Book Review: The Boy I Grew Up With by Tijan

Shelly's Book Corner received a review copy from Author and voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.

I have loved Channing Monroe all my life.

In first grade, he asked for my Trapper Keeper.
I hit him in the head with it.
Third grade, we were best friends. We kissed in seventh grade.
Eighth grade, he turned into a bad boy and the rest was a tumultuous storm.

Growing up, the problem was never love for us.
Bad times. Good times. There were times when I felt our love in every inch of my body, vibrating, making me feel like it could bring me back to life.

The problem was us.

The problem is that we're living in two different worlds now.
Fallen Crest and its millionaires for me. Roussou and their criminals for him. I was thriving in mine and he was running his.

But…

But there were nights I felt we couldn't be further apart than we were, and there were nights I felt we shared the same heartbeat.

When was it time?
When was it time to either sacrifice, make a change, or walk away from the boy I grew up with?

** 103k standalone

There are two chapters at the end from additional books.

Review: 

So after reading “Crew” I was very curious to read about Channing and Heather. Channing is Bren’s older brother. The story alternated between past and present and we got both of their points of views. I enjoy being able to be in their heads and feel what they felt.  Channing and Heather have a LONG history and if I’m being honest they both annoyed me to no end. They constantly kept repeating the same things over and over and over. I get that they are young but at some point you HAVE to grow up. Clearly they are meant for each other but they just couldn’t make it work at times. As the story progressed we get a revelation that shocked me and made me want Channing and Heather to figure things out even more. I also loved how this story gives you more of a back story on how the Crew’s got started. There were some intense moments and I’m finding this series to be very intriguing with a colorful cast of characters. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.