Having read the first book I was looking forward to more of Eden and Josh. The Way I Am Now delivers with that but it's more about Josh and doesn't really feel like there is much character growth with Eden she feels a bit stagnant. still an interesting and enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book! It gave me everything that I wanted from the first book when I was desperate for everything to be out in the open! I found myself quite frustrated that the first book ended just where, for me, it was starting to get the most interesting. For that reason I much preferred this book and I was glad that I read both!

I still love Eden and Josh and there were things I also loved about this book - Eden’s friendship with Parker and the romantic moments between Eden and Josh. However I didn’t enjoy the predictable drama of the break up to make up and the fact I didn’t get my closure about the case with Kevin and the future for Eden and Josh. I also would have liked to see the characters grow together, as they definitely will have as they explored their relationship, there were glimpses but I would have liked more. thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Way I Used To Be was one of my favourite books of 2023 and I was so excited for the sequel and this one did not let me down. I flew through this book as fast as I did the first one and I fell back in love with all of these characters.
After the end of the first book, I was so excited to read more about Eden and Josh and to be able to see their relationship especially after the open ending of the first book. One of my favourite aspects of this book was Eden and Josh's relationship and finally being able to see them happy and together.
I loved seeing Eden navigate through her college life whilst dealing with her trauma and having to juggle new friends, a new job and her relationship with Josh.
Josh is still one of my favourite book boys. He is just so sweet and caring and I adore him.
I love Amber Smith's writing style and I find it so simple and easy to fall into and fall in love with which is why I flew through this book within a few hours.
I don't think this book was as good as the first one but I definitely loved seeing more of these characters and getting to see more of Josh and Eden together and I am so glad that we got a sequel to The Way I Used To Be.

The Way I am Now
Amber Smith

#TheWayIUsedToBe #Book2

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Having read 'The Way I Used To Be' at the beginning of the year (Jan 2023) and absolutely LOVING it! I think this was my most eagerly anticipated book release in the whole of 2023. Having read book 1 in January and knowing I had to wait until November 2023 for this book to come out was heartbreaking LOL so I was absolutely thrilled when Negalley shortened that wait time for me by gifting me an ARC copy of book 2 before its publication day.

Obviously, my TBR list went out the window and this one moved right to the top of the pile. I was so excited to hear all about how Edens life was now 🤩

'The Way I am Now' brought us back into Edens World, a few years after the events in book 1.

While I did enjoy this read, I defo didnt love it like I loved 'The Way I Used to Be'.

Book one was prob in my top 5 reads of 2023. I just loved everything about it and still think about it a year later - maybe because I was so excited for number 2 that it just fell a little flat for me and left me feeling let down.

I didnt think there was any great character development this time round at all and there was no real closure to everything that happened in the first book.

It was still nice to read it and I did enjoy it but they were worlds apart in my opinion.

I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 only because of my love of book 1.
Without that its a 3 star read from me!

It is well written and Amber is a fantastic author but after 'The way I used to be' - this one left me feeling disappointed.

Thanks again to Negalley and publishers for my advanced reader copy, I really appreciate it.

#TheWayIUsedToBe #TheWayIAmNow

I was really rooting for this book and loving it more than the first book but unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me, I was hoping to see more of Eden growing as a person and trying to fix what she broke and pushed away etc but it mainly focused on josh.

Unfortunately this book archived before I had downloaded but I will be purchasing when I can and will update my review!

This follows her other book, but I found myself frustrated with the characters who just didn’t feel real. It’s a shame because I enjoyed the first one

So so so amazing. Better than the first. I LOVE the writing!!! I enjoyed this so much! And such amazing character development!

Exceptional and heart wrenching. I was so excited when I saw there was going to be another book. I am just speechless, I cannot recommend it enough, the writing was gripping and completely page turning.

I read The Way I Used To Be, so I was really excited for the sequel. It didn’t disappoint and I loved following on this story from Amber

Ohhh this felt like a for the fans book, and I’m so greatly for Amber Smith giving us this next stage of Eden and Josh’s story.
I loved having the mix of both perspectives.

I felt like because of the time jump there were certainly some avenues and plots/perspectives we could’ve delved deeper into (how her family were, Caelin’s journey)

I loved the recovery of Josh’s family relationship, and also the moments between Caelin and Eden. There were some great side characters (Dominic, Parker and of course the ultimate ride and die Mara).

I didn’t particularly enjoy that there was still a dynamic of it being up to Josh to wait and resolve the conflict in part three; tbf I think he deserved better support than he got but obviously I can never full understand the thought process and healing that it takes to go through what Eden or Josh have.

Overall, I really liked it! And will definitely read Amber Smith going forward.

The Way I Am Now brings us back into Eden’s world, a few years after the events of book one. She remains at home, having a tough time dealing with the things that have happened as a result of her being attacked. We know she’s waiting for a date for the hearing, and she’s in a weird state of limbo where nothing is really happening or changing.
Eden has moved on in some ways; she’s in a relationship with Steve. However, the early parts of the book portray her as not really having developed since the events of book one. A chance encounter with Josh sets off a train of thought and he almost becomes the catalyst for her starting to make some significant changes.
Most of this book is about the back-on again romance with Josh. They seem to pick up very quickly, with little acknowledgment of the time that has passed since their previous encounter. There’s no doubt they’re keen to work, but it’s very clear that being in a relationship with someone dealing with the kind of things Eden is experiencing is a tough ask. Even more so when we recall that Josh has his own demons to slay.
I liked the way Eden is shown growing in strength, shown most clearly with her douche of a boss and in the trial. It’s all left open-ended which might be more realistic but it left me wondering exactly what the purpose of this was.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.

The conclusion to Josh and Edens story was everything I could have ever hoped for and more.

In this book, we saw Eden come to terms with everything that happened at the end of the first book- the truth of what Kevin did to her finally out there.

But she isn’t alone, with Amanda and Jen accusing Kevin and standing trial we watch Eden try to navigate that whilst also juggling therapy and hating school.

It was so refreshing to see Eden away from her hometown, where the memories continued to haunt her.

I’m not a huge fan of Steven so I was ecstatic when they broke up, and leaving her hometown was bittersweet but getting into the same college as Josh was perfect.
I adored their relationship so much! This time they both communicated well, and opened up to eachother. Eden was no longer the 14 year old trying to put up a brave and bitchy front, she was stronger. She was doing the things she loved and she made great new friends.

I loved the highs and lows josh and Eden went through, I love that we got Josh’s POV’s so we could delve deeper into his character, his relationship with his dad, the basketball struggles, whikst trying to put his all into his relationship with Eden.
They are soulmates!
I know a lot of people may not enjoy a third act breakup/conflict- however the breakup allowed Eden and Josh to figure out personal struggles that they couldn’t have done together.
They needed that time apart to come back stronger.

The ending was emotional and perfect. I love poignant and hopefull endings, some books don’t need a 10 page epilogue with babies.

The way I screamed when I received ARC of this! Thanks to NetGalley and Rock The Boat!

This is one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint.

Whereas The Way I Used To Be focuses on Eden's self-destructive actions after a sexual assault, The Way I Am Now follows her healing and self-care steps and I am so happy we got to see and share this journey.

Once again, Amber Smith has done a great job of portraying a wide range of complex emotions and I cried many times! Whilst the main focus is on Eden and her journey, I enjoyed how Smith also shows the emotions of those closest to Eden whilst she's preparing for trial.

A complex myriad of emotions from a wide range of characters, I think what this book (and its first in the duology) does well, is leaves a lot of actions and emotions in ambiguity but with a clear direction of what's meant to be. At first, I was hit with a little disappointment in the ending as soon as I finished, but upon reflection I love it. Because whilst it's not stated what the final outcome is, I know exactly how it ends.

"At any point during this encounter, did you verbally say no?""He never asked the question" 👏🏻

The Way I Used to Be was and still always will be one of my favourite books so when I heard we was finally going to get the sequel.. let me tell you i’ve been waiting to get my hands on The Way I Am Now since it was revealed and once again I loved every minute of the reading process.

I read the first book again and immediately started on The Way I Am Now, I am so glad we got to meet Eden and Josh again and Amber Smith gave their relationship another try, I loved everything about Josh in the first book and I loved reading about him again.. I was rooting for them so bad. I love Eden and Josh so much individually character wise and of course as a couple. The way the author writes her characters and portrays them is so realistic and the emotions she puts into her work is right there.. the amount of times I have cried over both of those books is out of this world.

Everything about this book was amazingly done, it was an emotional rollercoaster and tissues are needed. My heart broke whilst reading this book and I don’t think I’m going to recover from the characters and their story.

Amber Smith is an out of this world talented author that truly captures the emotions off her characters and captivates the readers into really feeling the pain and heartbreak.. the writing is so beautiful and realistic that when you’ve finished reading you have to give yourself a moment as the writing is powerful and everything about the sequel is honestly everything I hoped for… I wish I could erase the books from my memory so I could re-read them for the very first time again.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and Oneworld Publications for the copy of this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

4.5⭐️
"It's okay. You can be messy. I don't mind,"

I am SO glad Josh + Eden got a second chance. This showed that even though Eden finally told everyone about her s@ everything's not going to go back to normal straight away. It showed the harsh and painful truth of a s@ trial.

Eden is one of the strongest characters I've ever read about. She had so much personal growth. Josh was so patient and understanding. Josh and eden also really became their true selves which was amazing to watch.I'm so beyond proud of them both.

This was dual POV which made it 100 times more painful. It felt so true and raw it felt like I knew these characters.

JOSH AND EDEN DESERVE THE WORLD!!

Thank you so much netgalley and rock the boat publications for letting me read this arc!

I absolutely loved The Way I Used to Be and needed to know what would happen after the end of the book so I was super excited when its sequel was announced. The Way I Am Now is quite a heavy read which was to be expected but it was a very good conclusion to this duology. The book was a tad too long for my liking and I ultimately decided to rate it four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eden and Josh are back in book 2 of Amber Smiths “The Way I Used To Be” story - and I am SO glad the author decided to give their relationship another chance. I spent all of this rooting for them both, and love them both individually and as a couple. The characters remain well developed and realistic.

This book perfectly encapsulates the differentiating and often confusing feelings that a sexual assault survivor can experience - from the overstimulation to the disassociation, all the whilst Eden spend time comparing herself to a “normal” person to make the differences really hit home. Eden’s chapters were heart wrenching and really emotional for me, and I felt her “voice” read really true to her trauma without being overbearing or unrealistic.

The only downside for me here (and I really am splitting hairs as the book in general was fantastic), is the pacing of the story; it took a little longer for me to get into this book and feel immersed in the same way I did with “The Way I Used To Be”, and I feel the book could have been a little shorter and still had the same emotional impact.

Overall I found this another heart wrenching and emotional read from Amber Smith, and I would once again like to thank Netgalley for the ARC as it has been a fantastic experience being able to read this one prior to publication, as the first book, “The Way I Used To Be” has been a favourite of mine for a long time. I’m giving this one a solid 4 stars. This is a truly wonderful book that everyone, both young adults and older adults alike, should read.

Unfortunately I can’t say I loved this book the way I did the first, which I gave 4 stars.
I still struggled with the age gap (I’m unsure why it couldn’t have at least had this fall when she was over 18) and while I sort of understood why the ending was left the way it was, I think the readers would’ve really like to have seen some resolution here after two books.
I came away feeling like maybe this book just didn’t need a sequel which was a shame ☹️