The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A passionate summer love story about a girl, her childhood best friend, and the small town lies that have kept them apart. Leah Konen’s The Last Time We Were Us is perfect for fans of Jenny Han, Sara Zarr, and Gayle Forman.
Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life. She and her friend MacKenzie are finally getting invited to all the best parties, and, with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.
Then Jason Sullivan comes back to town. A million years ago, he was her best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd . . . and before he attacked Innis’s older brother and got sent away to juvie. All of Bonneville still thinks he’s dangerous, but Liz finds it hard to believe what people say about her childhood friend. If word gets out she’s seeing him, she could lose everything.
But what if there’s more to that horrible night than she knows? And how many more people will get hurt when the truth finally comes out? Liz will have to decide if she can trust herself—and her heart—before it’s too late.

The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen is definitely one of those books that is 100% appropriate for your beach bag. There is kissing. There is scandal. Also there is some low key family drama. In addition, this book is quick and sort of breezy if you’re into young adult contemporary forbidden romance books. Spoiler alert: I definitely am.

The Last Time We Were Us is told from the point of view of Liz Grant. It opens with Liz going with this guy who she hooks up with, Innis, to pick up beer with her fake ID from the gas station. Unfortunately for Liz, the gas station that they pick has an employee who knows Liz, Jason. Jason was her friend in childhood. However, he was not nice to her in middle school/as a freshman. Now though, Jason has a pretty bad reputation and was in juvie. So, the plot goes on and ultimately it is about Liz and her attraction to Jason, despite Innis being into her and him having the better reputation.

Liz Grant is a pretty ordinary girl. She’s not her class valedictorian. She’s not a dork. Also, Liz is not going through any kind of identity crisis or anything. She doesn’t struggle with being different from other people. In fact, she was attending southern cotillion classes until she and her sister were kicked out. Anyways, Liz goes through some pretty common experiences – losing her virginity, dealing with changing friendships, and a sibling who is getting married. I felt like Liz was a pretty okay character, and one that I am sure readers will be able to relate to.

The romance in this book is actually not too terrible either. So, Liz is between two guys – Innis and Jason. You would think that she’d go for Innis because he’s got a lot of checks in the pros column. He’s good looking. He’s rich. Innis is pretty thoughtful as well. He is considered quite the catch in town. There’s really nothing at first where you’re like wow, that Innis is terrible. However, Liz can’t stop thinking about Jason once she sees him again. I think that it is the whole town pariah, forbidden thing. Anyways, there’s definitely a spark between them and all that history. You wonder if they will be able to mount the obstacles against them.

So overall, I found myself rooting for Liz and Jason to get together. I will admit though, one thing that drove me up the wall was how long it took to find out what Jason did and his side of the story. I felt that really made the book just drag and drag. On the whole this is totally a summer beach read sort of book. I liked it, but I do not ever see myself re-reading. It’s a good book for a palate cleanser.

Other reviews of The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen:

• The Book Addict’s Guide – “this book and I just didn’t connect“
• The Book Hookup – “wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination“
• Confessions Of A Book Addict – “it was an entertaining read“

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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