Full of Promise

by Kate Gavin

Cameron Leoni is about to start her senior year of high school. Between helping her mother take care of her two younger brothers and working at the library to save money for college, there’s just barely enough time for anything but soccer.
Riley Baker is the new girl in town. Though she’s been out to her parents and friends back home, she’s reluctant to share that information with her new classmates.
When Cam meets Riley on the first day of soccer tryouts, Cam is unsure why she feels so drawn to the other girl. They become fast friends and soon Cameron can’t help the butterflies she feels every time the two touch.
Riley wants to be honest and come out to Cam but she doesn’t want to lose her as a friend. She won’t allow herself to dream of the possibility of anything more between them.
Cam and Riley will have to navigate the emotional halls of high school, friends and family as they realize there might be more than just friendship growing between them.

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian, Young Adult, Bisexual

204 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2019

About the author

Kate Gavin is a native Midwesterner, currently living in Ohio. When not staring at a computer screen for her day job or this writing gig, she spends her time retrieving items from her thieving dog, chasing after her kiddo, and bingeing TV shows with her wife.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.50 Stars. This was a sweet YA romance. This is a solid debut for Gavin with a very readable story. One of the mains is a lesbian where the other main is coming to terms with her bisexuality. This is a classic coming of age, coming out story, but with much more good feels than bad.

I enjoyed the pace and feel of this book. Gavin’s writing felt easy and smooth and didn’t really have any of that choppiness that you sometimes find with new authors. This is the type of coming out story we have read before, but it was nice to see a bisexual character as the one coming out for a change.

The romance in this book is really sweet. I thought it went at a nice pace of friendship first before becoming anything more. The two mains are both pretty adorable and easy to root for. The mains are 18 and getting ready for college so there is a moderately explicit sex scene. This is a YA book that feels more geared to older teens and adults.

If you are looking for a YA book that is a feel good romance, this would be a perfect pick. I have been enjoying reading YA more and more lately. The YA book I read before this book was pretty intense so this was a really nice and sweet change of pace. I would not hesitate to read Gavin again.

An ARC was given to me for a honest review.

[Corporate Slave · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was a very sweet, fast read, and smooth novel. It’s also good to mention that this is a debut novel so good job Kate Gavin, you pulled it through quite nicely :)
This is your typical coming out story full of confusion and accepting oneself.. I really liked how the parents dealt with their teenage daughters. Yes it’s expected and we know the drill, but somehow this author made it a bit more real to me!
I liked the MCs a lot (Especially Riley) and also the best friend.
How Claire, the best friend, dealt with the MCs coming out was well played because most of the books only show the supportive characters and make it sound very rosy! When In reality we all know that sometimes it’s still not accepted! And sometimes, people lose their best friends during the course of “coming out”.
I would’ve liked to have a glimpse of what happens next to those girls, I felt the ending came too fast..
overall my rating is a 3.4!
Well done Kate Gavin for a debut novel :)
“I was provided with an ARC for an exchange of an honest review.”

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve often wondered what it would have been like if I’d been brave enough to come out when I was a teenager (I waited until I was 23 and studying in another country). Cameron is in her last year of high school when she realizes she’s not in love with her boyfriend anymore and is such more interested in Riley, who happens to be a girl. The good news is, Riley is interested in her too.

While Riley’s already out to her parents and friends, she’s still trying to fit in as the new girl at school. Both young women are navigating new territory, a new city / school / set of friends / soccer team for Riley, her sexual orientation for Cameron. Being a teenager is mostly about discovering new things about oneself and about the world, and this novel is a good illustration of that.

On top of the romance part, there are a lot of interesting relationships in this book: the relationships between the two MCs and their parents, Cam’s relationship with her brothers, her relationship with best friend Claire, Riley’s relationship with her ex, Abby. And though I had a bit of trouble with the writing at first, I forgot all about it afterwards, and, in the end, only remember how the author manages to give distinct voices to her characters. The teenagers sound like teenagers, the younger kids like younger kids and the parents like normal adults. That’s not always a given (especially with younger characters), and Kate Gavin did a really good job on that front.

I’ve read plenty of YA lesfic but there’s something refreshing about this novel that I can’t really explain. There’s nothing groundbreaking about it but it’s heartwarming and totally worth reading.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[JulesGP · Rating 4 out of 5]

We meet Cam at her summer job in the library, rolling her cart past the cute girl she’s been sneaking peeks at and who she’s been exchanging small smiles with. The hitch is that Cam has a boyfriend and is straight. Later, she meets this new girl, Riley, at school and they form a friendship that has an underlying tension of something more, eventually building into an actual romance.

