Hundred Oaks Series Review

So I read five out of six of the Hundred Oaks books by Miranda Kenneally over the course of less than 24 hours, I'd already read Catching Jordan. Anyway, I figured I'd post mini reviews of each book in this series and share my thoughts on them.

Catching Jordan

3/5

If you enjoy YA books with a strong female character, then it's possible that this one will appeal to you. But if you hate love triangles and lots of drama, then you might want to skip out on this one. I read this one at an extremely fast pace, but I think that's mostly because I was ready to just get to the bottom of Jordan and figure out who she ends up with. 

Jordan Woods might be a girl, but that doesn't mean she can't play football just as well as the guys. Jordan is her high school quarterback and is looked at by her team as their fearless leader, and also as just one of the guys. Everything changes when Tyler Green comes to her school from Texas, where he was the starting QB. Jordan finds herself drawn to this mysterious new boy, but will she get distracted from leading her team to victory? Insert a cast of characters including her best friend Sam Henry, who she has always had a complicated relationship with, and you have yourself a whirl wind of a story. 

I feel like Kenneally really did her research on football. I always appreciate it when the sport is properly incorporated into the plot in a natural way. It's a cute read but it is far from being my favorite by any means. I mainly read it because I feel weird reading series out of order so I started with this despite the love triangle thing going on. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for just a light and simple read. 

Stealing Parker

4/5

This is the second book in the Hundred Oaks series. I really enjoyed Parker and the cast of characters we're introduced to in this one. Some of the plot I really disliked, like the fact that there was a love triangle that didn't seem necessary, just like Catching Jordan. But I loved the writing and the characters so much that I rated this higher than the first book. 

This book is about Parker, a girl who used to be in love with softball and was active in her church. That all changed when her mom came out as a lesbian and left her father for her friend who turned out to be more than a friend. Now she can't stand softball and is rejected by her church community completely. She becomes the manager of the baseball team to please her best friend Drew, and becomes infatuated with the new coach.  

I liked this book because of the feisty and relatable Parker. I also loved the relationship between Will and Parker. I'm also biased considering I love baseball so I connected to the story more than others might. However, you don't have to be a baseball fan to read this book. It's a beautifully written story that you could read in probably only one sitting. 

Things I Can't Forget

4/5

I'd heard a lot of great things about this book so I was anxious to read this. I was so relieved that this book didn't have a love triangle in it. Truthfully, I wasn't a huge fan of Kate and didn't relate to her like I did with the first two girls. However, she certainly grows a lot throughout the book and I found that to be extremely refreshing. This was yet another incredible book in the series and one that I'll remember for a long time.

Kate is known as the good girl, but she feels guilty about a serious secret that she keeps. The summer after her senior year, she decides to become a camp counselor at a church camp that she attended back when she was younger. There she reunites with Matt, the boy who was her first kiss. Back then, he was a dorky kid that she stood up for when the other kids made fun of him for his songwriting. Now, he's a confident and charming frat boy. This is the summer that will change the way Kate sees the world as she learns that everything isn't always black and white.

I could go on and on about how charming Matt is. He just says and does the most adorable things for Kate. I loved that the relationship gradually grew from a friendship to a serious relationship at a realistic pace. I had issues with how judgmental Kate was, but she does grow as she changes her perspective. I love the theme of friendship, and I particularly loved her bond with Parker, the lead in Stealing Parker. She helped Kate become a more open minded person and showed her what being a true friend really means. This is one of my favorite books in the series, mostly because of Matt!

Racing Savannah

3/5

It's not exactly clear when this book takes place, but I'd guess it's about four years after Thing I Can't Forget. Two of our favorite couples: Will, Parker, Kate, and Matt are all actually getting married and Parker and Kate are still best friends, which made me happy. Anyway, this is definitely my least favorite of the series. Yes, I even liked it less than Catching Jordan. I connected more with that book because of my love for football, I wasn't as interested in reading about horses so this one was a little boring for me. I think I would have been more into the plot if I was more involved in the characters and the romance. Savannah was an okay character but she wasn't as memorable as some of the other girls. Jack was also my least favorite love interest, he was a lot more of a jerk and not all as swoon worthy as the other guys. This one was just okay for me, but I did enjoy some of the supporting characters.

Savannah has just moved from West Virginia to Tennessee where she, her father, and her father's girlfriend will be able to give more opportunities to the family now that her father's girlfriend is pregnant. Savannah helps her father train horses and instantly becomes intrigued and a little disgusted by her new boss - Jack Goodwin, a cocky player who is attending Hundred Oaks High School with her. She and Jack come from completely different worlds, but can they be together despite all their differences?

This book has a lot of themes involving social status and family. I didn't have a problem with the plot, I just didn't think it was as fascinating as it could have been. I also didn't know what to make of Jack, he was easy to dislike for the majority of the book honestly. I did love the supporting characters, particularly Vanessa and Rory (Will's younger brother) who kept the story much more interesting in my opinion.

Breathe, Annie, Breathe

5/5

When I first picked this one up, I was afraid that this would be just another novel about a girl who is trying to move on from the death of her boyfriend. Much to my surprise, this turned out to be about so much more than just that. This is a book about grief, love, forgiveness, and moving on. You really feel for Annie and instantly fall in love with Jeremiah. This is one of my favorite YA contemporary books to date!

Annie blames herself for the death her boyfriend of three years. She turned him down when he proposed to her, and he ended their relationship. The night he died, he had come over to make amends with Annie and they got back together, then the next minute he was gone. It's been six months now and Annie decides to run a marathon in honor of Kyle. She ends up getting trained by Matt, where she meets his little brother Jeremiah. Despite an initial attraction and them hooking up pretty early on, Annie isn't ready for a relationship so the two become friends instead. Will she ever be able to heal and move on from her first love?

Jeremiah is Matt from Things I Can't Forget's little brother. It's safe to say that he's just as amazing as his brother. The huge difference is that Jere has never been in a serious relationship before, he simply throws away girl after girl. He is also a total adrenaline junkie, but he's also an incredibly sweet and understanding guy who stands by Annie's side as faithfully as he possibly can. If you read any book in this series, I recommend this one. The plot, characters, and romance are something really special and I enjoyed it so much.

Jesse's Girl

4/5

As someone who loves music, I instantly related to this book. I'm not a singer and I can't play any instruments, but I still understood the passion and love that Maya had for music in general. It's not the most well written book of all time, but it still was a fun book to read.

Maya may live in Tennessee, but she definitely doesn't want a career in country music. She considers herself to be more on the punk rock side, and she plays guitar for a heavy metal band with kids from her high school that she founded. Things get complicated for her when her bandmate not only dumps her but also kicks her out of the band. Meanwhile, Maya ends up getting the chance to job shadow country teen sensation Jesse Scott, who she instantly dislikes. The more the day goes on, the more Maya learns about the singer, and the two bond over music. Gradually, Jesse helps her see that maybe she can still make music without relying on a band to back her up.

Obviously, I appreciated all of the musical references in this book. Maya was definitely a well cultured girl who wasn't afraid to experiment with tons of different genres. I mean how many punk rockers have you heard of who will openly admit that their favorite song is Killing Me Softly? It's safe to say that there was so much to like about this book. Although he was a jerk at first, Jesse is a character that you slowly grow to like and he's an extremely passionate, loving, and caring character that was never boring to say the least.

I'm surprised if you made it through all six of those reviews. This turned out to be a lot longer than I was expecting, but I had quite a bit to say about these books. Thank you for reading this far, and I recommend reading these books!