I received this book via the author, Michelle MacQueen. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Invincible: The Complete Set by Michelle MacQueen Series: Invincible
Published by Twin Rivers Press on 2020-06-16
Length: 478 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2020 New Release Challenge, COYER All Year 2020
He hates me…
Jamie Daniels was never supposed to be my person.
I wasn’t supposed to hold onto him as our worlds fell apart.
Those are the rules.
Rules of friendship—even though we aren’t really friends.
Maybe friends adjacent.He hates me not…
As the best friend of my twin brother, Jamie is always there, always ready to torment me with his smiles, smiles I see in my dreams. Every memory, every milestone, he’s there. The only thing I can ever truly count on is our rivalry.
When that’s stripped away, what is left of us?
He hates me…
The first time he kisses me, I want to run away, to take my surf board and let the saltwater wash his taste from my lips.
The second time I don’t want to stop.
He hates me not…
Nothing can last, not for two people yearning to get out of their small town.
I’ve always known my path doesn’t lead me to Jamie. Instead, it meanders through beach bonfires, an old family secret, and painful goodbyes.
What if I realize too late that Jamie doesn’t hate me at all?
I’m Callie McCoy, and I’m a screw up. My latest mess… letting that boy go.
The one who thawed the ice in my veins with his kisses.
The one walking away.The Invincible duet contains both We Thought We Were Invincible and We Thought We Knew it All to bring you the entire story of Callie and Jamie. It is a clean romance full of soccer in the rain, snarky girls living the surfer life, and a family mystery.
This is the second contemporary series I’ve read from Michelle MacQueen, and it is everything I love about contemporary romance: sweet to steamy chemistry, emotional rollercoaster, and an HEA. Invincible: The Complete Series is a heart-wrenching read, full of the heart ache of first loves, the ups and downs of high school life, and the decision to come home again. Two separate stories are told in this set, but follow the same couple, one during their senior year of high school and the other ten years later.
California “Callie” McCoy is a loner, always ready to be on the water surfing instead of in class. But this is senior year and with her best friend off at college, Callie is feeling lost. She doesn’t know where she fits in or if she wants to fit in. High school isn’t easy for the introverts, and MacQueen shows that beautifully through Callie and her choices. These choices will follow her into adulthood, leading her to leave her small town in search of the father she never knew. She lives an entirely different life than the one she imagined before returning ten years later.
Jamie is the opposite of Callie in every way. He’s the popular boy at school, the senator’s kid, and her best friend’s brother. He also happens to be best friends with Callie’s twin. Jamie is severely misunderstood, and that is clear from the first POV chapter we get. He’s been in love with Callie, who is off-limits for more than the obvious reasons, for as long as he can remember. Now with Jay off at college, he might have a shot at becoming her friend at least. My heart bled for Jamie. His life is not at all what I imagined, or what Callie believed. He hides it well under the anger and lashes out, pushing anyone that would choose to be close to him away. Despite his feelings for Callie or maybe because of them, he sets out to make a better life for himself, only to return ten years later with all the heartbreak he left behind.
I love this set! The first book deals with Callie and Jamie in their senior year of high school before the second book flashes forward ten years bringing them together again. The romance and relationship develop naturally and realistically. I cried with them, laughed with them, and swooned over their stolen kisses. But the story doesn’t follow just them, even if it is focused on their relationship and told from their POV. It also follows Jay, Morgan, and Colby as they experience the same things. It’s interesting to see how Callie and Jamie affect the dynamic of their group.
Overall, I really enjoyed Invincible: The Complete Series. It tells the complete story of Jamie and Callie’s love. But there is so much more to this series than a romance. The author touches on abuse, mass shootings, PTSD, and everything you can imagine coming from those situations. It is all handled with sensitivity to the subject matter while bringing awareness to the reader. Beautiful! If you enjoy YA contemporary, you are in for a treat.
About Michelle MacQueen
Michelle MacQueen has a brain that won't seem to quiet down, forcing her into many different genres to suit her various sides. Under the name M. Lynn, she writes fantasy along with her Michelle MacQueen romances. Running on Diet Coke and toddler hugs, she sleeps little - not due to overworking or important tasks - but only because she refuses to come back from the worlds in the books she reads. Reading, writing, aunting ... repeat.
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