A review by sixelad03
Choosing You by Taylor Wilson-West

challenging emotional hopeful tense 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

4.5

I had already grown fond of Banks and Henry in the previous books—and especially of Henry, who is a total sweetheart—so I was looking forward to reading their story. It wasn’t all plain sailing for my emotions, but I have absolutely no regrets about having read this book. I didn’t mind the tears, it was worth it in the end. Choosing You is a book I really enjoyed reading. 

 

I won’t lie, I was extremely frustrated by Banks’ behaviour. I understand his point of view and why he decided to make certain choices, but damn it, I can’t count the number of times I wanted to smack him in the back of the head to knock some sense into him—even if it meant using violence. It was extremely hard to see Henry suffer—especially as I have a soft spot for him. Henry really is a sweet boy and it’s sometimes hard to believe that he’s part of the found family we’ve known since the beginning of the Gravity Hill series, were it not for the presence of Fern and Cin in that family. 

 

As I’ve mentioned before, there were quite a few times when tears were shed. It was hard to watch Henry and Banks’ hearts break. I was proud of Tal for standing up for Henry when everyone else was silent. With Cin in his life now, the young man is really moving in the right direction. This book also introduces us to new characters, including Charlie. Once you get to know her through her interactions with Banks, it’s hard not to like the witty young woman. Finally, as for Toby, I’m really looking forward to reading the book that will focus on his story. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding him that I want to understand. 

 

Through this story, I found that grief was evoked in a fairly accurate way. Losing your mother is a really difficult ordeal and it explains a lot about Banks’ personality. The binge eating topic is also addressed in this book through Henry and I hope for his comfort that this is something he can work on in the future as I know only too well the toll a crisis can take on your mental health. 

 

I wanted to thank Taylor Wilson-West for writing a story in which one of the two MMCs is plus size. While more books are being written with plus size FMCs than before—though still not enough for my opinion—it really is much rarer to find ones with plus size MMCs. Yet all sizes deserve to be loved. 

 

I’m now looking forward to the release of Keeping You. 

 

Thanks to Taylor Wilson-West and Nisha’s Books and Coffee PR for giving me the opportunity to receive an ARC of Choosing You. This review is my own. All opinions expressed are mine.