Girl Meets Boys by Ari Reavis // ARC Review

"I'm fighting for you, Emily. I don't even mind the fight because I know in the end that you'll see I'm the better man. But what I won't do is fight for someone who won't even be there in the end. Someone who'll fade away trying to be like everyone else. I won't fight for someone who won't even be the girl I want by the time she chooses me."

Girl Meets Boys by Ari Reavis

Standalone
Release - January 15, 2021
Genre - New Adult Contemporary Romance/love triangle
Heroine POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/several scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 249 pages
Publisher - Indie

Girl meets boy, they fall in love, and live happily ever after. But what happens when, instead of meeting one boy, the girl meets two?

With Emily starting college, she figures it’s the perfect time to break out of her shell and have a new beginning. She doesn’t expect that in rewriting her story, it would include a love triangle.

First she meets Julian. She can’t help but notice his shirts with quotes on them, that match his quirky personality, his crooked smile and ruffled hair. He understands her in ways few others do. That’s what makes her afraid to let him get too close.

Then she meets Will. He’s from a different world, different crowd. When he goes out of his way to show her just how well she fits in his life, she finds herself getting swept up all too easily. Sometimes though, opposites really shouldn’t attract.

Girl meets boys and soon the choice isn’t which one of them is better, but who she’s better with.

You know that Ari Reavis is a talented storyteller when she can get me to read one of my least favorite tropes ever - the love triangle! I tend to stay away from these types of stories, usually because I end up hating someone (the heroine) and I'd rather save myself the pain and the pressure. But I find it hard to resist this author's writing. So here I am and here are my humble thoughts.

Emily was a young woman trying to find herself. Tired of being the shy one, the one hiding in the shadows, she decided that her first year of college was going to be different. New look, new day, new attitude... same girl. She immediately realizes that nothing was going according to plan, however, she did meet a charming boy named Julian. He was a lot like her, he made her feel free to be herself, and he seemed to adore her for just who she was. But she needed more.

Enter Will. He's the campus bad boy, he comes from money, people seem to flock to him like he's the new Messiah, and Emily is instantly captivated. No matter what he does, she can't seem to get enough. He's the one to pull her out of her shell, to get her to try new things, to become a different person. He offers something that Julian cannot provide. Which girl will Emily be in the end?

This story in no way swayed me to start enjoying love triangles, especially when they involve young people. I'm over teenage angst and drama. Growing up is hard and Emily had to take some hard knocks in order to see the light. I'm happy with who she chose, but dang, she made it hard for herself! The author didn't shy away from illustrating the hurdles and hormones and doubts and insecurities that young people face when she created Emily. She also showed how beautiful it is to find oneself and love oneself for all of one's faults and favors.

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” - Maya Angelou

Find your copy on Amazon! https://amzn.to/3qkz7re

Ari Reavis is a wife and mother of five. Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, she enjoys staying in, devouring books and watching movies. Her kids are running around, her husband is trying to show her martial arts moves, and she's trying to write. Her day in a nutshell.

Find more about Ari and her amazing books on her site: https://arireavis.wordpress.com/