When Caleb Gray heads to the Texas coast to mentally prepare for a future he isn’t sure he wants, the last person he expects to see is Catie Dixon. Yeah, their mothers have been planning their wedding since they were born, but he and Catie are most definitely not friends. He can’t see her as anything but the annoying kid who followed him everywhere. Except, it’s really bothering him that everyone … him that everyone is staring at her in that bikini…
Catie got over her crush on Caleb ages ago. So why can’t she see past his ripped body or how unsettled he seems? She’s got her own problems, though. Her future has been set for years and now she’s dreaming of pulling the plug. A week at their families’ beach house is just what she needs to pull herself together, and she has no intention of letting Caleb back into her heart…which would be a whole lot easier if he’d put on a shirt.
But a forced week of togetherness full of beach parties,
waterslide mishaps, bonfires, and roller coasters sparks more than an understanding. What do you do when the person standing in the way of your future is the one person you grew up hating…but now don’t?
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains summer thunderstorms on the beach, an, er…awkward waterslide incident, and an infuriatingly hot boy who you’ll no longer be able to ignore.
Each book in the First Kiss Hypothesis series is STANDALONE:
* The First Kiss Hypothesis
* Love and Other Secrets
* Stuck With You
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When they were children Caleb Gray and Catie Dixon use to constantly be thrown together by their parents; family outings, social gatherings, they were always joined at the hip. Then as they began to age, and make new friends in middle school the pair began to drift apart. Ultimately becoming mere strangers to one another… but little do they know they are about to be thrown together again, this time by their mistake.
With their first years of college looming, being smothered by their parents expectations, and questioning their futures, these two are both in need of a little downtime. Which places them at their families shared beach house, and facing a reunion they never saw coming!
Between the pages of Stuck with You lies a sweet story of young love, friendship, and second chances. Watching these two reunite and try to stand their ground and resist their attraction to one another was quite entertaining. Their stolen glances, awkward interactions, and secret swoons reminded me just how sweet and innocent young love can be… they had me smiling more than a few times. I have to say this first time read left quite the impression, it’s well penned words warmed my heart and kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish! Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley request, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
A sweet end of summer read!
I enjoyed Caleb and Catie’s story–a forced proximity (at a beach house on the gulf coast, the poor dears 😉 ), frenemies-to-lovers, unrequited crush story with a dash of figuring out what you want for yourself vs what your parents have planned.
Plus, did I mention the beach? Oh, and Caleb brought his dog, Mo. I’m not sure what else you could possibly need… 😉
Though this is the third book in the series (Caleb is friends with The First Kiss Hypothesis ‘s Eli and Love and Other Secrets ‘s Alex) it would work just fine as a standalone, especially since for the most part it’s just Caleb and Catie at the beach house, far away from the other series characters. Except for Mo, of course…but he’s not a terribly strict chaperone…
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
3.5 STARS
Clean Contemporary Romance; Young Adult
First Person; dual-POV
Book #3 of The First Kiss Hypothesis series; can be read as a standalone (I haven’t read the first two books and had the full experience with this one)
“We were born to be together, Catie Dixon, right?
She laughs into my chest. “Yes.We were.”
by Caleb
WHAT HAS REALLY WORKED FOR ME
Addictiveness: 3.5/5 It was easy, sweet read, with a few cute moments. As addictive as coffee brewing!!!
Character: hero 4/5, heroine 4/5, secondary characters 4/5, growth 5/5, real 4/5 Sweet characters with complex personalities and depth. They were kind, mature teenagers, with good head on their shoulders.
Caleb was a good, kind, sweet, respectful boy that was feeling the pressure of what he wanted to become and what his family had planned for him. It was refreshing to read a hero that wasn’t a bit of a jerk and a womanizer. Yes, it was mentioned several times that he had been a jerk in the past, but all we saw was him maturing into a nice, young boy. I liked how he respected his and Catie’s family and how he respected girls in general.
Catie was a sweet young woman that was starting her last year of high school filled with doubts of the future. Just a normal teen with the same pressure and unsure feelings that I’ve seen two of my three teenagers going through. It felt very real their struggles, it really resonated with me. She has had a crush on Caleb for a while, but he has been sort of a jerk. Now, she is afraid of trusting him and their relationship.
I’ve liked Catie’s best friends, her grandfather and her family in general.
All characters were easy to love, connect and understand!
