By Your Side

This review originally appeared on herestohappyendings.com.I have heard nothing but good things about Kasie West books over the years, and while I have a few, I’ve never managed to find time to pick one up and read it until now. After finishing it, I have to ask myself why I waited so long to read one of her books – it was one of the best love stories I’ve read in such a long time!I was drawn into this book by the synopsis – Autumn, the main character, gets locked in a library for an entire weekend with the high school’s bad boy, Dax. Right away, I knew that I was going to love this book – locked in a library for a weekend, with the promise of a blossoming relationship? Yes, please!Autumn Collins has a group of great friends, an almost boyfriend, Jeff whom she adores and can’t wait to spend more time with, and a family who loves her. However, when she and her friends are on their way to a cabin to have a fun camping weekend, Autumn gets left behind in the library by accident. When she tries to get out of the library, she realizes that she’s been locked in – all of the locks are in place, the lights are out, and to top it all off, she left her bag – complete with cell phone – in Jeff’s trunk. She figures she will wait a few minutes, and someone will come and rescue her.So she waits.And waits.And waits some more.Only no one comes. Autumn is alone, and locked in the library.Only, is she alone? No, she discovers that she is locked in the library with the school’s bad boy, Dax. While at first, Dax doesn’t really want anything to do with her, Autumn doesn’t really want to be locked in the library for three days with someone without talking. So she tries to make the best of it.Together the two of them look for food, try to stay warm, and come up with entertaining ways to keep themselves sane while stuck there. They figure that if they can stick it out, they’ll be fine, and Autumn will only have to deal with worried parents. So the two of them watch TV, scrounge for leftovers in the library staff’s kitchen, and play games, all while slowly getting to know each other.“‘So, do you want to play for something?’ I asked, meeting his dark eyes. ‘We already established that you have nothing,’ he said. ‘We could play for secrets. Questions.'”However, their time at the library can’t last forever, and when it’s almost time for the library to re-open, Autumn and Dax see something shocking on the library’s television that sends Autumn into a full blown anxiety attack, and Dax has to act fast to help her.When Autumn is released, she has a choice to make: Does she try and make things work with Jeff, and see where they go, even though she doesn’t really believe he, or the rest of her friends, actually knows the real Autumn? Or does she try and make something of her and Dax, who she knows she has feelings for, despite the fact that everything tells her she shouldn’t, and she might lose her friends?“Possibilities don’t hurt as much as realities. Possibilities are exciting and endless. Realities are final.”And since Jeff is in a pretty bad position now due to an accident that happened that weekend, does she have it in her to risk breaking his heart, too?I’m really not one for love triangles, as you all know, but this was just so tastefully done and actually added to the book, instead of making it unbearable. It made the story so much more interesting, and I actually found myself trying to figure out which guy would be better for her. Of course, it’s kind of predictable how it will end, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing!While only the first 40% of this book is about Autumn and Dax’s adventure in the library over that weekend, that part of the book was by far my favorite. The remainder of the book is about Autumn and Dax’s interactions outside of the library – at school, at parties, etc. At the same time, Autumn is dealing with the fact that the guy she is almost kind of dating, Jeff, is having some problems, and she simply isn’t sure how she is supposed to act around any of them at this point. Does she spend time with her old friends and try to make something out of her and Jeff, or does she stay true to what her heart is telling her, and go after Dax, aside from the fact that she believes her friends and Jeff will all hate her for it.I really liked both Autumn’s and Dax’s characters, and I felt like the chemistry between them was real, and not forced for the sake of the book. It felt like a true romance was blooming between the two of them, and despite the fact that they were stuck in a library over a three day weekend, they really got to know each other and made the best of it, even if Dax was rather reluctant at first.There were a lot of things going on in this book, so if you think it’s a slow paced romance, and that’s it, you’d be wrong. It also deals with issues like drug use, family struggles, severe anxiety, and a car accident. It’s a pretty strong novel, and wow, did Kasie West do an amazing job fitting all of this in here. It was such a great read – I read it over the course of a single night because I simply could not put this one down.The only real issue I had with this book was, seriously, how Autumn got left behind in the library in the first place. How could her friends not realize she wasn’t with them? And what the heck took them so long to realize she wasn’t with them? The book offered several explanitions as to how it happened the way it did, but I guess I just think her friends were a tad neglectful.This is seriously one of the best books that I have read in a long time in terms of romance! While I try to shy away from romance in general, because most of the romance novels in YA that I’ve read just seem quite…cliche and overdone (not to mention being full of insta-love and love triangles). But I knew I had to read this one, and I’m so glad I did. Yep, I’m definitely off to binge read all of Kasie West’s other novels now!Note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, HarperTeen!

You know who’s my favorite? Kasie West.You should probably already know this about me, but I’m just reminding you.Kasie West consistently delivers sweet, fun, swoon-worthy stories. She manages to tell a story that touches on serious, relatable topics without making it the sole thing that the story is about.In By Your Side, Autumn finds herself locked in the library… no way to get out and unable to contact anyone. Then she realizes she’s not alone… Dax Miller is in the library too, only it looks like he isn’t exactly trapped. She knows very little about Dax, only that he’s spent time in juvie, and he’s a loner. Not exactly someone she feels entirely safe with, but she just has to stick it out until her friends and her almost-boyfriend realize she’s not where she’s supposed to be … only they don’t.Autumn and Dax have to make the most of their situation, and eventually they start to open up and share with each other, and they find that maybe their preconceived notions about each other aren’t entirely accurate.Now let’s be honest, who among us book nerds wouldn’t love to be trapped in a library for a long weekend? Now throw in a cute boy and I don’t think a single person could say no. But if I’m honest, that’s only part of the story here and maybe only the first third of this book happens in the actual library and it truly might not be what you are hoping for in that regard. However, that’s where West introduces us to Autumn and Dax and shares some of their secrets and why they are who they are… the characters being cut off from everyone else in the story allows us to really get to know them on a very personal level and we learn things about them both that are very important.I’m just going to come out with it right away… I loved Autumn… she’s funny, and smart and super awkward, and she just happens to deal with anxiety. I loved that West created a character who is dealing with anxiety, but she portrays it in a way that totally normalizes it, as it should be! It’s so important in YA today that people read about characters that they can relate to and that young people can see others who are dealing with things they might be and see that it doesn’t have to be life-ending, it’s just something that is a part of her life but she’s so much more than her diagnosis. Seeing her come to terms and finally share with her friends what is really happening in her life is just wonderful.I have to admit too, that I really liked Dax. I suppose you could call Dax a “bad boy”, but I don’t know that that is entirely accurate. He’s certainly the most troubled of all West’s characters. He’s more someone who is trying to make the most of his circumstances and just trying to survive in the situation he finds himself in. As his past is revealed, I understood his loner status, and I got why he kept himself apart from everyone. I do love that he finally opened up to Autumn, and I really loved the evolution of their relationship… is this the swooniest relationship West has written so far? No, I have to admit I’m more partial to some of the others, but I still totally shipped these two so much! Their relationship was slow and sweet and I really enjoyed getting to see them learn to trust each other.I think one of the things that West really excels at with every book (aside from swoony boys) is building and portraying friendships in a really positive way. She truly does it in every book she writes! Autumn here has some amazing friends (despite them leaving her stranded) and while it seems like there are a lot of friends to keep track of, the one to really focus on her connection with her best friend Lisa. It’s always so refreshing to see wonderful friendships portrayed in YA.Overall, another quick favorite from Kasie West! If you’re looking for a quick, sweet read, you definitely need to grab this one, and if you’ve held off on reading ANY Kasie West, I urge you to start at the beginning of her booklist because you really can’t go wrong with a single book!

POTENTIAL SPOILER - It was a lovely read without getting into too much drama or dragging on. At the same time however, i would have liked a few more chapters showing their relationship more as they get together right at the end. I even went to the authors website in case there were some bonus chapters there, but sadly there were none. Would love a sequel for this as feel there is more to tell.

Ever since I read “The Fill-in Boyfriend”, I made it my mission to attempt to read all of West’s other books and so far, this has been an easy mission (apart from getting my hands on the books).I was so excited to pick this one up, because what book lover in their right mind wouldn’t want to be locked in a library for a full weekend.I loved both Autumn and Dax, but the one thing I loved the most about this book, was just how realistic West made Autumn and her anxiety/panic attacks. To me, it makes her more realistic, rather than just a character on a page.I cannot wait to get my hands on more of West’s books.

Kasie west done it again. Time after time she writes amazing stories for us readers, and this time she done it with ‘By your side’.The characters in this book were so admirable and relatable. With the talks of anxiety and mental health too. Which is a topic needed to be talked about especially in this day and age.The story was so cute and adorable. I’m a sucker for enemies turned partners. There’s just something about it so timeless and classic. The fact they have to get to know each other on a whole new level is just something so nice to read about.I loved the plot and the topics brought up in it. I couldn’t recommend this book it is by far my favourite Kasie West book - to date that is

I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about Kasie West books, so I thought I had better decide for myself.My verdict .... not the best book ever. Don't get me wrong, it was ok but being locked in a library and there is literally no way to contact anyone is a little far fetched. I did like the 2 main characters of this book but other than that, I didn't really like anything else. The story for me was average and the other characters just didn't register for me.Overall, I think this book has put me off reading another Kasie West book so perhaps read another one of her books if you are interested in this author.

This book just made me laugh, cry and everything in one. Such an easy read which totally incorporates the real issues of coping with an anxiety disorder. I ended up reading this book in one day, not being able to stop smiling. A gorgeous love story with some unexpected twists throughout.