3.5 Heartfelt Stars 
 As a debut, this was a good book about two young adults that got dealt a bad hand in life. Two young adults that suffered from the unfairness of life, forced to grow up way too fast, while falling head over heels for another along the road... 
 "Two words.... eight letters that have forever changed my life." ~Ali 
 Young Ali lost her mother, her best friend, her home, and in a sad way her father, all within a few weeks. Forced to leave her home, Denver, behind, she and her dad move to sunny Florida where she ends up being the neighbor to the famous Hale's brothers. Ali a talented ballerina, Drew a swimmer - both using their talents to escape from life.... Drew for a different reason than Ali. 
 Her start at the new school among spoiled rich kids wasn't easy, especially not while still grieving the loss of her mother and an absent father. Meanwhile, she and Drew seem to bump into each other way too often for his taste. He knows he can't get involved with anyone, especially not a girl. Swimming is his ticket out of this hellhole, away from his father. Little did Ali know who her neighbor truly is; all she knows is that he swims every morning in the ocean while she runs along the beach. Both establish somewhat of a friendship. 
 "No one. I'm no one." ~Drew 
 That's his way of blocking out people so no one gets too close to him. Drew, despite being the popular kid that girls want to have and boys want to be like him, he's very quiet and keeps to himself - unless when he's around his brother. He tried his best but Ali seems to pop up everywhere and he can't help but feel very protective of her. He can't fight against their pull any longer. He seeks Ali's friendship; their closeness, their time together, her smile, good heart and mind. She gives him hope and only with her he lets his mask down showing who he truly is. Because all this time, no one saw what a broken young man he is.... 
 "Ninety-five percent of the day I have to wear a mask to cover up the truth. No one really want to know the truth. The truth is ugly, and every day I feel ugly." ~Drew 
 Ali gets him, she truly does and same goes for Drew; these two are each others rock, shoulder to lean on to to just let go. I really enjoyed their story, how they met, which obstacles they had to fight and overcome. I felt like Sherlock Holmes when I figured out who will be the leading characters in book two LOL. As a debut it was well plotted and written. It was bittersweet to read through their pain and how certain people made their life unnecessary hard. 
 As for why I rated it 3.5 stars (which is still pretty good in my eyes) was because it had too many cliches in it. You have the hot "I wanna be like them" pretty boy who has some serious problems back home but seems to be star in school, the bitches who hate all girls, especially the new ones, and you've the newbie at school who turns head, boys are curious about, but eventually falls for ..... You know what I mean; it was a bit predictable but nevertheless well written and their problems believable - remember, I'm a picky romance reader & reviewer! 
 If I'd recommend this lovely book? Totally! I will definitely read the second book in the series because I'm curious about Drew's brother, Beau, and his story. 
 "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."~Georges Duhamel 
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