Review by Danielle

TITLE: XOXO

AUTHOR: Christina Lee

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH:  281 Pages

RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2023

BLURB:

Lark Levitt doesn’t belong at Roosevelt College, at least in theory. Most students who attend the private university come from wealthy families, and Lark is only a scholarship and a bus ride away from the trailer park where he lives. It’s also a dream come true because dance is his life, and their program is one of the most prestigious in the country. But there are bumps in the road, like running into someone from a difficult time in his childhood. Someone who now pretends he doesn’t exist.

Henry Albrecht survived childhood cancer and is now a Roosevelt quarterback and model student. His past is something his father insists Henry keep private, and though his dad has his reasons, it makes his remission feel like a dirty secret instead of a triumph. He has few precious memories from that time in his life, except for a kid from the hospital who made his recovery manageable. A kid who’s all grown up now and at Roosevelt, jeopardizing everything Henry’s carefully kept under wraps.

They decide the best course of action is to keep their distance. Easier said than done. Their renewed connection brings solace, clarity, and a raw intensity that awakens a spark between them. But hiding their history is exhausting, and soon enough their secret meetups are in danger of being exposed. Henry will need to face his fears—and his father—or lose the only person who’s ever understood the real him.

*TW: Discussions of cancer treatments and depictions of mental heath struggles

REVIEW:

I am always excited when I see a new college novel coming from this author. I love her storytelling and the way she portrays the students and their struggles. Her Easton U Pirates are seriously one of the best out there (just dropping that in here  🙂 ).

With Henry (Hennes) and Lark we get a different story; we experience a whole new level of hurt / comfort in this story. There is a wonderful connection between these two young men. Having been through the same health scare and sickness in their youth, there is an instant spark/awareness of each other the minute they cross eyes.

Lark has had a totally different life after being recoved from cancer than Henry and there are quite some differences there. The wealthy Henry with his kind of distant parents who want to keep everything on the downlow and secret, and Lark who is living in a trailer but with a lovely supportive mother and a sweet little sister.

Henry is the star quarterback, mister popular, smart, engineer student, closeted, and Lark is the introvert, selfconcious, nervous dance student. Both struggle in their own ways causing some physical comfort issues.

When their atttraction is growing, they decide to just keep things private but they cannot keep away from each other so meeting up in secret is what they do. As a reader you feel their struggle, their emotions and their feelings for each other and how to deal with them. From their warm friendship to the sexual attraction and the feelings of love.

You worry about Henry as he seems to be spiraling, under the stress of keeping things too close to his chest because of his father, and when things come to a head there is no backing out of anything.

You know that they are meant to be together; there is no doubt in your mind, their love is palable, but you also worry along side them and smile and get nervous.

Christina Lee draws a fabulous picture of these two young man, their friends and family and their mental struggles.

I love the snippets we get interacting with their friends and with Lark’s little sister. (I wouldn’t mind to see more of these friend groups interacting together.)

Just one thing rests me to ask I mean Miss Lee …Emil and Bones ….right 😀 ?

Very recommended if this is your cup of tea 🙂

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon