Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite

On her first day at South Iris High, twelve-year-old Nina Allbright was an awkward auburn-haired girl with braces and two left feet. However, she has her two left feet to thank for an encounter that was about to shape the rest of her high school and college years, and even her future. She stumbles and falls at the school’s entrance, only to wake up to the attractive faces of Logan Hamilton, who helps her up, and his elder brother, Scott, the most handsome boy she has ever seen. She immediately crushes on Scott, but quickly learns that she doesn’t stand a chance with him. She is not only unpopular, unlike the Hamiltons, but also a junior student. As time passes and her beauty blossoms, she finds herself caught in a love cycle involving the two brothers. She must choose wisely between the one who loves her and the one she wishes loved her back. Find out how it all goes down in Linked by Claire Merchant.

If you are looking for a young adult romance laced with drama, suspense, and a tale of true love, Linked by Claire Merchant is a perfect pick. Merchant weaves a compelling, contemporary, coming-of-age tale that lives up to its initial hype. Told from Nina’s first-person perspective, the narrative unfolds like a teenager’s memoir. Her introspective thoughts and interactions with the characters reveal the struggles high school and college students face socially, financially, emotionally, and mentally, and how they navigate those struggles. The cinematic depictions made reading the story feel like watching a young adult Hollywood romantic drama. As I was flipping through the pages, I quickly developed a love-hate relationship with Nina. Her authenticity and laid-back personality make her adorable. Yet, her indecisiveness and choices involving her love life left me disappointed. From her, we learn that we should never be scared to love what we truly want.