Such a sweet read! I read this book over the course of a day, and I would definitely recommend this to an adult looking for a quick pick-me-up or a young reader looking for an original tale of personal challenges and feel-good endings.
100 Days of Sunlight was a unique story of two young adults finding their way through life and discovering first love. Emmons did a fantastic job weaving the story together. The characters had depth - from fear and anxiety to joy and sass, the feelings were always palpable. I especially loved the boys portrayed in this book. The dialog between Weston and Rudy (best friend) as well as Weston and his brothers were both realistic and heart-felt.
Definitely liked the book, and will recommend it to the young readers at my library.
I also want to shout out the amazing cover! Super fun and eye-catching!

What a sweet and touching story!

Both Tessa and Weston had their lives turned upside down with unfortunate accidents, but each dealt with their situation in much different ways. Tessa was angry and chose to isolate herself, while Weston had decided to not let his disability limit him. When Weston learned of Tessa's situation, he wanted to be a positive force for her, and help her see that although she did lose her sight, she didn't lose everything.

Alright, I will admit, that Weston's motives weren't purely altruistic. He did really want to help Tessa, but he also wanted to be around someone, who saw beyond his disability. He was tired of being pitied, and wanted to be treated the same as everyone else. He found that with Tessa. And, although she didn't know it, Tessa had someone by her side, who could related to her situation. I saw this set up as a win-win for both characters, and thought Emmons did a beautiful job taking us on this journey.

Reading about Weston's accident and everything he did to regain as much of his life as he could made me really love him. His positivity and drive was moving, and I just found him to be a wonderful person. But, he was also very real. He made mistakes, he made bad choices, and he had to live with the repercussions. However, he was good friend, a fantastic big brother, and a loving son. All his good qualities outweighed his bad ones and endeared him to me.

I thought the structure of the book worked really well, too. There were five sections for the five senses, which alternated between Tessa and Westons points of view. I always like being in the characters' heads, and therefore, appreciated the dual POVs. But, I also liked the flashbacks. We slowly learned the full story behind Weston's amputation and recovery, and it helped me really understand Weston and his motivations.

I am a sucker for strong family ties, and Emmons gave us two incredible families in this story. Tessa was being raised by her grandparents, who were so loving and wonderful. Their affection for Tessa was apparent, but they were also very patient with her during this difficult time. They gave her space to come to terms with her situation, but also gently nudged her when necessary. And, Weston's family was really, really lovely. The bond between him and his brothers was something to envy. Their love was obvious in everything they did for each other, and I adored all the scenes they shared with each other.

Overall: This was a beautiful story of friendship, family, healing, acceptance, and facing adversity. It made me laugh and cry and smile and swoon, and it left me with a heart full of hope. What more could I ask for?

I don’t usually read contemporary romance, but hey, summer’s the time for branching out, right? And I’m glad I did! This book was a fun, fairly quick read that left me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings afterward. It reminds me of Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist, but it’s told through 2 POVs instead of just one.

My favs:

all the adorable not-dates
that COVER ❤
the timeline strategy of the POVs
Some not-so-favs:

all the cursing
Weston was too perfect??
the faith element
Okay, so let me elaborate on some of my quibbles with this one. First, I had no clue that there would be so much cursing from the male protag? I really wish it had been kept out of the book entirely.

Second, as much as I love Weston…he just felt too perfect, ya know? Especially with his emotional arc throughout the story. I felt like his story didn’t really need Tessa, even if Tessa’s needed him–almost like his story had already been wrapped up before he ever met Tessa. I kinda wish they’d had more emotional angst together, instead of walking through most of it separately.

Last, I guess I expected more from the faith-side of the story. (Disclaimer: I have no idea where the author is at belief-wise–I’m just going off of what was represented in the story.) While Tessa’s grandfather was a pastor of a church, and they mentioned reading Scripture together, going to church, and even part of a sermon, I never really felt like it influenced Tessa personally. It seemed like that was just something they did, rather than something they believed. That really disappointed me–I would’ve loved to see a Tessa that wrestled with the spiritual struggle of trusting through her trials, and having faith despite not having all the answers. Same thing for Weston–it’s hinted at in the story that he comes from a Jewish background, but it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on how he lives his life.

Anyhoo, while I didn’t love this story as much as I loved its cover (story of my life, tbh), it was still a fun read! Fans of Kasie West and Josh Sundquist should definitely give this one a try.

Content warnings: frequent strong language, PTSD triggers/trauma, harassment against a female, and light kissing.

For more reviews, check out my blog at gabriellenblog.wordpress.com!

**I was giving an ARC copy, thank you so much Abbie!

Way. Too. Amazing. For. Words.
(Although I shall try my best, of course, because this wouldn't be a good review if I couldn't exactly write anything down 😂)

100 Days of Sunlight is a book PERFECT for people who have, of course, a handicap, and honestly maybe even depression or self-doubt.


Abbie knew exactly what she was doing as a writer: Her character sibling, friendship, and love relationships were on POINT, and her character arcs and thematic statements were heartbreakingly wonderful.

I'm a tough (I suppose judgemental might be the word?) reader/writer, so books rarely get to me in certain ways, like, for example, I never cry. This book, though, got to me.
No, I did not cry, but I didn't need too for this book, if that makes any sense? My heart just burst and broke and shattered and healed and for real I had goosebumps and static shivers coursing through me at the end of the book because it was just...so amazing.

This book was TOO amazing, honestly. I soaked up every sentence, and I know I'll never forget this book, ever.

Sadly, though, out of this perfect book, I found one singular fault. The book had WAY. TOO. MUCH. BAD. LANGUAGE.
It shocked me and disappointed me to the extreme when I realized, and had to hurriedly skip through all the terrible language. To be honest, it made me angry by the end because, even when I would switch the words out for non-bad things, some of the time they didn't even make grammatical sense to even be in the sentence!

Although thoroughly disappointed in the choice of words, I still love this book to bits and pieces, and, other than forever being wistful that Abbie had a different choice of wording, I will love it forever and recommend it to EVERYONE, no matter who they are or what genre they read in...I know that they'll love this book forever.

A charming YA tale, 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons is the story of teenage blogger Tessa who temporarily loses her sight following a car accident. Struggling to adjust to her new circumstances she turns away from the poetry and blogging which were a huge part of her life, and holes herself away in her room.. When her worried grandparents come up with the bright idea of hiring someone to help her type her blog etc, a twist of fate brings Weston Ludovico to the family's front door. Weston might be the perfect person to understand the fear and frustration that Tessa is feeling, he is a double amputee who lost both legs at the age of thirteen and had to do a lot of soul searching of his own to come to terms with his new reality. While Tessa is initially resistant to the idea, Weston is determined to help her find the beauty all around her and help her to realise that losing her sight temporarily is not the end of her world. Weston meanwhile is enjoying being treated just like everyone else and not a sob story and is determined that Tessa will never find out about his disability. As the teens spend more time together they inevitably become closer, but as Tessa's sight starts to return, Weston must face a tough decision, and risks losing her either way.
I'm not always a fan of contemporary YA romance, but this book is so sweet and charming that I could not resist. I loved the strong and funny character of Weston and found his backstory both tragic and compelling The slow build of the relationship between Weston and Tessa was very enjoyable, and seeing Tessa lose some of her initial stiffness and reserve was fun. If I had to pick a fault it is that it was all just a little too syrupy here and there, and Tessa's recovery felt a little rushed and a little too on the nose at day 100 but that is a minor complaint about what was overall a very enjoyable book. I also have to say that the cover is so beautiful and eye catching, and perfect for the book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher,all opinions are my own.

I loved the representation in this book. The main character was interesting and I loved that she was a blogger who wrote poetry. I thought it was really cute but I hated the deceipt by both the love interest and the grandmother, I didn't feel that this was a good message for a YA book.

I have to admit, I missed the fact that this was YA until I started reading. It didn't affect me enjoyment of it at all though, as it was still really engaging, and the plot and tone didn't feel in any way juvenile.

Emmons managed to perfectly capture what it is so struggle, to have difficulty in your life and to attempt to overcome it whilst also maintaining positivity. It was a beautiful, engaging and interesting novel that I absolutely devoured in less than a day.

I can honestly say I will never forget the beauty of this story, or how it made me feel. I hope to live by its message forever

2.75/5
Disclaimer: I don't know the author. I went into her goodreads profile to see if she was an ownvoices author and found out she has a booktube channel, which I honestly hadn't heard of before. I don't know her as a person and none of these opinions have anything to do with her.

I didn't have one big issue with this book, I don't think it's necessarily problematic (I wanted to read OV review but I couldn't find one) but a few things didn't sit right with me.

First of all, the writing felt too childish, like it didn't belong to a 16yo. The MC has a poetry blog that's kind of popular? but it doesn't reflect on her day-to-day speech. Not that I was looking for a lyrical writing style or anything, but there were some uncommon words that she used pretty regularly on her poetry and it didn't reflect on the way she talked. And it felt like she didn't have the emotional intelligence that writing so much poetry would bring. The LI had a lot of chapters that were set three years in the past, when he was 13, and he didn't evolve even one bit since then. He's less of an asshole, I guess, but he spoke exactly the same and the rest of his personality didn't change much, and it's weird bc early adolescence is a time of MANY changes, and we don't get to see that.

The love interest makes the MC be interested in him by going to her house over and over again, even after she's told him not to many times. And the girl's grandparents help him. Even though it all went well in the end, I don't think that's the right path to make two characters like each other.

The story went by too fast, too. The MC is blind for 100ish days, and that's a lot of time and we would've had to feel the despair and fear the MC felt for that time. We get told she's angry and bored and scared and dizzy a lot of times, but we don't really feel the time pass, if that makes sense. The story begins and ends and that's kind of it. I can't say yet if the story is forgettable bc I finished it this evening, but I can already tell it hasn't left much of a mark on me.

I really liked how the story incorporated social media, you can really tell the author is young enough to know what she's talking about. It was very organic, and I wish it had played a bigger part in the story.

While I am outside the age range of this book's target audience, I have always enjoyed reading YA stories--especially when it includes characters who are flawed, or challenged, in ways some of us will never experience. Such voices are important to the YA canon and give a depth to the genre that can be appreciated at any age.

That said, I enjoyed reading the love story between Tessa and Weston.

Tessa is temporarily blind--after a horrific car accident--Weston lost his legs due to poor youthful decision-making. Kismet brings the two together, and love eventually blooms, but Weston isn't confident that a sighted Tessa will think him enough, once she knows the truth of his disability.

Make no mistake, this is written as a feel-good story. Tessa and Weston face personal challenges but neither is so broken as to make the reader feel uncertain they'll recover. Their coupling is more about two people making a spiritual journey, together, and finding common ground in the faith they begin to have in each other's ability to fill in the missing pieces.

The only questionable relationship is the one which exists between Weston and Rudy: I didn't think it was necessary to have them coming to blows--literally--as a way of establishing some semblance of a brotherhood. Especially since it was so clear how loving and wonderful Weston is to his brothers.

Also, with technology being as prevalent as it is today, it was sometimes hard to understand why Tessa wouldn't use her phone to dictate the poems she could no longer write--why bother with a notebook at all?

That was curious to me.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I'm sure others will as well.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Abbie Emmons for this advanced eGalley. Opinions were not influenced by early receipt of the author's work

Today on the blog I’ll be reviewing Abbie Emmon’s debut novel, 100 Days of Sunlight. Thanks Abbie for sending me a copy of your book to review! Read on if you like sweet romances and waffles.


WHAT IS AN ARC?
Before we jump into the review I thought I’d do a quick explanation of what an ARC is for those of you who might be unsure!

On my blog I review a variety of books, across a broad range of genres. As well as reviewing books that have already been released for publication, I also review those that are due to be published in the upcoming months.

In exchange for an honest review, I receive a copy of a book from the author or publisher. My opinion is honest, and I will tell you if I liked a book or not. I haven’t been coerced into giving a positive review by the author in any way.

If you want to know more about ARC reviewing, feel free to ask a question in the comments below!

With that out of the way… Let’s get into todays review!

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons is about Tessa Dickinson, a sixteen year old poet, waffle lover and blogger. When Tessa is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days she feels like it’s not just her vision that she’s lost, but her whole world.

Scared that the loss of her vision may be permanent Tessa withdraws into herself, growing distant and cold from those she loves. So when her grandparents advertise in a local newspaper for a typist to help her regain her passion for writing, they’re surprised by who applies for the job.

Weston Ludovico is a boy with an enthusiasm for life, a penchant for fighting and no legs. He knows the first hand the fear and despair that can threaten to overtake when your life changes so drastically.

Determined to help Tessa see the world in a new way, despite her blindness, an unlikely friendship is formed. Tessa doesn’t know about Weston’s , disability and that’s the way he wants it. But as the teens grow closer what will happen when Tessa’s vision returns? Weston will have to choose, either he overcomes his fear of her seeing him, or he vanishes from her life.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK?
This book was such a sweet contemporary romance. Aimed at young adults (12 years plus) Emmons did a great job of highlighting the sweetness that is first love.

