Author: Tamara Ireland Stone

Synopsis:

If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be trulycrazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Praise for Time Between Us
"A beautifully written, unique love story."
-Melissa Marr, New York Times best-selling author of The Wicked Lovely series

"A compelling story of love, fate, and consequences with plenty of sigh-worthy moments, this novel is the perfect choice for readers who want a romance that leaves them with something to think about when it's over."
-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A warm, time-bending romance [that] will have readers rooting for the couple that keeps daring fate."
-Publishers Weekly

"The story will hold readers with its twists and turns, present and future; its love, sadness, and anger; and especially, its surprising secrets."
-Booklist

"Romantic and passionate, Stone's debut novel is swoon-worthy...will resonate with readers who enjoy their romance mixed with adventure."
-School Library Journal

"Time Between Us is the very best kind of love story --heart-pounding, intense, and unputdownable!"
-Elizabeth Scott, author of Bloom and Perfect You

**ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.

Sometimes a book just calls to you. Sometimes it consumes your every waking thought until you can finally pick it up. Sometimes…..when you get an opportunity to read a book before anyone else you realize just how lucky you are, because you just knew from the moment you saw it that it was going to be special, perfect, just what you’ve been dying to read. That’s exactly how I felt about this book-From the moment I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. There was just something about the blurb that spoke to me on a visceral level, and I knew that if I got it from the publisher, I’d love it. Not often do I like my ARCs…but from the moment I opened this book, it owned my soul.

This is a story about a girl with OCD. A girl who, for all intents and purposes, hasn’t told anyone about her condition. The dark thoughts that plague her mind daily make it difficult to function in every day activities that others take for granted. She struggles to maintain the facade of being a ‘normal’ girl around her popular friends who expect only the best from her, and she can’t find peace at night, so she has to take sleeping medications. Her nature is to latch onto something and grip it tight, to search and investigate until all outlets are exhausted and she has enough information to satisfy her hunger for any information concerning what she became obsessed with in the first place.

Then one day she meets a new friend, Caroline, and what she shows her will change her life. But at the head of Poet’s Corner (The place Caroline showed her) is a boy who doesn’t like her much, but she can’t seem to figure out why. She’s told she isn’t allowed to join the secret club, that she isn’t welcome. But Samantha knows in her heart that this club is just what she needs-she knows that it’s just the outlet her OCD and inner turmoils need and that it could possibly change the way she thinks every day-it might be the thing that helps her focus her thoughts and dilute the obsession she feels at every waking moment. So, she sets out to prove herself not only to the group, but to the boy who has shunned her without a backward glance. Why does he look at her like he can’t stand to be near her…and why does it bother her so much?

This book touched me so deeply. It isn’t simply that Samantha has OCD and struggles internally, it’s how she struggles. It’s the way it crushes her spirit again and again, yet she continues to fight and claw and strive to be the person she wants to be. She broke down so many times, yet she let no one see how broken she was. I loved that. I loved how strong her character was and how she never pitied herself…well, not a ton, anyway.

But what I loved most?? I’ll just come out and say it: AJ. I loved loved loved AJ. He was sweet, kind, thoughtful, and he induced so many butterflies that I was choking on them. I think there’s something to be said for a subtle, YA romance. Every look, every touch, every moment means something…it’s not fleeting and the romance doesn’t rely on sex or physical contact. We get to build a deep, meaningful relationship through words and crucial experiences. And when they finally do touch, kiss, or get physical?? It’s explosive.

Without being able to use quotes I feel a tad naked, but I think I said everything that needed to be said without them. I loved reading this story so much, and I was so so sad when it started to come to an end. AJ and Samantha were two amazing characters that I became viscerally attached to and I never wanted their story to end. It was beautiful, heartfelt, and I never once felt the writing was forced when it came to her OCD. It was as natural as breathing and the author’s words flowed so seamlessly that it became difficult to put the book down and separate myself from this amazing story. I am so appreciative I got this ARC, but I cannot wait to read the final work-I am pre-ordering the hardback as soon as I finish this review. I will definitely be looking at other works from this author and I will be re-reading this story over and over again. Every Last Word.

**I will be adding quotes once the book is released**

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MY FIRST NETGALLEY APPROVAL FROM DISNEY!!!

And wouldn’t ya know it, I really wanted this one XD