In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher ~ 320 pages ~ published on March 19, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s been years since Nova Evans last saw Sam. She was too young then to understand why he had to move away―and what it had to do with the cuts and bruises he got from home and never wanted to talk about. All she knew is that they promised to find each other when they were older, something she thought was impossible thanks to her and her mom moving around constantly. Until she bumps into Sam in her new school, and realizes he has clearly forgotten their childhood promise.

Sam Jordan has a plan for his accept his college football scholarship, date his girlfriend Abigail, and―most importantly―hide how much he wants to do something, anything other than The Plan™ his parents and coaches have set before him. It doesn’t matter if sometimes he finds himself thinking about the new girl he met in the cafeteria, a girl who reminds him of a past that hurts to remember.

When a school-wide personality test reveals Nova and Sam to be each others’ top matches―not only that, but a match of 99%, the highest in the school―they begin to remember why they were such close friends, all those years ago. As well as the myriad of reasons this new-yet-familiar, magnetic, sparkling thing between them will never, ever work out.

In the Orbit of You is a story about the enduring and changing nature of friendship, of the strange struggle between who you are and who you want to be, and finding your voice after trauma.

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What I Thought:

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!*

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. 🥰

Ashley Schumacher writes the most beautiful stories of young adults figuring out who they are. I don’t know how she does it, but her books are just magical.

Nova and Sam are such complex and wonderful characters. One is afraid of their past catching up to them, and of disappointing the people in their present. The other doesn’t know what they want, and doesn’t feel like they even know who they really are. These are such relatable problems that we have all dealt with in our adolescence. Seeing the two of them work through these issues in the orbit of each other was tragically beautiful.

I loved this storyline. Two childhood friends finding each other again right on the cusp of major life decisions. *muah chef’s kiss* The friends and significant other in the story were fun and added some nice comedic relief.

Though, I honestly could have done without the romantic will they, won’t they. This is surprising for me, as I’m a huge sucker for romance. But, I felt like this story was strong without the extra complication.

Lovely and bittersweet, this is a beauty of a book. I hope you give it a chance to dazzle you. ❤️

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My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I gave In the Orbit of You 4.5 Stars!

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Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below!

Ashley Schumacher’s Website

Ashley Schumacher’s Instagram

In the Orbit of You on Goodreads

Order In the Orbit of You on Amazon

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Have you read any of Ashley Schumacher’s previous books? Check out my reviews for some of them here!

Full Flight ~ The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

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Are you a fan of friends to lovers romance? Love triangles? Bittersweet endings in romance? Let’s chat in the comments!

Love and happy reading,

Whitney