On The Fence by Kasie West, Book Review

By: Kasie West
Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: July 1, 2014
Source: arc from publisher to review
Rating: 5 Stars - I Loved It
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Purchase from: Harper Teen

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door.

With three older brothers, Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, has always been more comfortable calling the shots on a basketball court than flirting with the opposite sex. So when her police officer dad demands she get a summer job to pay for the latest in a long line of speeding tickets, she's more than a little surprised to find herself working at a chichi boutique and going out with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game. Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with her neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden, sitting back-to-back against the fence that separates them. Braden may know her better than anyone. But there's a secret Charlie's keeping that even he hasn't figured out—she's fallen for him. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

On the Fence is a sweet and satisfying read about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect it.

This is a fantastic summer read, with the perfect summer romance! On The Fence has all the right elements that made me swoon, laugh, cry and enjoy every moment I spent reading this book. 

Have you ever found yourself sitting down with a book you knew you were going to enjoy, but didn't except yourself to fall head over heels in love with? That was this book for me. I knew Kasie was going to give me a good story, but what I didn't except was loving each of her characters, connecting with the story, and staying up until 2 am reading it, because I couldn't put the book down. On The Fence is a book that introduced me to some pretty incredible characters, all of which became these three dimensional characters whom I came to really care about. What I loved about that, is the story itself is about Charlotte, aka Charlie. I love it when I fall for more than just a main character. Each of West's characters felt more like people I wish I could go hang out with vs characters I was reading about in a book.

Charlie is a girl I connected with on the tom boy level. I got her love of sports, and hanging out with the guys, which in this case were her over protective, really fun big brothers. I totally understood that awkwardness that comes from trying to figure out how to become more girly and less tomboyish, while still enjoying all the tomboyish things. Unlike Charlie, I didn't figure that out until I was older. Charlie was an easy character for me to love. She says what she's thinking, he handles her own, and yet she's coping with something that really got me emotionally. I won't say what that is for the sake of spoilers, but it's something that played a big role in her maturing in who she is as a teenager, and a women, and finding herself. I also liked the way relationships with Charlie and some of the girls in the story evolved, and the realizations Charlie comes to with her relationships with them. 

Charlie's family is, well just awesome! I loved her brothers. I loved the relationship they all have, and how playful Charlie and her brothers were. They were constantly playing jokes on each other, messing around, and being pranksters. They all have a love of sports, and I LOVED that they included Charlie in everything they did from soccer games to pick up football games. Charlie can seriously hold her own with her brothers. Their dynamics and relationship felt real. I also loved that Charlie's dad played a role in the story as well. 

The love interest in this story rocked! Braden is just like one of Charlie's brothers. He's the guy from next door who's grown up with Charlie and her family, and is her brother Gage's best friend. There's nothing this group doesn't do together. Out of everyone, Braden and Gage are Charlie's besets friends. Braden and Charlie have this natural chemistry that from the get go I wanted something more to develop between them. 

West does such a great job with the way he developed Braden and Charlie's relationship. They have to navigate their feelings from being best friends to that awkwardness that arises once they both come to the realization they've in love. I liked that West didn't rush their relationship. Charlie and Braden had to decide if taking the risk of crossing the best friends to being in a relationship was worth it. Not to mention that Braden would have to deal with the wrath of his best friends for his dating their sister. I LOVED their moments together late at night talking by the fence. I liked seeing both of them with their guard down, and how vulnerable it made them. 

On The Fence really surprised me. Instead of being a read I thought I could just sit and read without giving it much thought, I ended up being completely wrapped up in the story, and connected with it on a level I was not excepting. I LOVED it! It's simplistic in it's fast moving plot line, wonderful in the way the story is told, and complex with how the characters learn to come to terms with a relationship that was so perfect, wonderful, and romantic in a way that fit both characters. This is a story that I will definitely read again. 

If you're looking for that perfect book to pick up and take to the beach with you that will have you sighing, constantly smiling, laughing out loud and swooning, PICK UP THIS BOOK!