Not My Cup of Tea Book Reviews: The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen

By: Leah Konen
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Released on: 5/10/16
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it Goodreads
Rating: 1 stars - I Didn't Like It
I received an arc from the publisher to review, in exchange for my honest review

A passionate summer love story about a girl, her childhood best friend recently released from juvie, and the small-town lies that have kept them apart. A teen romance debut with a dark edge.
Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life. She and her friend MacKenzie are getting invited to all the best parties, and with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.

Jason Sullivan wasn’t supposed to come back from juvie. A million years ago, he was her best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd. Before he attacked Innis’s older brother, leaving Skip’s face burned and their town in shock.

Liz always found it hard to believe what they said about Jason, but all of Bonneville thinks he’s dangerous. If word gets out she’s seeing him, she could lose everything. But what if there’s more to that horrible night than she knows? And how many more people will get hurt when the truth finally comes out?

Leah Konen’s southern romance swelters with passion as it explores the devastating crush of lies, the delicate balance of power and perception, and one girl’s journey to find herself while uncovering the secrets of so many others. 

Sometimes you read books you connect with, and sometimes you read books that end up not being your cup of tea. This book was not my cup of tea. No matter how hard I tried to like, I couldn't get into it. I didn't connect with the story or any of the characters. Since I didn't connect with the characters, I found myself not really for some of them. Unfortunately that includes the main character Liz. 

For much of the story Liz was a character I had a hard time with. She makes a lot of really stupid choices without any thought of consequences, which really bothered me. I wasn't expecting her to not, not make some stupid choices, as everyone does, however it was her lack of not caring who it effected, including herself, that I didn't like. Thankfully she does have consequences for her choices by the end of the book. I did like her more towards the end of the book, because she started to take ownership of herself, where for much of the book she didn't, but by the end it was too late. I wish I had seen more of that ownership earlier on. 

Romance wise, there are relationships in this book that I had issues with. I won't elaborate much, because of the spoilers, but I will say that some things didn't seem healthy, and some things were just irritating with the love interests. There was a lot missing from the romantic relationships. I feel like I need to include, that when it comes to contemps, I am picky with the way romantic relationships are written. 

Story wise, I don't know what it was, but this book and I didn't hit it off at all. There are times when I find that if I don't like the overall story, I like the characters or if I don't like the story, I like the characters, but in case I had a hard time liking any of it. I feel really bad for saying that. The over all story felt rushed, and at times incomplete, as was the case with the ending. Although the ending could change since I read an ARC. Over all I felt like there was a lot of potential for this story, but it fell flat for me. There was a dynamic to the story that was missing, and unfortunately not even the dark, edgy romance or the suspenseful twist could save this story. 

*This book does contain some sex scenes & some violence

Just because this wasn't my cup of tea, doesn't mean it won't be yours. Please check out the variety of reviews online for this book to see what others had to say about this.