The Boy I Grew Up With Book Review

November 2, 2018 / 0 comments

The Boy I Grew Up With Book ReviewThe Boy I Grew Up With by Tijan
Published by Self-Published on October 29th 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Format: ebook
Source: ARC
Purchase @ AMAZON  or  BN
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Rating 

I have loved Channing Monroe all my life.

In first grade, he asked for my Trapper Keeper.
I hit him in the head with it.
Third grade, we were best friends. We kissed in seventh grade.
Eighth grade, he turned into a bad boy and the rest was a tumultuous storm.

Growing up, the problem was never love for us.
Bad times. Good times. There were times when I felt our love in every inch of my body, vibrating, making me feel like it could bring me back to life.

The problem was us.

The problem is that we’re living in two different worlds now.
Fallen Crest and its millionaires for me. Roussou and their criminals for him. I was thriving in mine and he was running his.

But…

But there were nights I felt we couldn’t be further apart than we were, and there were nights I felt we shared the same heartbeat.

When was it time?
When was it time to either sacrifice, make a change, or walk away from the boy I grew up with?

Angie’s Thoughts:

 

The Boy I Grew Up With is such an amazing read. We get to read about Channing and Heather. I never knew I could love a couple as much as I did them.

Everything isn’t perfect in their relationship. It’s flawed and real in so many ways. They have so many ups and downs that it leaves you to question if they were really meant to be together. But just as quickly as you question it, Tijan shows us that they are perfect for each other in every way possible.

Heather is such a strong heroine. She’s been through a lot and my heart went out to her. There were things that I don’t think I could’ve been strong through but not Heather. She’s fierce. Her loyalty to Channing and her friends and family is to be admired. She’s resilient.

Channing is strong too but in different ways. He’s loyal to a fault and that was somewhat some of the problems him and Heather had. His crew was first where Heather should’ve been. I don’t fault him though. They’re his family and he’s been there with them from the beginning, like Heather.

I loved this book so much. It captivated me from the very first page and never let me go. I just finished it this morning and I can’t get it out of my head. Tijan’s writing has become a force to be reckoned with. I’ve loved every book I’ve read by her but not nearly as much as Heather and Channing’s story.

Verdict:

Purchase Now:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2OfcOQ1
iBooks/Kobo/Nook: https://www.books2read.com/u/3J8wRg
Paperback: https://tinyurl.com/yacs5fto
www.tijansbooks.com/the-boy-i-grew-up-with.html

 

EXCERPT

“What are you doing here?”

His arms tightened a little around me, and his hand rubbed over my leg. I was buck naked in his arms. I should’ve dressed, but I didn’t have the energy.

His breath felt good on my neck as he answered. “I was up with the guys. I missed you.”

Meaning: he’d either been fighting or drinking with the group of guys he considered more family than family.

I lifted one of his hands to inspect the knuckles, rubbing a thumb over them. “They don’t look bruised up.”

His body tensed, all six feet of pure muscle.

Channing had a face for the fashion runways, a body of tattoos that could appear in any magazine, and an attitude that made him a leader among the rowdiest and most criminally inclined. He was whip smart, ruthless, cunning, cocky, and had a charming side that had started some of our fights. He could be too charming at times, putting his name on a lot of girls’ to-do lists. It’d been a problem for us since we were kids, and though it’d gotten better over the last few years, I knew women came onto him regularly.

But being transparent here, that wasn’t the cause of our problems lately.

His voice was quiet. “I wasn’t fighting.”

I turned and tried to smell his breath. There was a slight trace of bourbon, but that might’ve been mine. “You don’t seem drunk either.”

He chuckled, his eyes studying every inch of my face. He did this when he was trying to figure out where I was going with my statements and if that’d take us into a fight. We acted like we were married and in our sixties by now.

His thumb went to my mouth and pressed there, softly. “I really was just hanging out with the guys. Cruz came over, said you closed for him. I gambled, thought maybe you’d be up—or not.” That dimple again. “I was hoping just to slide in next to you.”

I sighed, and his thumb caressed my cheek before his hand returned to my leg. I moved back, resting in his arms again.

 

 

About Tijan

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new YA series along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores.



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