ARC Review: Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks #8) by Miranda Kenneally

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Coming Up for Air
Series: Hundred Oaks #8
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Published July 4th 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire

Goodreads Summary
Swim. Eat. Shower. School. Snack. Swim. Swim. Swim. Dinner. Homework. Bed. Repeat.

All of Maggie’s focus and free time is spent swimming. She’s not only striving to earn scholarships—she’s training to qualify for the Olympics. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is also on the team and cheers her on. But Levi’s already earned an Olympic try out, so she feels even more pressure to succeed. And it’s not until Maggie’s away on a college visit that she realizes how much of the “typical” high school experience she’s missed by being in the pool.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Maggie decides to squeeze the most out of her senior year. First up? Making out with a guy. And Levi could be the perfect candidate. After all, they already spend a lot of time together. But as Maggie slowly starts to uncover new feelings for Levi, how much is she willing to lose to win?

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Kenneally's Hundred Oaks series is one of my favourite YA Contemporary series, of all time! I simply adore her story telling, and immediately started the final book in the series as soon as it became available on NetGalley. In Coming Up For Air, Maggie has next to no time for a personal life. Everything revolves around swimming, and her hope that she will one day qualify for the US Olympic team. It helps that her best friend, Levi, is in the same position, so neither feel guilty when they think about swimming. However, Maggie starts to realise she hasn't had a 'normal' high school experience, and wants to explore life as a teenage girl. One problem, though, as she starts to explore this side of life, her feelings about Levi soon change to something much more than friendship.

This book is my favourite of the whole series, hands down! I just loved Maggie so much. She was the perfect MC, and really relatable, though I have no inclination to sports or Olympic dreams. I couldn't put the book down as soon as I picked it up, and devoured it in one sitting.

Maggie and Levi's relationship was smooth, and felt natural from day one. Their progression from best friends to lovers never felt rushed or forced, and it was completely swoony. The way they cared for each other, and didn't want to jeopardise their friendship was what endeared them the most to me.

Yes, there were moments when the plot was a bit predictable, but not so much that it meant the book wasn't enjoyable. Even now, I am already planning on re-reading Coming Up For Air, and look forward to more from Kenneally in the future. If you haven't read any of the books in this series yet, I can't recommend them enough!


Dates Read:
January 13, 2017

Rating
5 Stars

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