Life after high school still blowsBetween a judgmental beauty advice columnist mom who sends clothes several sizes too small, and social media sex-shaming her senior year of high school, Faith Lacerna needs a self-confidence boost. Being a freshman at Fortis University in Silicon Valley will be fine, as long as she doesn’t attract attention. Except wearing oversized hoodies in sunny California … sunny California isn’t the best choice for blending in.
When football jock Caleb St. John shows interest, she recommits to studying anything but the hot tight end. Caleb wants to lose himself in football, avoid his unfaithful ex-girlfriend, and – unlike his cheating dad – live his life with integrity. He knows there’s more to Faith than baggy clothes. Her humor and audacity spark more than Caleb’s competitive nature.
Faith doesn’t want to be interested, but Caleb’s kindness and sense of adventure has her hooked. She soon realizes she needs to confront her hurts and fears if she wants to embrace a relationship with Caleb and not let the past intercept her future.
more
I’m impressed by this debut!
Mouthful features truly compelling characters, including the secondary and tertiary ones. Caleb and Faith are smart and also screwed up. I THOUGHT I knew what was going to happen but I was only partially right because CR Grissom put fresh new spins on every word. Don’t miss this one!
So this one is already out, I’m a little late but bear with me, this is the first book that I read from this author, and I’m really impressed how this story turned out, i fall in love with our couple and all the other characters made the book even more perfect, I really like that the author made me pay attention to the turns and events on this one, i highly recommend this one.
Go ahead and grab the tissues. This emotionally charged NA romance will have you feeling all the feels on practically every page. I cried with Caleb and Faith. I laughed with them. I raged for them and at them. And through it all I fell in love with them. These two have one heck of a story that keeps you completely hooked start to finish.
I felt so much for both of them, But I particularly felt for Faith. She’s been through so much and the way it impacted how she saw herself was something I could relate to all too well. C.R. Grissom does a beautiful job of bringing Faith and all she’s gone through to life in a way that’s incredibly real. While the love Caleb and Faith share is absolutely breathtaking it’s wasn’t a magical cure all for Faith’s self esteem and trust issues. Her growth was true to life and the result of multiple factors and I can’t tell you how much that made me love this book even more than I already did!
I really enjoyed this one. It has plenty of heart and humor, but it also has serious tone. The characters go through some tough situations. I’m not gonna lie reading the first part of this book was tough. I hate bullying and I can relate to Faith a bit. I loved Faith and Caleb. She deserves the people she has met in her first year of college. She needs that support system. There are several secondary characters that I hope get their own books at some point. They added a lot to this book themselves. This a book I gobbled right up. It made my heart happy to see where the characters end up.
Mouthful is a well-written story delivering a meaningful message about the heroine’s struggles with body image. It was encouraging to see Faith learn to deal with her anxiety and issues, overcome her past, and find friends, as well as a guy who was interested in more than her body. Loved that the hero and other males helped her to see herself through non-critical eyes and recognize her strengths and grow and change as she supports others. Positive message of friendship and acceptance.
5 Stars
Review by Meaghan
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
C.R. Grissom’s debut novel Mouthful is a contemporary, college romance which looks into the effects verbal and online bullying can have on a young woman and the length it takes to overcome trust issues while developing new relationships.
Faith has been through the wringer at high school and has a hard time trusting any man (with the exception of her father) after a football-playing jerk humiliated her online. Since then she has found ways to protect herself from the inevitable hurt from the outside world, hiding behind her baggy clothes.
Caleb is the attractive football player who walked in on his girlfriend getting a little too friendly with another man. Keen to get to know Faith he introduces her to his friends from the football team and Faith makes fast friends with his teammates.
Throughout the book we see Faith struggling to trust Caleb and that he might just be different from the men in her past. And on the flip side, we see a frustrated Caleb who hates how hard he has to work to earn her trust. A misunderstanding and some poor communication between the two disrupts the bond they have built and it takes a friend to help them see the light.
“I need to know what happened to her. It had to be a guy. But females can be vicious with each other, too. I’ve never had to work this hard to earn anyone’s trust.”
This was a beautifully written book, which was easy and fun to read. I did find the ending and resolution was a little rushed but that didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading Faith and Caleb’s story. I am keen to see what C.R. Grissom does next!
“Mouthful” was my first book by C.R. Grissom and by way of introduction to her work it’s a good one. The main characters are incredibly well written and the opening will draw you in.
Faith is beautifully complicated in so many gut wrenching ways. Suffering from body issues and cyberbullying has left her closed off and fearful of others.
Caleb is well grounded and self aware, he’s suffered a terrible blow at the hands of two people he trusted and rather than sour him it has made him stronger.
When these two meet there is instant chemistry. She tries to ignore it, he embraces it. Caleb manages to worm his way into her heart and mind and trust me you will swoon when he does.
A great love story, TBR and enjoy. (I read an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.)
