To the Stars is a beautiful coming of age story. Ms. Adams takes her readers through the discovery of first love, the anguish of heartbreak and the trials of growing up. This romance is like de ja vu. Every vulnerability that is experienced from youth to maturity has been laid bare in this well crafted novel. The emotions are so realistic and the memories so vivid that it is like reliving the innocence of a simpler time. I received an ARC of To the Stars in exchange for an honest review. Molly McAdams is an author that has awaken my curiosity. ( )

Great story! I'm putting this on the list for book club! I think wine would be perfect to go with this book! Romance! Thrills and drama! A real page turner. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A suspenseful story full of steamy romance, great drama, and wonderful characters. I would highly recommend to this anyone looking for a romantic thriller.

Opening Sentence: “Happy Birthday, Low. I waited for you.”

The Review:

When Harlow Evans was fifteen years old she met Knox Alexander and sparks flew! They were instantly attracted to each other but Knox was already eighteen and starting a relationship wasn’t wise or legal. Instead, Knox promised that he would wait for Harlow to be old enough for them to be together. Harlow never thought nor did she expect Knox to actually give up the opportunity to date and have fun in college. But over the course of the three years the two developed a very deep friendship. A few months before Harlow turned eighteen she left for college and met someone else. She fell quickly in love and when Knox finally asked her to be his she said no.

Harlow married the boy she fell in love with and it was the biggest mistake of her life. Not only has she been unhappy in her marriage she has come to fear for her life and for the life of the people she cares about most. When she has a chance encounter with Knox, she can’t help but feel all those feelings she had for him come rushing back. But starting anything with Knox isn’t only stupid it is also extremely dangerous!

In the story you jump back from the past to the present so you get to see two very different sides to Harlow. The younger version of her is sweet, fun and extremely insecure. I liked her but she had some really frustrating moments. I get that she was really young and to some extent that does excuse how she acted, but I still struggled with some of her decisions! The older Harlow amazed me. She lived a life of constant terror and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. My heart broke as I read about her struggles and her fear. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be in her shoes and it amazed me that she never stopped fighting. Overall, I thought she was a very dynamic character and I loved reading her story!

I loved everything about Knox. He is one of those guys that you meet and fall for instantly. He is sexy, charming, strong and loyal. Knox was very consistent and no matter what was thrown at him his feelings for Harlow never wavered. He always treated Harlow with the utmost respect and they were freaking adorable together. Watching them fall in love was perfect and they definitely had amazing chemistry!

To the Stars was a beautiful, heart breaking romance that was full of suspense. From the first page I was hooked and I seriously could not put the book down until I finished. I have read a lot of books by Molly McAdams and her thrillers have been my been by far my favorite books of hers. This wasn’t a mystery, but it was definitely very intense. The romance was steamy and written perfectly. I enjoyed seeing some old faces from the previous book and also getting to know new characters. The only thing I struggled with in the story was that there was cheating. It was a very small incident but no matter how justified the circumstances are, I always have a hard time with cheating of any kind. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a suspenseful romance!

Notable Scene:

“You think I don’t know what’s right here?” he asked as his fingers gently ran over the inside of ym elbow, and then my forearm. “And here? You think I didn’t see the pain on your face?”

“You need to leave, Knox,” I pled. “If anyone sees you with me, it will get back to him.”

“Low, he can’t—“

“He’s coming to look for me if I’m not back out there in ten minutes. You don’t get it.” I searched his face wildly and hoped he understood the urgency in my tone. “He can not find you with me. He can’t find out about you. Please, Knox.”

Knox didn’t blink, and didn’t move. “Why was he hurting you?”

“He wasn’t,” I insisted, and jumped when his voice boomed in the small space.

FTC Advisory: William Morrow/HarperCollins provided me with a copy of To the Stars. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I have read several other books by this author and liked them. Although, this is probably my favorite book out of the ones I have read. I have not read the first book in this series but I will go back and check it out now that I have finished this book. Yet, I must admit that while I really loved this book, I also feel a little back about liking it so much and it was difficult to read this book at the same time. Due to the nature of this story. Again what made this book so great was the characters themselves. Knox and Harlow are the real deal. What I mean by this is that they never stopped loving each other. Knox is the ultimate sweetheart. He would have waited forever for Harlow. Then there was the saying that they had to show their love for each other "To the stars" as in "Who would love someone to the moon when they could love to the stars."

I read and finished this book in a matter of a few short hours. So committed to the whole package of this book. Again, although this story was tough it had some funny moments. I do look forward to reading the next book by this author. ( )

To the Stars is the first Molly McAdams book that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. Honestly, I expected the story to be incredibly cheesy—and it was; just not in a horrible way. My favorite characters were Graham and Deacon towards the end. They’re the kind of friends everyone needs in their life. I know this is the second standalone book in a series and now I’m really looking forward to reading the first one since I (thankfully) received that one as well.
*Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review* ( )