Julia loves her small town in Nebraska but when her family inherits a ton of money and some property in Manhattan, they all need to move to the city and live in their new home for six months in order to fulfill the terms of the will. She and her twin brother enroll in their new school where Julia is immediately a fish out of water. Damion is one of the uber wealthy kids who go to her new school. When he’s tasked with helping Julia get her math skills up to speed he agrees to keep it a secret. His presence by her side draws some unwanted attention, but also curiosity from the “in” crowd. She and Damion are drawn to each other because of their differences but Damion’s harboring a secret that might break Julia and harm her family.
A fish out of water theme in a young adult novel is not really a new concept, but the uber-wealthy setting and mystery surrounding their inheritance peaked my interest and Lynn Painter’s excellent writing skills kept me reading until the last page. Admittedly I was a bit more interested in Damion’s story than I was in Julia’s. I like my heroine’s with a bit more grit and determination but I could definitely see their fascination with each other and why they were drawn together. Julia’s small town charm and naiveté paired well with Damions jaded rich boy persona.
Damion’s parents took the evil role in this story and I kind of felt like they were let off a little too easy at the end of the novel. I won’t spoil the story but I will say that part of Julia’s charm for Damion was her strong family unit, one which he wasn’t fortunate enough to have himself. His great-uncle we the one family member that gave Damion a semblance of normality and after putting together all the puzzle pieces it was easy to see Damion fall in love with that family just as much as his uncle had.
I don’t read a ton of YA novels anymore, but when Lynn Painter has a new novel coming out I have a 50/50 chance that it will be young adult, and I always do read those because I’m such a fan of her writing. This wasn’t the best one I’ve read but I did enjoy the characters and this different world that she chose to drop them into. ❤️❤️❤️❣️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
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