Full of Promise is a sweet story, smooth reading with all the heart tugs you’d expect from two young women falling in love. But rather than being a straight to gay tale, it’s more about Cam recognizing and giving light to another part of herself. There are some emotional bumps but nothing harsh like other coming out books. The beginning is a little bit more telling than showing but not a deal breaker. Good, solid YA story. I read this ARC courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young adult story about discovering bisexuality.

Cam is about to begin her senior year of high school. She has her boyfriend, Danny, best friend, Claire, a part time job at the local library, and an almost guaranteed spot on the soccer team. She is set up for success! That is, until she starts to notice a girl, Riley, at the library and she starts to question herself.

To me, this was a standard coming out story that doesn't give us anything really different than others except for the fact that Cam is discovering she is bisexual. Coming to terms with liking both genders and realizing that it doesn't have to be an either/or scenario. So in that sense, it was a bit refreshing.

This was an easy and quick read. Fairly light considering the subject manner. There were the standard coming out themes addressed: Questioning, avoidance, friendship issues, family conflict, being outed, etc. But I consistently had the feeling that I wanted more. I wanted to feel more of the giddy falling for someone. Things seemed to happen fairly quickly and I didn't feel the connection like I should have. I think that there was a missed opportunity to delve deeper into the bisexuality aspect. To tackle addressing the stigma of it to help readers become more educated and accepting of it.

Overall, this was a decent read.

I recommend to those who like to read young adult, young love, coming out stories, pizza, and snacks.

I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review

[XR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book after reading Jude's review on Table for Two. I thought I'd check out Gavin's first book that'll give me a sense of what to expect. Now I'm feeling a bit blah about it.

This was a nice story. The main characters were sweet and the secondary characters were okay. The dialogue was a bit stilted though so that was annoying. I'm hoping the next book flows more naturally... if I get it anyway.

[Mekeia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love YA, and after all the positive reviews, I really wanted to like this... I don't know, I just couldn't get through it. It just didn't do anything for me.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet YA romance. A true coming out story. My first by Kate Gavin and also her debut book. The writing is good and I look forward to reading more by her.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable and beautifully written debut novel!

Cam keeps herself busy working at the local library, playing Varsity Soccer, helping to look after her little brothers, and keeping up with school. Everything changes as she becomes inexplicably drawn to Riley, the new girl in town. As their friendship grows closer, she soon begins to realize that maybe her feelings are something more than just friendship. Cam struggles with what it all means, and how she will tell Riley. Riley left behind a girlfriend when her parents moved, and she wasn't planning on getting into another relationship so soon. But after meeting Cam at soccer tryouts, she finds herself falling fast. She doesn't want to lose her friendship with Cam if she tells her about her feelings, but it's getting harder to keep them to herself. Will the two girls find the courage to admit their feelings?

The voices of the characters were stellar and the writing overall was excellent. The only thing I didn't love was the list-like descriptions of outfits. Cam and Riley were lovely characters, both of them had aspects the reader could connect too. The secondary characters, friends and family, were unique and multidimensional and added a lot to the story. The romance was the perfect YA romance, gosh it was so so sweet. I definitely had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading.

This was a beautiful coming of age story - not only for Cam struggling to understand her bi-sexuality and coming out to her parents, but also the way the two young women discovered what they wanted out of their futures, and their evolving relationships with their parents, friends and siblings. This is not just relevant for teenagers, but for all ages and stages of people who might reading this book, to remember we can always live our dreams, that there's always room in our lives to grow and fix relationships, and to be true to ourselves. There was a little angst and drama in this book to keep the story moving, but for the most part I was just happy reading a cute little story.

I can't wait to read more excellent stories by Kate Gavin in the future.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[whataslacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, thanks to Bella Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. I rather enjoyed it. While basically a YA book, I feel it is on the higher end of that spectrum. The story wrapped around this coming out story is good and mostly happy cheery. There are a few small conflicts, but nothing major. So if you like your romances more on the light and fluffy side, this is the book for you. There were a few small editing errors that I hope will be found before the final book is released (small things like the word her instead of here, nothing major or too distracting).

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The summer before Cameron's senior year isn't going particularly well. Her parents have recently gotten divorced and her mom has picked up a second job to help fill in the financial void left by Cameron's dad moving out, which means Cameron has had to find a job (at least it's at a library) and she's basically co-parenting her younger brothers. She has a boyfriend, but she can't understand why she's not that into him anymore, and there's this girl she doesn't know who she keeps seeing at the library and she's drawn to her.