Cover: art 5/5, title 5/5, color-font 5/5, buy 5/5 I’m obsessed with book covers. I love to find snippets of the stories within the art. This is amazing art work. It feels handmade for this story. It gives the reader the setting, the beach; it gives the light offers the sweet vibe; their hands gives the romantic atmosphere and their clothes tell me teenager. I love the title, perfect for the story. The colors and font very sweet and fitting. I would definitely buy this book by its cover, without reading the blurb.
Freshness: 4/5 I’ve been reading a lot of YA lately, I guess because I have three teenagers at home. This one was refreshing. It felt a little bit different than most out there. This wasn’t about bullying, or social status or sex, this story was about self discoveries and teenagers angst that most teens go through at the passage from high school to college. As fresh as mint tea!
Plot: believable 4/5, conflict 5/5, dialogue 4/5, ending 5/5, enjoyment 4/5, opening 3.5/5, pace 3.5/5, setting 4/5, subplots 4/5, twists 3/5 Ok opening and great ending. Believable plot with dialogues well written. It wasn’t a fast-paced story, but it felt ok. I didn’t get a twist here, we sort of expected where this story was going, but I have to say the ending it was a good surprise! I’ve loved the conflict. It doesn’t feel that big or special, but it is very real for teenagers. Great level of satisfaction!
Romance: believable 3.5/5, chemistry 3/5, description 4/5, development 4/5, steam 3/5 This is a love story as much as this is a story of coming of age. They were discovering themselves, by doing that, they have discovered each other. But it felt like the forever kind of love. They built a good foundation for that. As hot as jalapeño pepper (medium heat)!!!
Writing Style: 4/5 I’ve enjoyed the author’s writing style. I liked how she veered away from the “it topic”of right now. I also truly appreciated how it all felt believable. I look forward to read more from her.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Plot: I really enjoyed this book, but it never gave me chills. I needed a bigger climax, a moment of angst. From the moment the started I knew how it was going to end, I had no doubts at any moment. It didn’t keep me at the edge of my seat. It was good, but not wonderful!!!
MY THOUGHTS
This maybe book #3 of a series, but it is a standalone novel. I haven’t read the other two and never felt lost within the story.
I really felt close to this book. I have three kids (not kids, I guess so would say), they are 20, 18 and 15. If felt a lot like what my son is going through right now. Not our plans for him, but the doubts and uncertainties he is feeling about what comes next in his life.
27.5/35 STARS – 3.5 STARS (between 24.5 stars and 27.5 stars)
Addictiveness: 3.5 Character: 4 Cover: 5 Freshness: 4 Plot: 3.5 Romance: 3.5 Writing Style: 4
Action 0/5
Angst 1/5
Darkness 0/5
Humor 3/5
Romance 5/5
Suspense/Mystery 0/5
Would I recommend? Sure, for everyone that enjoys a coming of age romance.
Would I re-read this book/series? I don’t know if I would re-read the book, only time will tell. But I want to read the series.
Would I read more from the author? Yes!
You MAY read this because you have been following the series; you SHOULD read this because you like sweet romance; you MUST read this for a very believable teenage romance!!!
After reading Love and Other Secrets (book two in this series), I was really excited to read Caleb’s story. I loved this book so much that once I started, I couldn’t put it down!!
Catie and Caleb were basically destined to be together. Their parents are best friends and business partners. Caleb didn’t really seem to be down with the destiny set out for him though so before moving to Florida, pushed Catie away. When they both end up at the family beach house for the weekend, they have no choice but to hang together. Over this weekend together, I loved how they pushed each other to acknowledge their goals and acknowledge their feelings for each other.
This YA/NA book was the perfect amount of swoon, sigh, and angst!!
After loving the first two books in the series (1st was a 4 star and 2nd a 5 star) I was excited to get my hands on this one. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the swooniness of the first two. I wasn’t a fan of the two of them in a beach house alone (due to age of Catie). I also didn’t connect to either Caleb or Catie at all. So much was brought up of their growing up together which seemed more interesting than the present to me. Overall the two characters just didn’t invest me like before. If you can overlook the lack of present relationship development it is a quick read. I think my favorite part was the dinner at the professor’s.
Stuck With You by Christina Mandelski a five-star read that you will keep you stuck between the pages. This was a sublime beech read, it really puts you in the mood, Catie was a great character, her friends I didn’t like as much, but they are teenage girls so you can’t expect miracles. Caleb was not what I was expecting, and he wormed his way in, he was someone that just had a great way about him, you can imagine him going far, especially when you get to know his foibles when he was younger. Overall this is a great story and one you won’t want to miss.