Changed: The Imperfect Girls Book 1, T.S. Murphy

A surprising diagnosis throws a huge wrench in the future Kate dreamed of sharing with her brother's best friend.  I suppose having that guy only see her as a little sister puts a damper on that dream too.  But when Quinn's romantic situation changes it opens them both to the possibility of so much more.  There was quite a bit of angst with jealousies, changing perspectives, medical drama, personal insecurities, and withholding explanations which all worked together to make it read as appropriate to the ages of the characters.  It didn't pretend to be more mature but it also didn't sink into the land of immature young adults either.  The author found a good balance between the two to make the story feel genuine and the hard-won happy ending all the more worth the journey it took to get there.

I can absolutely do without all the jealousies and secrecy.  That goes for every book in the romance umbrella, so this isn't an attack on this book at all.  While those two issues did push the angst portion of the book forward, I feel like it could have been achieved a different way.  Struggling through a journey doesn't always breed strength and while they learn their lesson quite late regarding the value of supportive partners, they did eventually learn it.

The ending was much more upbeat and had a completely different feel from the majority of the story.  It was well-earned and ended on such a happy, humorous, playful note.  I wish that were included in more of the story because it felt like we went from painful situation to painful situation.  There were some lighter, sweeter moments, but even the tenderness of discovering the person you truly want to be with was overshadowed by a secret moratorium governing all of Kate's actions.

Watching Kate come to terms with her diagnosis as well as the passion inside her and finding an outlet for it within the bounds of her physical limitations was eye-opening and felt genuine.  I liked that this wasn't an easy story, I just have a few issues with how it was described.  This was a wonderful story overall that was both educating for the reader as well as entertaining.

*$2.99 on Amazon

Kate McGuire has loved her brother’s best friend for years—an older guy who didn’t know she existed and whose smoking-hot girlfriend could punch her into next week. But now Kate’s eighteen and Quinn Haley is girlfriend-free and looking at her like she’s outside the friend zone. Everything is working out perfectly—until she receives a surprise diagnosis, one that may prevent her from ever having sex.

Quinn has dealt with abuse and rejection his entire life, but when he finally breaks up with his cheating girlfriend, he realizes his best friend’s little sister has always been there for him. 

Kate’s entire future will be a lifetime of no. No children. No sex. No Quinn. And when Quinn won’t take no for an answer, she fights him every step of the way.