Library girl is Riley. She's spent the summer before her senior alone and in a new place, since her mom's job brought the family from Illinois to Indiana. And just as she strikes up the courage to talk to the cute girl who works at the library, she finds out she has a boyfriend. Bummer.

But it turns out that Riley and Cameron are both trying out for the varsity soccer team and they quickly become friends. But Cameron is struggling with the fact that she's more attracted to Riley than she is her own boyfriend, and Riley isn't out to anyone in Indiana other than her parents. And she's afraid of telling Cameron she's a lesbian because what if it ruins their friendship?

I really enjoyed this story for what it is-- a coming of age story about coming out and falling for your best friend. It definitely wasn't the best novel I've with those themes but it's not the worst. But I did like that Kate Gavin made Cameron bi and there was a lot of discussion about what that meant (and some of it got a bit didactic--as if it's geared towards people completely unfamiliar with the concept of bisexuality). Overall, I thought it was a very cute story that's really quick to read and I can't wait to read more from Gavin.

[Cindy Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the summer before her senior year of HS, Cam is working in the library trying to save money for college. It's there that she first sees Riley, a new girl recently arrived from Illinois to Indiana. Cam tries to ignore her attraction to and interest in Riley. But she's lost interest in her boyfriend and, after breaking up with him, gets closer to Riley, especially since Cam's best friend has just starting dating a boy.

This is a close, detailed look at what it means to come out as a bisexual teenager and fall for another girl. While similar to coming out as a lesbian, these stories of bi teens need to be told.

While there's a lot to recommend in this book, I found some inattention to detail and follow through by the author (e.g., after their argument toward the end of the book, Riley never sees the text Cam sends her apologizing; and, there's no mention of a senior prom). Plus, the last few pages read a bit like an after-school special, wrapping up the story with lessons learned in an annoying way.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of Full of Promise for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Full of Promise is a quick, heartwarming read.

As a bisexual woman, I related to Cam's internal struggle when she was unsure of where she fit in. It's hard to figure out you're bisexual in an environment where the label isn't really discussed. In my case, I didn't realize I'm bi until I left high school.

Cam's coming out story read like a cheesy after-school special and I am here for it.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let this YA description sway your opinion of this book. This book is for all ages. Actually it is for anyone who had to deal with the coming out to friends. Especially to those who you like more than friends and are afraid to do so because that person may go running for the hills after hearing about it. This is the main idea behind this novel. The main characters, Cam and Riley, are fully fleshed out and because of how well written this is, you can envision everything that is unfolding throughout the story.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who would like to read a well written love story.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Susan Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the author really touched on a subject some kids in school may be going though. One of the mAin characters in the beginning is feeling confused about how she is feeling and it takes a friendship with the one person who is the subject of her confused thoughts and feelings to help her figure things out and shows her that she is not alone. Many kids hear so many things of hate towards the LGBTQ community that they try to hide how they feel. This book really touches on that and I think is a great book to get people talking about this with others. I hope that I didn’t give much away.

[Doug Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two high school seniors in this YA romance are a likeable couple. As is common in this trope one of the young women is significantly further along in understanding her own sexuality. There are a few other standard tropes including parents convinced bisexuality is a phase. The supporting cast is decent with friends and family on both sides; this allows the reader better insight into each of the main characters. Not ground breaking but a very nice read.

[Leelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first of the bella books I've bought and I really liked their no DRM policy because it's a book you can forever keep. I did have a lot trouble getting it onto my Google books but I think that's because I was trying to do that from my computer and I'm really not the most common outer savvy. But I easily got it on my iBooks so I was able to read it immediately.

I liked this YA style novel. I have to admit that I kind of got it to scratch that soccer itch after the world cup. All in all, it was easy to stay in and easy to follow. I didn't want to stop reading it the night I bought it but I was falling asleep. I will definitely be reading more bella books.

[Barbro-Katrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A sweet teenage romance. A coming out/coming of age story.
If you’re looking for a YA lesbian romance this is a good pick, it’s sweet and a fast read

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick easy read, run of the mill coming out story and felt a bit too light for me to be honest. It was a nice light read suitable for YA romance readers , but nothing substantial here really.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[PJ Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Coming Out,Coming of Age Story

Kate takes you on wonderful and very insightful way through Cam's and Riley relationship. Supporting characters well written and situations life like.

[Best Lesfic Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

High school and mid-teens are chrysalis age. Caterpillars urn to butterflies and gain their true colours. So stories with characters in this age are often very interesting. But that depends on the writing.

Read full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously a labor of love, and a sweet first novel, but not well written. Not unreadable, but mediocre.