The anxiety and fear, but also joy and compassion that the characters felt was raw at times, beautifully written. I enjoyed (in a heartbreaking kind of way) seeing the determination of the characters to overcome the obstacles before them. Whether that be, physical limitations, social situations or family dynamics.

On a personal level, *LOOK OUT, it’s about to get mushy!* this book was so sweet because it reminded me of when my husband and I met. We were childhood sweethearts (we were fifteen when we got together which I now realise is super young haha!) the innocent fun Weston and Tessa got up to reminded me of my husband and I and how much joy there was in being friends before we were anything more. It’s nice to read a book that is so refreshingly sweet.

The importance of family is a strong theme in this book. Without giving away any spoilers the relationship the characters have to their families in this book is refreshing in a genre that can at times rely too heavily on broken family dynamics.

The cover of this book is stunning! Abbie Emmon’s designed it herself which I am in awe of. It’s lovely and pretty and YELLOW. Yellow is an awesome colour. Once you read the book you notice all the little details she has incorporated into the cover like waffles, flowers, ukulele and birds that all link into the story.


WHAT I LIKED LEAST ABOUT THIS STORY?
This book could be accused by some as being a titchy bit predictable. But I think overall it did some great things with character and prose that any predictability that it could potentially be accused of is forgivable. That being said, without giving away spoilers the ending of this book was really well done.

Readers should be aware there is some mild swearing in this book, but it didn’t bother me personally as it was very mild and occasional. Everyone has their own preference when it comes to cussing in books.

I wish I could talk more about this book… but you’ll just have to wait till it comes out! And you don’t have to wait long, thankfully!

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I GET MY HANDS ON THIS BOOK?
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons will be published on August 7th 2019. If you have a Goodreads account be sure to put it on your ‘Want to read’ list so you don’t miss it!

You can pre-order digital copies of this book from Amazon, but for hardback or paperback copies you’ll have to wait til August friends.

If you enjoyed this review and want to know more about this book please do go and check out Abbies website here. Support indie authors!

LET’S CONNECT
Thanks for reading todays post guys! I hope you enjoyed it.

What books are coming out soon that you’re excited about? Let me know in the comments below!

This is one of those debut novels that has a fresh flavor to it that reminds me of wattpad: an original story that although not perfect can be forgiven because you can feel the author's love and excitement in every page.
What I liked the most about this book was the characters, more specifically the fact that they have to live with a disability and that is not a theme we see much in YA books.
Tessa is a writer that has lost her sight and although the doctors tell her it is probable that she will get it back in a 100 days, that still leaves her to learn how to be blind.
Weston is no stranger to living with a disability so when he hears about Tessa he immediately offers to help her. That help not being wanted does not stop him at all.
This was a very interesting book to read because we get to learn how Tessa has to navigate her life when she can't see: how she bathes, how she dresses, how she writes, how she finds her phone and knows the time, ...
Weston could be a little too intense and his flashbacks were not my favorite and Tessa could be a drama queen but both characters behaved with a lot more maturity than their sixteen years (with the great exception of when it came to each other).
Although this was a bit beneath my expectations for this book, I will definitely be keeping an eye on Abbie Emmons and whatever she comes up with next.

“So once upon a time... there was this bird.”

Wow, this book was amazing. Tessa had an accident and went temporarily blind and then Weston comes into her life. He knows what it’s like to think that you cannot do anything anymore, or at least not be able to do things that you used to love to do. He lost his legs but he believed he could do anything and he did. Of course, Tessa doesn’t know he lost his legs because he had her grandparents promise him that they wouldn’t tell her and a friendship was formed.

This story is about hope and believing in yourself. If Weston can fight for what he wants and be able to rise above everything that happened to him, we sure as hell can too. he taught not only Tessa but me too.

This book comes out August 7 and I highly suggest picking it up.

this was such a great coming of age story. I absolutely love Tessa and Warren. Their personalities jump off the page and the descriptive life lessons will stick with me for a long time. This story had me laughing, crying, cheering and every other emotion I can think of. I could not put this book down and read it in one day! I look forward to more from this author. One of my new favorite books of all time.

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Abbie Emmons for the opportunity!

OH MY GOD, WHERE DO I START?

When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I've never heard about Abbie Emmons before. But I was so drawn to the story and the cover was so perfect. I thought to myself that this could be one of my favorites of 2019 (no kidding!) because it was calling to me and guess what? IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

Weston and Tessa's characters are so relatable in the sense that even if this is not a usual happening in our daily lives, there are people who experience what both of them are experiencing. It's truly about how you make every second count by not giving up on things that matter. That sometimes, all you need is one big push (and that push might just be a person and not an instance).

