Eyes on Me by Rachel Harris

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Title: Eyes on Me
Author: Rachel Harris
Published by: Entangled: Teen
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Format: eARC
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult, Sports Romance
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris, a fun, flirty romance perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen or Huntley Fitzpatrick that proves it’s what’s on the inside that really counts.

Look up the word “nerd” and you’ll find Lily Bailey’s picture. She’s got one goal: first stop valedictorian, next stop Harvard. Until a stint in the hospital from too much stress lands her in the last place a klutz like her ever expected to be: salsa dance lessons.

Look up the word “popular” and you’ll find Stone Torres’s picture. His life seems perfect—star of the football team, small-town hero, lots of friends. But his family is struggling to make ends meet, so if pitching in at his mom's dance studio helps, he’ll do it.

When Lily’s dad offers Stone extra cash to volunteer as Lily’s permanent dance partner, he can’t refuse. But with each dip and turn, each moment her hand is in his, his side job starts to feel all too real. Lily shows Stone he's more than his impressive football stats, and he introduces her to a world outside of studying. But with the lines blurred, can their relationship survive the secret he's been hiding?

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

5 stars — Oh dude, this one just hit ALL the right buttons for me.  Dancing?  Check.  Nerdy heroine?  Check.  Sweet hero?  Check.  SOLD! to Lenore!!!

OK, seriously though.  It took me a bit to warm up to Lily, but once I did…oh wow, I just thought she was sassy and hilarious and conflicted and I actually felt her stress.  Initially I guess I didn’t quite understand her motivations for pushing herself so hard…but as the book went on, I connected with her more and more and started to see how she was using it as an escape, as something to hide behind.  While I love connecting with a character right away, there’s also something amazing about an author who can take a character and make you grow to love and truly care for them.  And it happened throughout the whole book, culminating in the climax with her Dad.  They needed that breakdown and breakthrough, and I was so happy with how that progressed…it felt realistic.

Stone.  Oh Stone.  He was SUCH a sweetheart, and he was another character that I just grew to love more and more as the book went on and I learned more about him.  I loved that the author compared and contrasted these two seemingly opposites, and showed how they can both be dealing with loneliness and detachment, just in very different ways.  My heart ached for all the pressure he was under, and how he saw his future.  You don’t always get a glimpse at the depth of a character like Stone, and I was just loved getting to know him.  Now obviously, he made mistakes…but I truly felt his guilt and regret, and I understood his reasons (even if I still thought he made the wrong choice).  I ADORED his relationship with his family too.  I love to see those close family bonds.  He and his twin had something special.

And then there’s Lily and Stone together.  I loved the way their relationship progressed.  It was sweet, and believable, and made me swoon and happy smile so many times.  I loved that they developed crushes, and then got to know one another and connected on a deeper level.  I really believed their feelings for one another.  And the dancing!  OMG the dancing.  I love dancing, so I loved the connection they made there.

I was worried that the conflict and climax would be too cliche, and while it did follow some of the usual lines, it did so in a ++ kind of way…like taking a trope and just making it better somehow.  The showcase was just mwah perfection.

SOOOOOO many great secondary characters in this one too.  I loved the friendship between Sydney and Lily, and I LOVED the one that they both developed with Angéla.  I loved the glimpses we got of Chase, even if I’d have liked to see more of his friendship with Stone.  And I even appreciated Aidan, and how he tried to look out for Lily.  I desperately hope that they ALL have books coming, because I want them desperately…PARTICULARLY Angéla and Chase.  And of course I loved Stone’s Ma — she was spunky and sassy, and the perfect instructor.

So yeah.  As you can tell, this one just worked for me.  I figured I was going to like this one given all the elements, but I connected with it even more than expected.