Review; It Was You by Ashley Beale

He had secrets. So did I. 
He saved me. 
I would like to believe I saved him too, but that would be a lie. 
He loved me for my flaws. He saw a different side of me. 
He opened me up to new possibilities. 
I loved him for loving me. 

The summer before college I met Jaron. He taught me not to allow people to walk all over me, not to allow them to abuse me, to love myself. I was never supposed to love him, but I did. 

Then I found out his secrets. 

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4 Star Review by Jen Skewes

Wow!! While reading It Was You I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug Ashley Beale or  curse her.  That’s how much she has my emotions all twisted up, especially when I was done.  I loved this book.  It is a beautiful, yet heart breaking story about two people with secrets.  Secrets that can change everything. 

Ravyn had a terrible childhood since losing her father.  Her mother cares more about her boyfriend than she does her.   She just graduated high school and cannot wait until college starts so she can leave her town and everyone else behind.  But her boyfriend Kyler may have different plans for her.  Kyler and her seem to be the perfect couple on the outside but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.  Ravyn puts up with the abuse because I honestly think she feels like she does not deserve better.  She is too terrified to walk away.  She meets Jaron at a party and things begin to change after that.

Jaron saves Ravyn in so many ways, but he seems to save her from Kyler on more than one occasion.  One night Jaron becomes the knight in shining armor whisking Ravyn away from it all.  This is where their journey begins.  They take a little bit of a road trip to take a break from their everyday life back home.  Jaron and Ravyn click instantly.  They feel this connection that neither one of them could deny.  But they both have secrets.  And Jaron is afraid that once he reveals his secret, Ravyn will hate him and walk away.  But he still feels the need to open up to her and tell her everything.  How will it change thee relationship once the secret is out?

There is so much more to this story but I do not want to give anything away.  You need to feel with this one.  You need to read it yourself and experience every emotion with these characters.  You need to feel the love and passion between these two characters.  They may have just met and while I am not always a fan of insta-love, but this one just worked.  From the moment they met you felt the connection.  Jaron wanted to be there for Ravyn to protect her to comfort her and to show her just how much she deserved to be loved and to be happy.  And in return Ravyn helped teach Jaron how to live life to the fullest.  Jaron saw through the façade that Ravyn tries to put on.  He saw what everyone else failed to see, the side that she hid from everyone.  She was hurting and scared and he was there to pick her up and make her smile.  He made her feel things that no one else has made her feel before: loved and comfort. 

I cannot begin to explain how I felt at the end of this book.  There are some heart breaking moments so have tissues ready because you will need them.   When we finally learn of Jaron’s secret even though I had a feeling of what it would be I can honestly say that I was not even prepared for it when the moment actually came.  Ashley Beale did a wonderful job with this story.  It is a beautiful and sad story about love, friendship and finding yourself.    With the help of Jaron Ravyn found the courage she needed to finally stand up for herself and to believe that she is worth it and deserves more.   You will fall in love with Jaron and Ravyn.  The love that they felt for each other was intense and so real.  Together they made each other less broken inside.  Such a wonderful story and one I definitely recommend.