Side Effects- Review

Publication Date:
November 30th 2016


Publisher:
Barry Books


Goodreads synopsis:
High school can be Hell on Earth, something Isaac Matthews knows from experience. His ex-best friend is now the biggest bully in school. The medicine for his anxiety disorder is supposed to make him better, but there’s a chance he could just get worse. And then there’s the beautiful, outgoing new girl who shakes his very foundation and grounds him at the same time.

Grace is drawn to Isaac from the moment they meet. She holds his hand through his panic attacks, draws him out of his shell, and changes the way he sees the world. Why would anyone try so hard to help the school freak? She has her reasons.

Warning: Side Effects may include increased heart rate, dry mouth, interrupted speech, elevated body temperature, and dizziness or light-headedness upon seeing her smile.

Review:

* I was provided a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.

Way to start off the year. One of my new favourite books, I absolutely loved every single thing about this book and the messages it portrays. I could honestly talk about it forever and I can't wait to pick up the second book from this world! 

This book is so beautiful I honestly can't explain what it made me feel. It was just so honest in every way, a truthful story about anxiety and first love. The writing style was amazing, it kept me engaged and drawn in constantly, I thought about this book even when I wasn't reading it. 

It's rare for me to be fully connected to the characters but I was so enthralled with all of them, especially Isaac and I wanted what was best for him the whole time. He was so sweet and I adored the character development in this. He transformed so much throughout the book into a completely different person, but still one so loveable. Grace was such a great main female character too, she didn't care about stereotypes or trying to be part of the popular crowd, she wanted to be friends with Isaac even if it meant people looked at her weirdly, because she liked him. Other people's opinions didn't matter to her at all, and the affect she had on Isaac was magical. David was another of my favourite characters despite me absolutely hating him at the beginning of the novel, he changed his ways and made me fall for him completely.  

Jennifer did what I absolutely adore authors to do, and that's despite this being a romance book, friendship and family is made an important factor too. Isaac's sister Melody was the perfect big sister and I loved how their relationship grew as Isaac became a stronger person, and that he realised she had always been there for him. They were just a cute sibling relationship and Melody and Grace being friends helped him to feel included and fit in which I think was great. 

I expected this book to be kind of cheesy and cliché but it was neither of those things so I was really pleasantly surprised. This book made me so emotional but in such a good way, I don't even have words for it. 

The ending was also so perfect and I would kill to read a sequel about what happens next but I can settle of another book from the same world, with characters that were brefiely mentioned in Side Effects. It will be interesting to see what happens with them, and hear about their story and their reasons for being how they are so I can't wait for that! In the meantime, I'll just have to read other books by her to save my withdrawal.

Overall, this was a cute but not predictable romance that dealt with some serious topics in an amazing way and I would recommend it completely.