✨ ARC review - The Not-Outcast by Tijan ✨

 

Title: The Not-Outcast

Author: Tijan 

Genre: Contemporary sports romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Blurb: 

Cutler Ryder was everything I wasn't.

He was the hockey star. I was an outcast.
He was best friends with my stepbrother, that same stepbrother who hated me.
His two parents loved him. My mom was a junkie. My dad barely knew me.

Years passed.
I got my life together.
Cut went onto NHL stardom.

Then there was a text.
I was drinking.
There was a party.
Cut was there...

I loved Cutler Ryder since the first moment I saw him.
The only problem? He never knew I existed

Review: 

*Possible Spoilers (something that's not in the blurb)*

It is no secret that I absolutely love Tijan's writing, and have for years. Her writing always captures my interest, and I love the characters she writes. The Not-Outcast is something different from what we usually see from her, but its in a very good way. This is a hockey romance, which I love, and there's all the expected romance and tension between the characters, but this story deals with some things that I think should be written about more often.

I really loved the characters in this book. Cheyenne has had such a rough life, and I really don't want to spoil anything, but I want to talk about something that is not in the blurb and that may be considered a spoiler to some, so don't read past this part if you don't want to know.   

 Cheyenne deals with a mental illness and it's never revealed what it is because in the end note from Tijan she said she didn't want her diagnosis to define her like many times in real life it does. I think the way that the wayTijan handled this topic was very well done. We really get an inside look into what it's like for Cheyenne, and how it affects her, her life, and the people around her. But like I said, Tijan did a fantastic job of not letting it define who she is, it's just a part of her.

I loved Cutler. He was so amazing with Cheyenne and the way he was there for her even when she didn't believe in herself. And like is mentions in the blurb, this is a hockey romance. I really enjoyed that part of the story seeing as I'm a fan of hockey. I loved the interaction we get to see with Cutler and some of his teammates. This is dual pov so we get to see things from Cutlers perspective as well, and I enjoyed the parts about the games from him. 

Cheyenne is so silly, playful, and funny. Her and her girl gang had me cracking up laughing more than once. I freaking loved her friends, and the hilarious stuff that they got up to. 

I very much enjoyed this book. It deals with some difficult topics, but there is humor, romance, and heartwarming friendship in this book. The Not-Outcast is something we haven't really seen from Tijan before, but I am so happy that she decided to share Cheyennes story with the world. 

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*