Synopsis:

Alexa Clausen has never fallen. She’s never soared. She’s lived her entire life floating midway between passion and despondency, never experiencing those extremes. But all it takes is one evening with Adam Westbrook to draw her out of her shell, to leave her feeling bold for the first time ever. He is fiery and magnetic. He is gravitational, that inescapable pull no one can avoid. After a few chance encounters, Alexa finally accepts that she can’t stay away, can’t deny the electricity she feels every time he comes around.

But as the intensity between them deepens, she also can’t avoid the subtle hints that Adam is hiding something. His wide smile and radiant eyes obscure some burning secret, some detail of his past that resurfaces to steal his joy. The farther Alexa falls, the more she realizes just how little she really knows about Adam and how far he is willing to go to cover up the truth.

Calm Like Home is a story about love and longing, growth and stagnation, discovering one’s counterpart but losing oneself, and ultimately finding that one person truly has the power to change everything.

Book Links:

Amazon | Goodreads

Review:

This is a sweet story story at its heart. Adam and Alexa’s innocent friendship builds and builds, turning into a life changing love from the first accidental touch.

but then….there’s so much push and pull and push and pull and crying and drinking and crying WHILE drinking and oh good lord I’m tired.

Adam and Alexa have a summer together…well, technically 31 days since they don’t actually get together until closer to the end of the summer, but I digress. Once Adam returns to school 300 miles away, they struggle to figure out whether their summer love can last or if it dissipated as the air turned crisp.

The long distance relationship thingy that they had was undefined and exhausting. For two people who are adults, they never actually talked about anything really important and that drove me nuts. I did a long distance relationship for three years and while it blew, I didn’t turn into a non functioning person when he wasn’t around. The codependency here was a little outrageous and made me want to shake Alexa.

Additionally, not that I really needed more drama, but there was always the hint of it to come and that left me on edge for about 60% of this book. *pulls hair* Of course, this is perfect if you’re looking for a relationship angsty read.

However, when Adam and Alexa came together and opened up to one another it was wonderful, fulfilling, and completely adorable. I was grinning right along with Alexa, happy because she was. I loved their inside jokes, love of ice cream, birthday connection and long drives of nothingness. Their hugs and caresses felt real and there was no denying their love for another.

I suppose I just wished that they communicated more, that the Big Secret that Adam withholds was told sooner and that I had more of an afterglow to bask in. However, I had no complaints about the writing and I’d definitely read from this author again.

Overall, lots of likes and some dislikes, but it was an enjoyable read. Calm Like Home kept me on edge but also made me smile with outstanding love. three stars!

[I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

About the Author:

Kaisa Clark is the author of the new adult novel Calm Like Home. She is passionate about reading and writing and also has an intense love for music, coffee, and dark chocolate. She lives with her amazing husband, sweet dog, and kooky cat.

Author Links:

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/kaisaclark

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KaisaClark

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkaisaclark

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaisaClark

Website: https://kaisaclark.wordpress.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KaisaClark/

Spotify (playlists for Calm Like Home): https://play.spotify.com/user/kaisaclark