally admit their feelings to each other. Something happens and then there’s hurt feelings again. Girl moves onto a new relationship and blocks boy. Friendship turns into acquaintanceship. Girl becomes the living embodiment of a PSA announcement.
The angst was most definitely felt.
I am deeply in love with this story. I’m in love with the person Lucas was shaping up to be. I’m in love with the way he gave all of himself in the name of love. I’m in love with the Preston family… there’s Leo and his quiet, smooth charm; Logan and his brashness and in-your-face attitude; Liam and Linc, the twins who were pretty much in their own world and yet a part of this one; and sweet, precocious Lachlan, who made me laugh so so so so much! I can’t wait for another opportunity to dive back into this magical Preston realm and I’m eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on Logan’s book. I’m sure it’s gonna be hilarious!
This is a spin-off of another series I hadn’t read but that didn’t hinder my love of this story. A perfectly frustrating, angsty mature YA romance. Love makes teens stupid, Lucas shows that to us perfectly.
I love books that show a relationship grow through a persons life, this book does that so well! It starts with Lois/Lane/Laney moving with her father and meeting her father’s new boss’ family – the Prestons. She has a strong connection with the entire family but especially Lucas/Luke. It goes on to tell us the story of them growing up and how their relationship changes over time…how their families change over time and how they are trying to find their place and who they are to each other. There is some turmoil along the way but that’s what makes it a good story! I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day…looking forward to the next one in the series!
I don’t know why I waited so long to read this book. It was so damn good. I was hooked from literally the first page, and this story touched me on all levels. It made me laugh, sob, rage, and smile so big my cheeks hurt. It’s a gem. Truly truly a gem of a book.
This book made me really emotional and mad, which most of the time was really really good. However there were parts of the story where my anger was the bad kind, where it was towards the actual writing rather than on behalf of the characters.
The book drew me in from the get go. I already felt for Laney from page one and loved the exposition about her mom and meeting the Prestons. Best of all though, meeting Lucas. I also really liked the jump from present to past, seeing the characters getting fleshed out and really building the romance from young children to teens. An extra (good) punch in the gut was the tragedy of losing a loved one. That happening so early in the story and yet being able to make me cry is very telling of good writing and characterization. That being said I did have some issues with the story pretty early on.
While for the most part I found the writing unique and compelling, it was at times throughout the story a bit overbearing and overkill with quirks. I mean, it did bring some charm and funny banter between the brothers but some aspects of it just felt off and a bit all over the place with one brother saying this, one doing that and one going through this or that. It didn’t always help how many jumps forward the story made instead of going deeper into the present. That however was both good and bad since the book did and probably needed to make room of a whole year and a lot of characters. It was just that it at some moments lost needed depth because of it.
Moving onto the main plot and plot twist in the romance. This is mostly where my anger (both the good and the bad) came in. The story made sure I felt and related to Lucas and Laney early on so the drama of what transpired between them, as well as drama from the past made me steam with anger being that I felt so much on their behalf. This became a trend for me throughout the story with Cooper coming into the picture and everything that led to. With that, sadly came the issue I had with the relationship between Laney and Lucas and what broke it.
Lucas was made out to be the fault in everything that went wrong in both romance and friendship and this annoyed me to no end. It led me to like Laney less. Sure, Lucas had his faults but since he owned up to them for the most part I had no issue whatsoever with him. Laney however in my opinion made way too big a deal out of him waiting one extra day to break up with Grace, especially since he had a pretty good reason to wait. Just for that she pretty much went no contact with him and the family that had treated her as part of them through her childhood. She then jumped immediately into a new relationship and basically rubbed it in Lucas’s face. Worse is that Lucas was the one responsible for constantly reaching out and mend their friendship, take crap from Cooper while getting yelled at by Laney for not laying down and taking said crap. Then he had to be okay with being blocked and having to use Leo’s phone to stay in contact with her. All of this while Laney did nothing to have his back or own up to her own faults.
I get it. This was a story of domestic abuse and how it can completely control the victims life and decisions. And for the most part I really loved how it was written and handled in the story, especially in the ending. That being said, Laney never took any accountability for how she treated Lucas before or after all of that and Lucas became her doormat that she herself described herself as in the beginning of the story. All of this just because he waited one extra day? It was really unsatisfying, especially since Lucas just took her crap without second thought or any self indignation.
This book really was a rollercoaster of emotions from anger, sorrow, happiness and sadly annoyance. I am invested enough though to read something else by this author in the future.
Lucas and Lois (Laney/Lois Lane) have loved each other for so long…most of their lives really, but they were too scared to tell each other. Boy did keeping their feelings to themselves leave more obstacles in their pathway of life than there should’ve been. They both loved hard, fought hard and hurt so much, but in the end found happiness. I love how much Laney and Lucas grew emotionally from who they were at the beginning of their story. They grew to know each other the best way they knew how. There is so much more to their story that needs to unfold, I’m hoping Jay McLean will deliver more in Logan’s book.
#LucasPreston #PrestonBrothers #ClarkKentandLoisLane #PrestonPunks #JayMcLean #JMac #YoungAdult #NewAdult #FirstLoves #ChildhoodSweethearts
1st time with this author did not disappoint wow!!!
Jay McLean has done it again. She’s written a story that is so heartbreakingly real that you will feel every single emotion while reading it. Lucas is the first book in the Preston Brothers series, and I somehow started this series at the end with Leo. So, when I picked up Lucas, I already knew much of what was going to happen. This book is so well-written though that knowing how it would end did not take away one single bit from the impact of this story.
Lucas and Lois (aka Laney) meet when they are just 11 years old and it may just be love at first sight, but what 11 year old understands true love? As they grow up together, they become best friends. They could become more than best friends, but true feelings are hidden and mistakes are made, and life happens. And life can be so cruel.
This is an emotional story that reminds you that seconds, just seconds, can totally change a life. Decisions made in those seconds can destroy everything. It’s also a testament to the strength of the human spirit. It’s a story of true love and fate. Parts of this story are difficult to read and there could definitely be triggers for some sensitive readers. The subject matter is handled so well though and this is a story that needs to be told; and it’s told beautifully.
Easy summer read that I enjoyed.
I was intrigued by the plot synopsis, but definitely hesitant to start because I’ve read a lot of fluff recently and it always feels like the same thing over and over… But man, this book hooked me right in and left me desperate for more. I am obsessed with Lois and Lucas, and I wish I could read more about them as they go through adulthood honestly. Their story was incredible and kept me on my toes. I had some guesses with what was going on, and some were correct, but I was still surprised by other parts and I was definitely left sobbing on more than one occasion. If you want a super captivating, haunting, slightly tragic, but eventually happy, super sweet, romance, then give this a try.
Once again Jay McLean has penned literary magic. Lucas Preston was everything I hoped he would be and the chemistry he and Laney shared was electric. The story was rich, complex, and packed with emotion. This is a can’t miss book!
At first I was worried knowing there were 7 siblings. I almost bailed just knowing this would be a series of at least 7 books. I am so glad I stuck it out. It has been a while since I have fallen for multiple characters in a book.
Each one of the siblings has me intrigued already. That is a testament to the author and writing a fantastic into into the Preston family.
Diving into the oldest Preston boy, we meet Clark & Lois…I mean Lucas and Lois….Lucas and Laney. No matter how you slice it, these two were everything. The angst. The sweet, delicious angst. Done so well that I cannot wait to see how this author develops stories for the remaining family members.
• •
: Lucas
: Jay McLean
: 5/5
What a ride, what a story. Lucas is the oldest son of the Preston Brothers and is one of Lucy’s brothers. We already met Lucy (and her brothers) in the More Than Series, which I recommend reading before this series. However, it is not necessary and this book can be read as a standalone. Now, a couple of the brothers are all grown up and looking/finding their own partner(s) in crime. Lucas and Laney are best friends from a young age and are slowly realizing there might be more to their friendship… but it might be too late. They have many obstacles to overcome and a lot of growing up to do. What I love about Jay is that she dares to write about serious topics like domestic violence. This book is no exception, however, what I am in awe about the most is how the author also tries to show the different sides and emotions. It’s always easy for the people on the outside to form an opinion when actually being in a situation yourself is so different and she brings this across exceptionally well. Next to the serious topics, angst and pain, there is also romance, love and a lot of smiles.
My reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
Wow!! Wow!! and another Wow!! Jay’s books are just so special and well written that you know you are going to enjoy them and Lucas was no exception. I enjoyed it so much, so much that I wanted to read every page quickly to find out what happens but then the flip side was that I wanted to read it so slowly as I just didn’t want the book to end. This book had me sobbing my heart out and I honestly felt all the emotions deep inside me. An amazing story that is worthy of more than 5 stars.
I smile and laugh a lot. I cried a lot too reading this one. Seriously, it shouldn’t be that difficult for them to be together, but it was so hard and they’re only 18. They’ve gone through so much together. That’s how strong their love is and they’re just fated to be together. This book is so much more than just young love, but there’s also the familial value in it. I love all of them, well except Cooper..
Seriously this book is just so beautiful!
I have always loved Jay McLean’s beautiful stories. All her characters are so endearing. Life is not always easy, sunshine and rainbows. You have to work at getting what you want. McLean will make you laugh out loud, cry, love and swoon for her characters. She will break your heart. You will feel scared, frustrated and crazy. The More Than series is one of my favourite book series. We were first introduced to the Preston siblings through that series. They are a large family with 7 kids and all with names beginning with the letter “L” – Lucy, Lucas, Logan, Leo, Liam, Linc, and Lachlan. This is Lucas story. This book can be read as a standalone.
Lucas and Laney’s story was so consuming. They are two young people experiencing life. And growing up. They have a beautiful relationship. A beautiful connection. They both went through so much together and apart. It was so heartbreaking and emotional. The story is about love and friendship. About believing in that their strong connection can last a lifetime.
Laney is an independent, sweet, strong, nuturing girl. She is very different from Lucas. My heart broke for her and the love she had for that Preston boy. Lucas is hot, kind, protective. He really is the sweetest guy. Their friendship felt so real and raw. Lucas love for his best friend is unconditional. His love and sacrifice for his family was inspiring.
This story was heart-wrenching. It was filled with so much angst and heartbreak. There are a lot of heavy and painful subjects. But also love and laughter. I loved the relationships the brothers have. Laney and Lucas have been best friends forever and this is the story of how they find their way to each other. I will always envy their love and friendship. This series is a must read.
4.5
In More Than Forever, we got the rise and set of the sun, eternity, and all sorts of those young love insights and proclamations. It was where we first learned about the Prestons in depth and most importantly FATE. Because time and fate my friends is the most important lesson you could get from this book.
Lucas. Seeing deep into the life the Preston’s lived sans Luce once she went to college was eye opening. You really see how Luke became the glue while still aspiring to do so much was just as inspiring as Lucy stepping up. His obsession of counting comes in handy and is probably the coolest aspect of this book. But he is also kind of a dumb teenage boy and you may or may not want to shake him a couple of times.
LANEY. Good girl extraordinaire. I think she is the most “naturally” introverted character that Jay has written to date. I love her crafty side. I love her patience with Luke, cause that boy needs it. Laney is the Kathy Preston of this generation.
Speaking of Kathy, I am so happy to have had more time with her in this book. To have seen how her legacy affected the others around her. She was a phenomenal lady and I see so much of each of the Prestons in her.
And I cannot write a review without some love for Lachy! That boy is the best. I also loved the look into Leo and Little Logan (the little asshole)!
This book is more than young love. It is love that starts at its truest, purest, most honest, and most basic form and blooms into love in its rarest form. This book did not take More Than Forever’s place in my heart, but it definitely has been tattooed on my heart.
Lucas was a very emotional read. It was filled with so many moments that make your heart hurt and moments that make your heart soar.