"Kissing you feels like catching the sun…"
At seven years old, Ella Sunbury and Max Manning were inseparable—until life scattered them in different directions, forcing Ella to abruptly leave town. A decade later, she returns for their senior year of high school, moving in across the street from her childhood best friend.
But she's not the same girl Max once knew.
She now lives in the shadow of her brother: a notorious felon on death row, convicted of a crime that shook the nation. Reeling from the fallout and shunned by her peers, all Ella wants is to fade into the background.
Max has little room for distractions, juggling responsibilities for a disabled father and a distant twin brother. But Ella's return reignites something within him. He wants to be close to her again, to understand her…and to turn their friendship into more.
But as their relationship blossoms, new tragedy strikes, and darkness threatens to tip their delicate balance. In order to find the light, they'll have to navigate the shadows.
And to catch the sun…they must first endure the flames.
My Review
'C𝐀T𝐂H T𝐇E S𝐔N'
Is a full length romance book by Jennifer Hartmann. Spoken in 'dual perspectives' HEROINE: Ella Sunbury 💋 HERO: Max Manning
5 favourite STAY stars
From the cover, to the blurb throw in the author and I was giddy for release day so I could quickly purchase a copy, once Arcs were done and dusted I dived into this, and from that moment onwards I couldn't put it down, I read it in a day unputdownable, unforgettable, this author wove her magic again and I fell under her spell.
💋 Childhood friends
💋 Virgins
💋 Friends to lovers
💋 Trauma and Healing
Max had such a beautiful soul, the boy who loved fully, who selfishly looked after the ones he loved, but he was breaking under all the responsibility on his young shoulders.
Ella had the sins of her brother on her shoulders, ostracized by his crimes, bullied beyond belief, but even though she appeared broken and beaten down she was tough and sassy. But behind that sass was a broken girl closed off to love and the world.
📚 "𝐑o𝐦a𝐧t𝐢c𝐢z𝐞 𝐲o𝐮r l𝐢f𝐞. D𝐨n't l𝐢v𝐞 𝐞v𝐞r𝐲 𝐝a𝐲 𝐥i𝐤e i𝐭'𝐬 𝐲o𝐮r l𝐚s𝐭. L𝐢v𝐞 𝐞v𝐞r𝐲 𝐝a𝐲 𝐥i𝐤e i𝐭'𝐬 𝐲o𝐮r f𝐢r𝐬t. 𝐋a𝐬t𝐬 𝐚r𝐞 𝐭r𝐚g𝐢c. 𝐅i𝐫s𝐭s a𝐫e e𝐱c𝐢t𝐢n𝐠 𝐚n𝐝 𝐟u𝐥l o𝐟 𝐜e𝐥e𝐛r𝐚t𝐢o𝐧."
At the age of seven Max and Ella became fast friends where she spent a memorable year until her father whisked her away without even a goodbye..Ten years later and she's back living right next door to the boy she never forgot about.
But neither are the same happy kids they used to be, both live under a dark cloud hovering above their heads.
A beautifully written emotional, twisty, angsty, storyline which had me within its grasp from front to back, this wrung out so many emotions and closing that last page felt like I was saying goodbye to a family member.
This easily went from a 5 ⭐️ to a 2024 favourite book, making this another favourite read by this author.
* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *
