5/5 pairs of pointe shoes
Wow! That’s all I could think when I first finished “You Before Anyone Else”. Finley and Eddie’s story was nothing like I expected it to be. Finley seems like the absolute best person and friend that you could ever want and Eddie is on par with her. "You Before Anyone Else" was written in alternating points of view between both Finley and Eddie and yet it flowed so well that it read as if these characters were real and that you knew them personally.
I started this story thinking that it was going to be another typical YA light read about romance in NYC (I try not to read too much of the synopsis for ARC’s so as to be unbiased in my reviews) and yet this story was so, so much more! I found myself laughing at Finley and Sam’s wit, Braden and Cole’s cute innocence, and French Mama’s overprotective nature. In the same strand, I gasped out loud when Caroline appeared, harrumphed at Eddie’s father and Caroline’s mother, and even teared up while Eddie had to make one of the most difficult choices that he would have to make towards the end.
This book took me for an unexpected but pleasantly surprised emotional ride. I was starting to fall into a bit of a reading slump and was just going to give this one a try for deadline’s sake and I’m so glad that I did! This book was wonderful! The only criticism that I could muster up to give it would be that it feels that the story starts as Finley’s and ends as Eddie’s but with it being a split perspective story that doesn't really both me all that much. All in all though, I would certainly recommend this book!
~~~~~~~~~~Synopsis~~~~~~~~~~
Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her “good girl” persona, so she’ll try Eddie on for size.
New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the “good girl” stamp from her resume if she wants to launch into stardom. Enter Eddie Wells. He’s shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie’s bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become much harder.