A review by ccanread
Wrap Around by Rebecca Rathe

2.5

Gideon and Silas come from an extremely religious background, both leaving that world for different reasons, but similar exit strategy - hockey. I don’t want to say too much more about that because some may find it a tad spoilery. I will say that this was fairly predictable for me; but that thing that happens closer to the finish line? I didn’t really see that coming. 

Religious trauma is different for many people, so I advise those who have experienced it to read the content warnings and proceed with caution. This is not an end all be all depiction of those with faith, but unfortunately this is a reality for some. It was nice to see them able to find their way out of that life and start building their own. 

This book teased the line of the miscommunication trope. All of the angst in the first half of the book could have been solved with a good one on one (on one?) between Gideon, Silas, and Lily. I had to remind myself that these are 20, 21 year olds with religious trauma, so realistically their misunderstandings could have probably happened this way? On top of that, they had to leave the only life they’ve ever known, and navigate the world on their own, with a young one in tow to boot. I just wish Gideon would have been more receptive to hearing them out, and that they also would have been a bit more forthcoming. 

I really wanted to like this one more than I did, but alas, this was not a win for me. I can see some people really enjoying this. Rebecca has written some bangers that I’ve really enjoyed, but unfortunately this wasn’t one of them for me. 

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.