I received this arc from Tule Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I loved this young adult story. The author did an excellent job of writing as the female college freshman as well as her male companions. I felt for Faith. She had been dealt a bad hand. Her mother was awful. Definitely someone to avoid if you have self esteem issues like she did. She also was socially awkward and terrified because of the way everyone at school save her best friend treated her. She was teased about her size because she was an early developer and her proportions were skewed. As a result she avoided to an extreme, mirrors. She wore large, baggy clothing only. She also was duped by a guy she thought was her boyfriend and he posted a compromising photo of her online that caused her enormous heartache and horror.
Faith and her dad started over as they moved from near Boston to California for his job and her to attend college. Her roommate has no boundaries or talk filter and their relationship is very difficult at the start. She meets a guy named Beau who is her college best friend. She also meets Caleb St. John who she nicknames Sinjin. Like her ex who screwed her over, he is a football player. Caleb has recently experienced extreme betrayal when he and his mom walked in on his girl friend giving his father a blow job in his office. Both Caleb and Faith are feeling vulnerable.
Caleb is the most wonderful boyfriend to Faith. He listens to her, he follows all her requests so she feels more comfortable and will start to feel safe and trust him. Both begin to feel the chemistry and fall in love with each other. Faith is scared. She’s a virgin, had her one act with her secret high school boyfriend show up online and she was ridiculed and shunned. She is very sensitive about her looks. She won’t look in a mirror and hides under her baggy clothes. Caleb starts to pull her slowly out of her shell. She is also friends with his roommate TJ, Everest from the team and Beau. Just when things are going good, unforeseen things happen and Faith withdraws into her self.
The book is easy to read, the characters are well written and the storyline is compelling, I give it 5 stars. This was my first book by this author but I hope to read more in the future.
This is a story that will really tug at your heartstrings Faith and Caleb are both so damaged by what their family and other people have put them through
Faith Lucerna is humiliated when a football player she is seeing puts photos of her on the internet the fact that her mother has body shamed her for years just compounds the issues she is suffering from So she wraps herself in layers of clothes and hides her body determined to never let another man close. Caleb has his own issues after arriving home with his mother to find her so called girlfriend in a compromising position with his father He has swore to never trust another woman. When these two meet can they let down their guards Caleb does it much quicker but Faith has trust problems Can they have a future together You will have to read to see
I do not know if C.R. Grissom is a more recently published author or one who has been around with me just not having read her books but Mouthful stands out as an author to watch. I do not usually read books with college age characters having that part of my life in the distance past. However, this story reminded of all the feelings, hopes and fears of that time in my life. It was if I was transported back in time. Yes, college was just like that even in the dark ages before the internet, smart phones and a zillion apps for social media. Wow.
The issue of body image is not new in books but this author hit so many of those self-incriminating nails right on the head. No matter your age I think most of us could identify with Faith. Then comes Caleb St. John, he did seem too good to be true at first. Still he had parental issues as great as Faith and some of the other supporting characters in the story. This story deals with that too, along with trying to live with narcissistic personalities. The plot is tightly structured with a severe turn in the last quarter of the book that I was not expecting. Also I do wish the title had been different to reflect more of Faith, her courage and her ability to survive the cruelty of others.
An impressive first book for me to read by this author. While the college age drinking is common, it was not a favorite element but the Coco Chanel quote sure was.
4.5 Stars
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ms.Grissom knocked it out of the park with her YA debut of a young college girl who is dealing with trust issues with boys and her body images .This book is relatable to every age group may you be 18 or 54 we all have body image issues ,I wish her mother was there for her while she was going through this instead of writing an advice column and making Faith feel worse by buying her smaller clothes and making her feel even more discouraged about herself.I liked how Caleb came into her life and showed her trust one step at a time and valued her and that not all men treat women like their disposable.
I was given an advance reader’s copy of this book in return for my honest review.
First off this is a book for adults,I don’t usually give a book with so much sex in a five star rating, awe but this time the sex is so much of the story line and the plot just dances around and then dives in to the flames.
I cared very much for Faith, her angst touched me, she had my sympathy as the drama unfolded, with every crisis she won my heart a little bit more.
Debut author, C. R. has a touchdown that touches so many topics that young adults are facing now. It deals with self acceptance, social bullying and trust. This book pulled me in from the very beginning, told in different voices between Caleb, Faith and Beau.
Loved the friendship between Faith and Beau. Beau really helped Faith with accepting who she is and beauty is really what is on the inside.
The relationship between Caleb, football jock and Faith was perfect. Caleb was so patient with Faith and her lack of self confidence with her baby image. Loved watching their relationship progress through out the story.
I identified with many of these topics growing up, so it really hit home. I can’t wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend.
Not only is this a new-to-me author, she’s a new-to-everyone author. As far as I can tell, this is her debut published novel. She makes a pretty good showing for a first timer.
The individual stories of both Faith and Caleb hook me from the start. I feel for them both so deeply, their plights actually made my stomach hurt. They’re both so strong, stronger than they realize, and they pick themselves up and keep on keeping on.
There were a lot of great characters in this book, from Caleb’s football buddies to Faith’s besties. Although I’m sure it didn’t always feel like it to the characters, these two really had such a great support system. Faith’s was smaller, by far, than Caleb’s at first…but hers was also more fierce. (I’m seriously wishing and hoping for a story about Everest.)
Caleb is so wonderful with everyone, but especially Faith. He’s just an all around great guy. The way he pursues Faith is sweet and respectful and it made me love him all the more. These two have chemistry, and Caleb was not about to let that get away. Of course, Faith felt that chemistry just as much. She’s just less open to letting it go anywhere.
I could sometimes feel Caleb’s frustration with Faith, yet he always took the high road and was very understanding. I can’t say I always thought Faith was quite as understanding of Caleb’s issues. She makes some harebrained decisions along the way. And, while she often goes with her gut, she ignored what she knew was right and it got them all in a bit of trouble along the way.
There were times I felt this story had a few too many characters that weren’t exactly needed. I kept waiting for something to happen with a couple of them, for them to either stab the couple in the back or come out as heroes for them. But when none of that happened it kind of made me question their reason for being. There were also a few times the flow got a bit choppy. I feel this is a natural thing with a new author. It was seriously not a bit deal and didn’t take me out of the story. I just felt the rhythm to be a bit less smooth than a seasoned author.
All in all I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. I think her debut book is amazing and she has a ton of potential. Great storyline, great characters, great chemistry. What more can I ask for?
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Others See What You Can’t!!
Wow, this book was a total winner for me bringing hot football player Caleb and feisty Faith through some pretty tough trials in life for the both of them. Caleb is a definite BBF who is sexy with a heart of gold that was betrayed by one of the closest people in his entire life. Faith’s mother is a beauty advice columnist who has been missing most of her life but still had the power to give Faith the worst opinion of herself that has shaped her into the body loathing person she is today.
This book will tear at your heart at times and hopefully have you thinking about how much other’s words can shape those around them. It was done in a way that had you with Caleb and Faith as their true bond of trust and love emerged. I definitely will be grabbing this author’s work again!
For this being Grissom’s first book, she hit it out of the park. I floved this book and am already dying to read more by her. This story focuses on bullying, social media faux pas’, and self-acceptance. This riveting tale feels like reading a fairytale. Caleb is a hot, strong, and, most importantly, a sweet football player that Faith meets at college. He makes the perfect book boyfriend or Prince Charming. Faith has always hidden who she is. Whether it’s behind her clothes, her emotional wall, or isolating herself from mirrors. The quick-witted banter that Faith has makes me love her as a heroine. She’s a “she doesn’t know she’s beautiful” kind of girl, and because of that, she makes friends quickly, unfortunately, she second-guesses herself on love also. Grissom shows how in high school, you are in a little pond with mostly kids you have known your whole life and who have labeled you and left you in your stereotype box. For late bloomers, this is a death sentence. When you go off to college, you’re in an ocean with a variety of fish. Here you can start fresh, get out of your mold. You are no longer labeled, and people begin to see the real you. Some people will still be close-minded, but most are excited to experience the diversity of looks and personalities. This is a wonderful; page-turner read. I could not get enough of my favorite sports-romance trope! A solid 5-stars!
I was given a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book pulled me in from the start and I had a hard time putting it down.
Faith Lacerna had it rough from the start. Her mother left her when she was young and through the years when Faith needed her most, she wasn’t there except to insult her weight and nitpick everything about her life. Faith grew up with low self esteem and when she finally found a boy that paid attention to her, he used her and posted an embarrassing photo on social media which only made Faith’s life worse.
Faith was glad to start college some place where no one knew who she was or what she had done. When she met Caleb St. John she still didn’t trust boys, but Caleb had a way of convincing Faith that he was different and really was interested in her. They started dating and soon fell in love. But the past reared its ugly head and Faith soon found herself in another embarrassing situation that ruined their relationship. With the help of her new friends, Faith finally sees what they have all been seeing in her all along. Now it’s up to her to finally put the past to rest and make amends with Caleb and move forward with their life.
I really enjoyed this book. I was able to identify with Faith and the things she went through as I felt the same way growing up. To this day I still struggle with self-esteem issues and social anxieties. I liked seeing how Faith was able to move on and finally find love and a new life in college. I have never read any of this author’s books before and will definitely be looking for more in the future. She went into depth with her characters and their stories, along with their friends and family issues. Everything just added up to a unique and inspiring book.
Mouthful is a terrific new adult novel. It has meaty characters and a captivating plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a novel for any age to enjoy.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Mouthful was a nice read from a new to me author.
C.R. Grissom made a very good job with the characters’ depictions and their personal growth.
Faith is a young girl who has had some bad experience at high school with her classmates so she is so glad to transfer to California to start anew at the college. Here she meets Caleb a great guy who will try to help her to feel good and special in her own skin but a wounded soul is difficult to heal and their relationship will be littered with obstacles.
I recommend to read this new adult story because it’s relatable even if the characters are still so young, they give everyone a beautiful message.