Once again, Jay McLean has taken my heart, toyed with it, shattered it, put it back together again and left me with a massive book hangover, awestruck over the emotional intensity of all that I just read. Just... wow.
McLean writes wonderful YA/NA stories, getting us to the heart of her characters, making us relate to them and love them – even when they screw up - making us feel everything right alongside them, and completely sweeping the reader away into a new world. And she’s done it once again with Lucas. Funny, smart and romantic, this is a story of childhood best friends who grow to become more, full of all of the intensity of first, all-consuming love. But it’s also so much more than that - it’s a coming-of-age story that is surprising, angsty, dramatic and emotional. I was completely absorbed by this story from start to finish, I devoured it one sitting, and I absolutely loved it.
Lucas is the younger brother of Lucy Preston from the More Than series. He was introduced in More Than Forever, and I knew then that I needed to know more about this complex, loveable character. But this book can easily be read as a standalone.
17 year old Lucas is the eldest boy in a family of seven children. Lucy is the eldest, then him, followed by their five younger brothers. Since the tragic death of their mother, Lucy stepped in to care for her family, but now that she is off in College, Lucas is the glue holding it all together. His family is close, loving and supportive – and absolutely hilarious – and Lucas’ loyalty and devotion to them is beautiful to see. And that loyalty and devotion is shared with one other person – the most important person in Lucas’ life, his best friend, Lois.
Lois was dubbed ‘Laney’ as the Lois Lane to his Clark Kent when they met as 11 years olds. They instantly became the best of friends, and in the six years they been glued to each other’s sides, they have shared absolutely everything with each other – except the fact that they are both wildly in love with the other.
I loved Lucas and Laney’s relationship. They really are the centre of each other’s worlds, and their closeness is beautifully explored both in the present day and through flashbacks to their childhood. Their unwavering friendship is strong and necessary to both of them, but we can see that there is more - they both know what they feel for the other, but both of them hold back, unsure of how the other feels.
It didn’t take me long to get into the feel of this book, and the sense of anticipation builds beautifully between Lucas and Laney. But it’s not one of those books where I was reading just waiting for them to get together. I cherished every moment of their friendship, and the time they spent together, and I loved them as best friends before they ever became more. But when they do, it’s beautifully done, with lots of emotion, and it all felt very real and very natural.
But just when it seems they’re going to have what they’ve both wanted for so long, their story twists in the most unexpected of ways.
That’s all I’m going to say about the story, because it’s one of those books that you truly need to dive in and experience without knowing any details. It definitely took me by surprise, but it’s wonderfully written and I could not read fast enough. It’s dramatic and emotional, and like I said earlier, I felt everything right along with them. I could relate to them both, I could understand where they were both at the whole way through the book and my heart was put through the wringer over and over again watching them fight their way forward.
The romance is beautifully written. Their love is the kind of all-consuming, soul-mate, deep love that everybody wants. The kind that you know is going to last a lifetime. They are young, and as you would expect it takes time for them to come to the full realisation of what they want and all that they mean to each other, and there are external dramas which impact on them, but watching them on their journey was amazing.
And more than just Lucas and Laney, this is a family story, with lots of involvement from both of their families, both of which I loved. The family drama is written beautifully without becoming OTT, and more often than not with the Preston boys providing the comic relief, and allowing us to see more of Lucas and Laney as the caring, dependable, loyal people that they are.
There are some cameos from the More Than crew – Lucy and Cam in particular – and I loved seeing them again. If you haven’t read that series, it’s definitely one you need to add to your TBR!
Once again, Jay McLean absolutely captivated me with her story. I fell in love with Lucas and Laney, and though my heart broke over and over again, their story was beautiful and I could not put it down. Laughs, tears and everything in between, this book is one hell of a rollercoaster, and I loved every single moment of it!
I loved it!
OR
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Popular Highlights in this book
“I’m sorry he hurt you, but hurting yourself isn’t going to change that. You can’t control what people do or how they treat you. You can only control how you react to it.”Highlighted by 331 Kindle readers- Love hard, love fierce, but love right. Be careful with your heart, guard it, and if you feel the need to be reckless, make sure you are the one making that choice. See the world, the good, the bad, the ugly. Learn. Never stop learning, Laney. And lastly, take your time, but don’t waste it. Trust me on that one.Highlighted by 295 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
"Love hard, love fierce but love right"
"To want to be someone's hero when they're faced wwith villains. To want to be the one who saves them. To be their wonderwall."Reading something which nearly everybody said will be wonderful is really hard. Cause, I know Jay Mclean is astonishing writer, but what if this piece it's not that amazing? What if I'll be disappointed?So, I started reading Lucas and read it very, very slowly. And you know what? I was wrong. It was prologue and I already knew that this one will be something else. Something better.I tell myself, it can't be bad story if it's story about Lucy's brother. Cause, you know, Lucy was freaking awesome, so Lucas has to be alike. And he is. Lucas is absolutely marvelous hero. Such a beautiful, romantic soul in incredible hot body. I loved him from the very beginning to the very end. He adored his family, took care of his younger brothers, was good friend, helped everyone who needs him, he took live very seriously. Maybe he made some insignificant mistakes, but who doesn't. He wasn't perfect, but none of us is. And that makes him human. And that's why I love characters created by Jay, cause they're real.And Lois, she's just a good girl. You know that saying „bad things don't happen to good people”. Yeah, it's a lie. Also, they say, everything happens for a reason. Guess what! Another lie.Because why some people in they twisted minds think that they have rights to take something for someone, without permission.I love that books written by Jay apart of the romance and great story also have this things very important for young people's lives, like bullying, first love, family issues, abuse, addictions. All of this makes this books not only a beautiful story to read, but also a message – after all horrible things you've been through, someday it'll get better.Ok, enough with this significant stuff, let's go straight to something cheerful.Oh, man, there was a lot of it.Of course, Operation Mayhem! Middle School version but, WTF Jay, how you come up with this shit? It's so awesome that my face still hurts from smiling all the time. Even when I think about it right now, I'm smiling. Thank You for that. You made my day.Also we have opportunity to learn more about Preston family. And I have to say that all boys are a little bit crazy. Don't mean it in the bad way, but each one of them hasown incredible personality. And OMG!! Lachlan is the best. His vocabulary… wow!, so hilarious.Before “Lucas” I thought Lucy was my favourite person, but right now Lucas also has this title. So, yeah, Lucy and Lucas are my heroes. They all are beautifully broken and perfectly imperfect.I had huge expectations and it is freaking awesome that I wasn't disappointed, cause Jay writing literally touched my soul. I smiled, cried, few times have been emotional wreck, but in the end I was happy. So allow yourself to be emotional for over 300 pages, and read this book.I can't recommend enough.
Top reviews from other countries
Amarachi
without a doubt 10/10 stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2023
Leyendo Forever
Spanish & English Opinion :: A surprise to find this book!
Reviewed in Mexico on October 31, 2020Carolin Jache
A beautiful, emotional and amazingly written book
Reviewed in Germany on April 3, 2018
Maddye
A novel as heartbreaking as it was wholesome
Reviewed in Australia on October 8, 2022