'As You Turn Away' was a beautiful New Adult novel about love, family, friends and seconds chances. It was a really sweet and heartwarming story and I really did enjoy it a lot!

The book tells the story of Quinn and Jonah who haven't seen each other for years after a break up. Both characters return to their hometown where tragedy brings them together and not only do they have to face their relationship but also their friends and family.

I liked Quinn, she was a great character. At first, I couldn't connect to her at all but as the story went on and we read more about her in both the present time and her childhood it was easier to empathise with her and understand her feelings. As the story went on I felt my heart ache for her more and understand better why she made some of the questionable decisions she did.

Jonah was brilliant and I really loved his character. I loved how much of a family guy he was and I think my most favourite parts of the book were some with the family.

The alternating POVs between Quinn and Jonah were so well written and I loved the alterations between past and present too. I think seeing the contrast between younger Quinn and Jonah and the older ones really helped understand them and their relationship better.

The thing I loved about this book was how realistic it was. There was no ridiculous drama that was thrown in just for the sake of making it dramatic but everything felt so real whether that was the friendships, the family dynamics, be it good or bad, and the love too, of course. I also loved the rest of the Walker boys and I really hope they have their own books!!

All in all, this book is truly great. The amount of hope and love in this book was tipping over the pages and hit me right in the heart. Give the book a shot for sure!

*Thanks to the author who sent me a free copy in exchange of a review!*

This book gives me hope for the New Adult genre. There was a great emphasis on having a healthy relationship and not depending solely on another person, which is sometimes overlooked with this kind of love story. The book was really well balanced. It was funny and poignant, but the author kept things from becoming overly dramatic. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Overall, I'd say I liked this. There were things that bothered me - Quinn being one of them. I didn't like her, not ever. I wanted to, but never really connected with her.

Spoiler

The situation with her mother was incredibly unsatisfying, as I felt like it wasn't ever resolved. Sure, Quinn had to deal with the aftermath, but she never had to actually work things out. Maybe they couldn't have been worked out, but Moira's death seemed like too easy a solution. That's just me though.

I DID like Jonah and his brothers though. They had their rocky patches, but they seemed to be a loving and solid family. I loved that about them.

I also liked Quinn's dad. He felt authentic to me and tried to work things out and make things right with Quinn. He was a great character.

Molli's writing is solid and she can totally tell a great story. The editing was fantastic - if I sound surprised by this, it's because I've come to expect very little from self-published books. This one however, raises the bar, both in writing and in editing. Molli did a great job. I wish I'd liked Quinn better, but then, there are lots of things I wish I liked better. :)

Nicely done, and I will look forward to Molli's next book.

This book was really so adorable and sweet. A second chance at love, and childhood friendship. I absolutely adored the characters and am definitely going to read the author's next books.

It was ok, but not engrossing for me. Also it can not be New Adult just for the sheer amount of cheese.

This book was just *long sigh of longing* lovely. And strangely addicting. Once I started, it was not only difficult to put down, but also my mind kept coming back to it at odd moments, pondering how the Walkers and the Reynolds would untangle their various interpersonal knots. There's an interesting red thread of abuse and grief pulsing in the pages, and it's existence is unique in the romance genre. Jonah and Quinn can't gain solace in only each other, but also look to themselves. My only criticism, actually, is that I wish the book was longer: there's numerous mentions of working through issues, but the actual heavy emotional lifting happens offscreen. As a reader, I wanted to see what working through the past looked like, not just see the final results and resolutions.

Ooo, and a word about the physicality of the romance. I now know what "steamy" means. See, I thought "steamy" meant like shower steam, where important bits are fogged over, the music swells, and everything fades to black. I was wrong. Very, very happily wrong. A+ on that love scene.

Tl;dr? 10 out of 10 would read again and I'm silly happy that there's more to come in this series. Huzzah!

Note: Molli and I met online, and as a friend before I became a fan of her writing, my review might be influenced by my fondness for her. :)

I was really excited when I found out Molli was self-publishing her book-a novel I had tracked the writing of on various social media sites. Unfortunately, real life responsibilities and obligations kept me from reading the book until now. Being on vacation, I made sure to bring my copy with me so I could read and hopefully finish the book while away. I ended up reading the book in one session on a sunny afternoon.

I think Molli's strongest aspect of writing is creating an environment for the reader to lose themselves. Perhaps because I am familiar with the family life culture she portrays in the novel is why I can relate with the Walker's, but I think anyone reading this story will immediately feel the warm, homey feeling reading about the Walkers creates. And yet I could also relate to Quinnlan's family and the struggle that comes when career life becomes more important than family life.

I liked that I could relate to both of the main characters, as it made their story more sympathetic. I especially loved all of the side characters, and I hope Molli explores their stories as well in the future. My favorite Walker boy is Ethan, so please write a story about him Molli! :)

Overall, the love story is nice, but not epic.

And maybe that's what Molli was going for-a nice, slow Southern romance. But like another reviewer mentioned, their romance when they were younger burned brighter. When they hooked up by the end, it felt calm and almost like the characters were settling. Certainly they made adult choices, and I liked that Quinn wanted to heal herself before entering into a relationship with Jonah in the long run. Personally, I like my romances to burn and burn bright, and while this is definitely a solid and adult relationship, it was just too grounded in reality for my preferences in romance novels.

Another slight nit-pick:

Sometimes I felt the back and forth between the past and present relationship drama was too random. I'd turn the page, and there was a flashback, and I couldn't feel the connection to the present happenings. It wasn't always, but it was certainly more than once. I also felt like there were too many of them. I think the novel could have been stronger with a short prologue describing how they broke up and what they were before, and then telling the rest of the story in the present.

I'm excited to read more from Molli in the future! I'm sure her next work will be as an enjoyable read as this one.