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Sort of Normal
Falling in love isn’t as easy as staying in love.
Carter Hart and Boone Fell’s lives are a tangle of perfect and imperfect memories. In a world of drugs, alcoholism and neglectful parents, their love for each other kept them strong. But all it takes is one kiss and a lie to tear them apart.
When Carter’s brother, Declan, dies of an overdose, Boone decides he can’t let another day of secrets and mistaken circumstances keep them apart. His only problem? Now that he’s ready to move forward with Carter, she’s ready to leave him where she thinks he belongs: in the past.
Carter Hart and Boone Fell’s lives are a tangle of perfect and imperfect memories. In a world of drugs, alcoholism and neglectful parents, their love for each other kept them strong. But all it takes is one kiss and a lie to tear them apart.
When Carter’s brother, Declan, dies of an overdose, Boone decides he can’t let another day of secrets and mistaken circumstances keep them apart. His only problem? Now that he’s ready to move forward with Carter, she’s ready to leave him where she thinks he belongs: in the past.
211 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 14, 2020
2 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Liz Ashlee
17 books159 followersLiz Ashlee is the author of the Love in Motion series. Liz has her M.A. in English from Northern Kentucky University, where she also earned her undergraduate degrees. Liz lives in Kentucky with her husband, son, and plethora of pets.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2020
This one was different to other romance novels I read recently. It is not the typical high school romance. It is not the “good girl falls in love with the bad boy” type of romance. It is not cute and funny and romantic (even though there are a few sweet scenes). I am not meaning to talk negatively about this book. Quite the opposite actually, because even though this book was none of these things and even though it was not at all what I expected it was good! And in the end it was great!
This romance was much more than all of the above. It is deeper and much more serious. It is a love story where the two main characters already know each other. They grew up together. For a long time they only had each other. They love each other from the very start. Only the other person prevented them from breaking and crumbling to pieces. And even though Boone does seem like the typical flirt in the beginning, you soon realise that he is genuine. That he is serious about his intentions, that he is not at all a bad boy and that he never wants or wanted to do anything to hurt Carter.
From early on the reader knows these two have feelings for each other and they know as well. They know they love each other, but things happened in the past that prevents them from accepting this and prevents them from trying (again). Through flashbacks and a journey through time, the reader experiences their childhood. It starts when they were both young, then these flashbacks take the reader through their teenager years and slowly the entire history unravels with all the things that went wrong, all the outer influences, all the complex and horrible circumstances they grew up in.
The things they both had to endure in their past weren’t easy and this is the story about them having to learn ow to love and trust again and to actually show their feelings instead of burying them deep down. It is about them getting their lives under control and moving around all obstacles. It is about them learning to forgive and letting their walls falls and open up despite everything that happened in their past.
I loved this story. It is highly emotional and I was always afraid that something might happen to make everything crumble again. The characters were super sweet! Seeing them fix that fragile love between them was wonderful and Boone does everything to make Carter happy. He really fights for her, does all these little things for her and tries to protect her from the world. He knows her inside our and even though Carter is a little sceptical because of their past, she does believe him and wants to be with him. The things that happened between the two only make them stronger and that is fantastic.
There was one specific scene towards the end where I was afraid this would open up an opportunity for drama and mistrust and I wouldn’t have liked that at this point, because it wouldn’t have fit Carter’s character. However, the author did not include drama and that made me happy. She found another, very smooth way to clear things out, which made me very happy.
The only thing that bothered me a little was never knowing how old the two characters were in the present. There was always a mention of their age at the beginning of every flashback, but never for the present and I would have liked to know how old these two were in present events and how much of a gap there was between the last flashback and the current situation.
This romance was much more than all of the above. It is deeper and much more serious. It is a love story where the two main characters already know each other. They grew up together. For a long time they only had each other. They love each other from the very start. Only the other person prevented them from breaking and crumbling to pieces. And even though Boone does seem like the typical flirt in the beginning, you soon realise that he is genuine. That he is serious about his intentions, that he is not at all a bad boy and that he never wants or wanted to do anything to hurt Carter.
From early on the reader knows these two have feelings for each other and they know as well. They know they love each other, but things happened in the past that prevents them from accepting this and prevents them from trying (again). Through flashbacks and a journey through time, the reader experiences their childhood. It starts when they were both young, then these flashbacks take the reader through their teenager years and slowly the entire history unravels with all the things that went wrong, all the outer influences, all the complex and horrible circumstances they grew up in.
The things they both had to endure in their past weren’t easy and this is the story about them having to learn ow to love and trust again and to actually show their feelings instead of burying them deep down. It is about them getting their lives under control and moving around all obstacles. It is about them learning to forgive and letting their walls falls and open up despite everything that happened in their past.
I loved this story. It is highly emotional and I was always afraid that something might happen to make everything crumble again. The characters were super sweet! Seeing them fix that fragile love between them was wonderful and Boone does everything to make Carter happy. He really fights for her, does all these little things for her and tries to protect her from the world. He knows her inside our and even though Carter is a little sceptical because of their past, she does believe him and wants to be with him. The things that happened between the two only make them stronger and that is fantastic.
There was one specific scene towards the end where I was afraid this would open up an opportunity for drama and mistrust and I wouldn’t have liked that at this point, because it wouldn’t have fit Carter’s character. However, the author did not include drama and that made me happy. She found another, very smooth way to clear things out, which made me very happy.
The only thing that bothered me a little was never knowing how old the two characters were in the present. There was always a mention of their age at the beginning of every flashback, but never for the present and I would have liked to know how old these two were in present events and how much of a gap there was between the last flashback and the current situation.
March 21, 2020
This was an alright read. Towards the end I was really pushing myself to finish it. I hate to say it but I ended up getting a little bored.
February 23, 2020
Sort of Normal is my first read by Liz Ashlee and what a wonderful first read it was. The story reels the reader in from the get-go and is an emotional journey into the lives of two very likeable characters in Carter Hart and Boone Fell. Tragedy, loss and secrets, all become apparent as the web of deception and betrayal unravel to reveal the heartaches of the past, and the reality of what should have been. This story has many elements, but Carter and Boone are the foundation and through suffering and heartache, prove that happiness can emerge after the pain subsides. I’m more than happy to recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
August 8, 2020
Read it for free. Hallmark-y but Kentucky redneck. This is my honest review since I didn't get a good follow-up on the author when it came to my end. I thought it was cute and funny but there wasn't enough real love compared to smut. Nothing against smut if that is your thing but the characters started off too far apart in age when I first read it, almost pedophilic. Maybe that changed. Just a light, enjoyable read. I like how the characters had real problems compared to your other light romances. Good pacing. It went by quick but I like stronger female characters even if I have no problem with typical masculine men.
May 18, 2025
Over all a good positive story, it had so many heartbreaking moments, and the misunderstandings are frustratingly very relatable. But love conquers all, even bad childhoods and can make anyone want to do better than their parents, especially if they have someone worth breaking that downward slide with.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews