Reviews

Us Three by Mia Kerick

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I can so understand Nate's feelings. I wanted to punch Liz to the ground! And I'm not a confrontational person. But holy crap, that chick has issues! And I love how Zander and Nate rallied around Casey. This was a very emotional but wonderful book.

mrnnprsns's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

scarlett_r_90's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved it! Three boys who are very different, but who click together in an unique way. Casey - the bullied outcast; Nate - the ex-stoner weirdo; and Zander - the popular jock. Each has their own problems and issues, but together they overcome these issues and find a bit of happiness. It was lovely and I wish there was more!!

whitneydr's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was an attempt at writing a rarely, if ever, seen look into polyamory between three high school students. That’s the reason why I picked this up. I can’t decide if it succeeded or failed. Perhaps it succeeded in some areas and failed in others.

It took me a while to get into the writing style and structure, which is why it took me so long to actually get passed the first few pages. The unique way Kerick portrayed each other MCs’ point of view was interesting. But I wish that Zander and Nate’s points of view were in real time like Casey’s. Zander emailing his brother and Nate writing in his diary came off as more telling than showing and a lot of information was lost between each transition and it made the story seem really uneven.

Also, I felt the prose were detailed in the wrong places. Like, I didn’t care about the food they were eating or what food they made. It didn’t do anything for the story. I would’ve loved more relationship development between the threesome. More dates, more opening up.

The bullying parts of the storyline annoyed me. It’s not even that it wasn’t realistic, because kids can be horribly cruel and spawns of satan. But why weren’t charges pressed the first time? And what those girls were doing was a punishable-by-law act. If I were Casey’s parents, the entire school system would’ve been burned to the ground. Adding on to the fact that we have the “bitchy women/girls” trope running rampant throughout, I just wasn’t feeling that aspect at all.

However, I did like Zander’s part in the anti-bullying campaign and his own coming out were very touching. Not very proactive in the beginning and we didn’t get to actually “see” him forming a GSA (just what we’re told), but touching.

Nate was by far my favorite. I love tough, but gentle giants with broken pasts. I would’ve loved more of him and his sister.

Casey? Eh….he was a bit overdramatic for my taste. I felt for him and empathized with him a lot. But I got annoyed with how much of a doormat he was. I understand wanting to be liked and wanting to be part of the popular crowd. But I could not understand going back to those girls after what they did the first time.

"Us Three" just ended too abruptly for my liking, so I wonder if they’ll be a possible sequel. I’d like to see Nate, Zander, and Casey in their relationship as (new) adults.

2.75 Stars

evil_jj's review against another edition

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1.0

To put it simply, I hated the way this book was written. I didn't like the first person POVs from all three MCs, stereotypes were taken to such extremes that the story wasn't believable to me, and the way they spoke and behaved wasn't realistic either. It reads more like a story made up and written by a teenager than a recounting of something that actually happened to a teenager. I just couldn't buy a single aspect of it. I'd recommend reading the free sample before purchasing to see if the writing is an issue for you.

ainhoalikesbooksandmangos's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I want to start by saying how uncomfortable i felt by the characters being 16. There was NO reason for the not to be 18, having in mind that NSFW scenes would be included; if the writer didn't want to change much of the story. Other bad things were how Zander (I found really funny that his name was Zander Zane) would tell his brother his encounters in such detail. It's even acknowledged in the book that that's weird. Also the fascination they had about Casey being really pure, left me feling kind of weird. THE FACT THAT THEY DIDN'T CALL THE POLICE ABOUT THE ABUSE THAT NATE WAS GOING THROUGH IS INSANE. And how the left his sister alone with his abuser on Christmas eve... Didn't liked the ending felt kind of week for how strong the issues of the book were.
Onto things that i liked, the poly representation, wich i can't criticize because I'm not part of the community, but it was nice to see an big part of why i read this book. Some of the topics discussed such as how people can't wear why they want, questioning what's a normal relationship, ect. Also i got kind of hocked and read the book in two days.
I think that it could of been an amazing book, but this topics were soo huge that it falls short and the ending was rushed. But not that bad if you are curious reed it.

Content Warnings

scarlett__r90's review against another edition

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5.0

knrt_17's review against another edition

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5.0

New to me author. This is a mmm contemporary story set in a USA high school. The fresh writing style draw me in. This book discusses the dark side of school bullying, from the three main characters differing view points. I really enjoyed the journey of this book. I’ll read this author again.