I also love how family played a large role in the plot. From Tessa's grandparents, to Weston's brothers, you could see how love is shown in different aspects of the story. I also truly ship Weston and Rudy's relationship. It's the kind of bromance that's so cute yet so important.

I could go on and on, and we'll never finish. But I really couldn't recommend this book enough. I could see myself talking about this book and recommending it to the people I know.

Abbie Emmons definitely left an indelible mark on my heart. I'm not ashamed to say that.

100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons, 311 pages.
Abbie Emmons, 2019. $7.99
Language: R (95 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
What happens when life as you knew it is taken away from you? Weston and Tessa have both had this experience because of accidents that have taken away quintessential parts of themselves that made them who they are—legs and sight, respectively. But it’s during these points of life that they must make a difficult choice: how hard will they fight to live the lives they want?
The only reason that this book is “advisable” instead of “essential” is because of the swear count. Honestly, the romance is a little cheesy, and, at times while I was reading, I felt that Emmons was skimming over time and details that could have been expounded upon, but the meat of the story—the message—has hit me hard. Reading about Weston’s and Tessa’s experiences helps me feel like I can conquer the world—I want to be like them, to pinpoint the obstacles I let hold me back so that I can attack them head on. Right now, having just finished reading their story, I am seeing and feeling the world differently, and I never want that to go away. Emmons’s writing has changed me—and I hope it’s permanent.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 ⭐️

16 year old poetry blogger Tessa Dickson goes temporarily blind after a tragic car accident. Her doctors tell her that her vision will return in roughly 12 weeks, or 100 days. Her grandparents put an ad in the paper for someone to come help her type for her blog, and 16 year old Weston Ludovico answers the call. But he’s got problems of his own, a double amputee who lost his legs in an accident as a young teenager. He NEEDS someone to not look at him with pity in their eyes, and Tessa is just the one to do it.

I really really really enjoyed this one. It was definitely super cute, with Weston’s sweet disposition and Tessa’s sass. I loved the grandparents and the dynamic between Weston and his friend Rudy. The familial relationships were some of the best writing in this book. This is the kind of romance I would have gobbled up as a teenager, chasing the high that I got after reading The Fault In Our Stars for the first time.

I did find some things sort of unlikable. For one, there was a scene where Weston makes Tessa sit in the front seat (which is a PTSD trigger for her) which she does willingly do after some hesitation, but it struck me as very “true love will cure your mental illness” and rubbed me the wrong way. I also felt that during the flashback scenes Weston talked and acted much more maturely than 13 years old. However this is a debut author and I think those are just nit picky things on my end.

I can’t say how accurately this depicts being blind if having your legs amputated, as I haven’t been through either experience and I don’t believe the author has either. I’d be curious to read a review from the viewpoint of someone who has gone through those things though to see if they feel it was accurate or not.

TW: ptsd, amputation, temporary blindness, car accident.

This was sweet and cute and a really light read.
This book is about two teenagers called Tessa and Weston. Tessa writes poetry online and one day she got into a car accident which left her temporarily blind. Then, her grandparents advertised an ad about hiring someone to type Tessa's poetry and post them on her blog and Weston was that volunteer. Tessa was hostile towards Weston at first because she thought that he couldn't ever understand what she was going through, even though Weston is disabled (he has no legs) but Weston appreciated it because it made him feel normal. So, Weston made a system of taste, smell, hearing, touch for Tessa to experience.
This was such a fun and a great summer read. It's sweet and fluffy

I believe this novel would have a profound effect on its intended audience, as opposed to my response as an adult woman. It's a lovely story with great intentions and a lot of potential, it's heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time! But I found the story incredibly rushed. I wanted more backstory about Tessa's childhood and how she came to live with her grandparents. I also wanted to know more about Weston's life before his accident. That would have gone a long way to make me more compassionate toward the characters. I felt thrown into this trauma immediately and it was unsettling. Perhaps that was the intent, but it kept the emotions of the story superficial for me. The writing is simple, making for a quick, easy read I was engaged in from start to finish. I appreciate the message the author is sending, that one creates her own reality regardless of the circumstances and does not need to suffer even when it seems like that's the only option. I definitely liked this novel, and would recommend it for fans of the genre.

I managed to read a copy of this book through a NetGalley download, as I was refused a copy because I live outside of the U.S. and Abbie Emmons was unable to ship to the U.K.

Nevertheless, I loved the look of the cover via kindle and thought it brilliantly captured the essence of the book with the pictures of the guitar, waffles, flowers etc. that all appear in the story. The book is about Tessa a 16 year old blogger who loses her sight for 100 days and how terrified and unhappy it makes her feel. Enter Weston Ludovico a teenage boy with an engaging optimistic nature, the ability to make Tessa smile and even laugh and ultimately realise she has four other senses to explore and find beauty and joy in her world again (but he has a disability too which he wants everyone to keep from the blind Tessa).

It is probably written as a Young Adult book but as a 60 year old I was totally captured by the simplicity of the story, and the characters were so well written I felt I knew them and cheered them on. I read the book in only a day because I could not wait to get to the ending, which is superb.

This may be Abbie Emmons debut novel, but I would definitely read more from her.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5

100 Days of Sunlight is a cute book that made me smile and feel the sunshine a little extra on my skin. I’ve been on a string of really good contemporary novels lately (shoutout to my girl Kasie West, and I was sure that 100 Days would continue that streak. I loved the story as described through the synopsis, and I always like to support people in the blog/vlog community. However, I have a lot of qualms about the story, characters, and writing that took away from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole.

I’m a little convinced that Abbie Emmons has been stalking me, or my high school self anyway. In high school, I was homeschooled, Christian, bookish, lived with other relatives instead of my parents from a young age, and ran a blog in my spare time. I should have related a lot to the main character, Tessa, but the sentence above pretty much describes everything we know about Tessa, besides the recent turn of events that rendered her blind. I never got a sense for who she was as a person. Her character was mainly defined by her reactions to Weston. We got tiny insights into her personality when she’s talking with her online friends through chat, but there were so many missed opportunities to go beneath the surface. I felt like more could have been explored concerning Tessa’s parents and her feelings about them, her relationship with her grandparents, even her faith and how it is affected by this period in her life, but everything stayed surface-level. Also, I cringe when I read books about homeschooled teens who don’t have deep friendships with other teens face-to-face. I’m all for connecting with friends over the internet, but sometimes you actually need to be with friends, physically, and I don’t care for the stereotype perpetuated here that homeschoolers don’t have friends outside of the digital world. Also that Christian teens don't have "inappropriate" thoughts about boys.

The story gave a little more depth to Weston, mainly through his flashbacks to his injury. Weston’s story about how his disability began and how he coped with it was the part of the book where I began to be more pulled in - I wanted to know what happened and how he got to be the lil ray of sunshine that he was. Prior to the flashbacks, I thought Weston was annoying and creepy (how about not stalking someone to their home and then refusing to leave when asked, yeah?), but hearing more about his life, his friendship with Rudy, and his ADORABLE three little brothers was really interesting. However, at a certain point, his sections started to become more of a motivational speech (literally at one point) that teetered on the edge of being sanctimonious. This became even more evident when he monologues about how he needs to “save” Tessa, and show her how to stand up to Life, which is where his character got some points shaved off the cute guy total.

Getting past my initial dislike of the idea that Weston has decided to swoop in uninvited to show Tessa how to live, I really liked the way the book is divided into five senses - smell, hearing, taste, touch, and sight. I really think this book would make a great rom-com movie. The way Weston tries to make Tessa happy through showing her how to experience things through the senses she still has is truly sweet, and makes for some adorable moments. This is where the story really grew on me, namely when Weston and Tessa watch Tessa’s favorite movie - I’m leaving this intentionally vague so you can enjoy the sweetness yourself first.

I thought that the obstacle to Tessa and Weston being together was pretty artificial. I didn’t buy that Weston would be afraid of Tessa knowing about his disability and wish that this point had been built to more. Finally, there were some aspects of the writing that I found a bit juvenile and irritating, like Tessa’s poetry (unless it was intentionally cringe-y, because I too wrote poetry like that in high school…), and the tendency of the author to emphasize things by doing this: I am blind.
I
am
b l i n d.

In a nutshell, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short, cute contemporary romance in the style of Me Before You or Five Feet Apart. I loved reading about Weston’s little brothers, Weston’s relationship with his best friend Rudy, and sweet portions of Tessa and Weston’s romance. I know that Abbie Emmons is a young indie author and that this is her debut novel, so I have high hopes that her next offerings will be more fleshed out and enjoyable. 100 Days of Sunlight is a great start.