If you are a fan of Sarah Dessen or Miranda Kenneally, I highly recommend readers check out Abbi Glines Field Party series. Currently, she has two published books and a third one will be available at the end of August.
Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1)
Summary by Goodreads:
To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.
Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.
As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.
West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…
Under the Lights (Field Party #2)
Summary by Goodreads:
In the follow-up to Abbi Glines’s #1 New York Times bestseller Until Friday Night—three teens from a small southern town are stuck in a dramatic love triangle.
Willa can’t erase the bad decisions of her past that led her down the path she’s on now. But she can fight for forgiveness from her family. And she can protect herself by refusing to let anyone else get close to her.
High school quarterback and town golden boy Brady used to be the best of friends with Willa—she even had a crush on him when they were kids. But that’s all changed now: her life choices have made her a different person from the girl he used to know.
Gunner used to be friends with Willa and Brady, too. He too is larger than life and a high school football star—not to mention that his family basically owns the town of Lawton. He loves his life, and doesn’t care about anyone except himself. But Willa is the exception—and he understands the girl she’s become in a way no one else can.
As secrets come to light and hearts are broken, these former childhood friends must face the truth about growing up and falling in love…even if it means losing each other forever.
After the Game (Field Party #3)
Summary by Goodreads:
The third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Field Party series—a southern soap opera with football, cute boys, and pick-up trucks—from USA TODAY bestselling author Abbi Glines.
Two years ago, Riley Young fled from Lawton, Alabama. After accusing the oldest Lawton son, Rhett, of rape, everyone called her a liar and she had no option but to leave. Now she’s back, but she’s not at Lawton High finishing up her senior year. She’s at home raising the little girl that no one believed was Rhett’s.
Rhett is off at college living the life he was afraid he’d lose with Riley’s accusation, so Riley agrees to move back to Lawton so she and her parents could take care of her grandmother, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. But the town still hasn’t forgotten their hate for her, and she hasn’t forgotten the way they turned on her when she needed them most.
When town golden boy Brady Higgens finds Riley and her daughter, Bryony, stranded on the side of the road in a storm, he pulls over and gives them a ride. Not because he cares about Riley, of course, but because of the kid.
But after the simple car ride, he begins to question everything he thought he knew. Could Brady believe Riley and risk losing everything?
My Thoughts:
This series is a “southern soap opera” at its finest. I received an advanced copy of book #3 and hate to read a series out of order so I had to pick up the first two from our local library. I fell in love with this series from page one book #1 and literally could not put the books down until I finished #3. I am in a Field Party withdrawal right now. Why do I love them so much? So many reasons…
- There is more to the books than “romance.”
- I think both male and female teens will connect with this series.
- Each story focuses on different characters, but those same characters become minor characters in subsequent stories.
- The conflicts the characters face aren’t typical “teen drama” conflicts. Glines takes real life situations and tackles the topics in positive ways: murder, cancer, suicide, rape, teen pregnancy, etc.
- In each story both the male and female characters struggle with issues. They learn the importance of friends to help them get through their problems.
- Her hope is to write 9 books in this series – I can only pray that the next set get picked up by her publisher!
If you haven’t checked out the first two books in her series, pick them up before After the Game is published in August. They are worth it!!!
***Thank you NetGalley for the After the Game ARC.***
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