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Book Review: What I Saw by Beck Nicholas

Home Book ReviewsBook Review: What I Saw by Beck Nicholas

Book Review: What I Saw by Beck Nicholas

February 25, 2016 Posted by angelreads Book Reviews, OZYA, OZYA Reviews 2 Comments

what I saw coverWhat I Saw by Beck Nicholas

Pages: 320
Publish date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 9781760371975
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Harlequin

One punch will shatter a town.

Is anyone ready for the consequences of the truth?

Callie Jones is not the kind of girl who gets drunk at school dances, and certainly not now, with her scholarship on the line. And she definitely doesn’t hang around with bad boys like Rhett Barker. Especially alone, at night. But these are the circumstances she finds herself in when she witnesses a king hit that lands the town’s golden boy in a coma.

With his reputation, no one is less surprised than Rhett when he is accused of throwing the punch. But he didn’t do it. And he knows Callie saw what really went down. He just has to convince the ‘ice princess’ to come forward and talk to the police – except, for once, good girl Callie doesn’t seem all that interested in telling the truth. Just what is she hiding, and why?

Drawn together by secrets, scandal and heartache, Callie and Rhett find themselves getting closer – even as the solution to their problems gets further away.

What I Saw:

I received an e-arc of What I Saw by Beck Nicholas via NetGalley from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have wanted to read this book from the moment that I heard about. I like novels that capture heartbreaking incidents from a different perspective. The king hit – is something quite big in Australia at the moment and a lot of I leads to death and the person that committed the crime, either getting away with it or being judged guilty for the crime.

But what happens when the person being accused of the crime didn’t do it? What if the person who was king hit is the towns darling?  And what if the only person that saw what happened, wants to hide the truth? Then you have What I Saw by Beck Nicholas.

What I Saw follows protagonist Callie Jones and Rhett Barker as they go through a journey of hurt, truth, lies and questioning what would you truly do if someone you care for was in trouble. 

I feel very confused about this book – it had so much potential, so much to go on and then it fell flat. The concept of the plot, intrigued me from the get go and that is what kept me reading. I wanted to know what would happen.

The romance was the biggest problem for me in What I Saw. The book went from about 3/4 days and in that time both Callie and Rhett pretty much feel in love with each other … too much instalove for me. Can it even be called that though? Since they have known each other or about each other for quite a bit.

What I Saw Quote

If the book was set over a couple of weeks and the romance was building in that time – then I would have loved the romance, because Callie and Rhett are quite cute together, but it was just was too fast.

I enjoyed Rhett much more than I did Callie. I sympathised with Rhett and all I wanted to do was tell him that, somehow everything is going to be okay. Everyone pretty has hates Rhett and when is accused of the one doing the punching, it was never questioned. And gosh did it make me angry. I like these types of characters, those who are misunderstood, however I hate the situations. Rhett wasn’t who everyone thought he was, he is just this big squishy marshmallow.

In saying that, I didn’t like Callie as much. She annoyed me quite a bit throughout the novel was getting on my nerves. She wants to be ‘perfect,’ for her family and she plays guitar and just so uptight. I found her quite blank.

I also didn’t like her Callie’s parents, but when do I like parents in YA anyway – next to never.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy What I Saw but not as much as I thought I was going to, I liked the protagonists, but didn’t love them, the message of the book, stood out and I did enjoy that, because it is an important message. Something that everyone should listen to – one punch can kill.

Overall, What I Saw by Beck Nicholas shows us that sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest thing, that sometimes family isn’t everything and the importance of how a king hit can not only hurt the Victim but everyone else around them. 

Rating

Have you read What I Saw? Are you going to read it? What did you think? Let’s Talk!

 

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  • Jeann @ Happy Indulgence
    · Reply

    February 25, 2016 at 10:00 PM

    A shame that this one didn’t really stand out in terms of the characters, but at least the messaging was clear. Thanks for the review Angel!

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  • Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books
    · Reply

    February 27, 2016 at 11:34 PM

    I definitely had to Urban Dictionary lookup what king hit meant. I live in the US and I’ve never heard it before, so I was super confused as to what this boy was being accused of doing!! Too bad this didn’t work for you. I love books where someone sees something that they shouldn’t and has to decide what to do with that info. Great review!

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April was a very good reading month for me, especi April was a very good reading month for me, especially after last month. I had some really fantastic reads in April. I did do a lot of re-reading this month but I had such blast. I re-read Caught Up and Play Along and the first 4 books in the Ironside Academy series. 📚

I read some books that I’ve been waiting for including the new book from Kels and Denise Stone, as well as the new Tessa Hale. ✨

Overall it was such a good month, lots of binge reading series and starting on some new authors. I’m so excited to see what May brings. 🖤

What was your favourite book that you read in April? 

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #smut #recentreads #aprilreads #aprilwrapup
IT’S RACE WEEK! 🏎️ If you didn’t know al IT’S RACE WEEK! 🏎️

If you didn’t know already I love F1, have ever since I was younger and decided that this year it would be fun to combined my love for F1 and reading together. 📚

After a week off we are back at it. We are in Miami this week’s and things are only just heating up. This week I’m reading Falling Off the Cliff  Kanitha P.

…

Formula 1 legend in the making and rising star Thiago Valencia is chasing redemption as well as his second World Champion title. With a tarnished reputation and an undetermined future in F1 that hangs by a terribly loose thread, he can’t afford to lose his seat. Thiago is ready to do anything to redeem himself and erase his past mistakes. When a mysterious woman intrudes on his private party in Monte Carlo, he is certain the universe has brought his polar opposite into his life as salvation. He is sunshine, she is moonlight; he is a bright star and she is a moonbeam.

Destiny takes the wheel, steering Kamari into Thiago’s orbit, but her open disdain and closely guarded heart warn her to stay away. Enchanted by her charms, Thiago is intent on melting her freezing barriers and tearing down the walls shielding her heart.

When Kamari agrees to help him save his future by being his fake girlfriend, the unexpected happens, triggered by a game of lies, secrets and desire.

As they plunge towards the finish line, the race veers offtrack and neither of them are ready to fall off the cliff.
… 

How Race Week Reads Will Work 

On Monday of race week I’ll announce the book I’ll be reading for the week, then throughout the week I’ll be posting stories and my thoughts. And then on Sunday, race day my review and final thoughts will go up.

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #f1 #formula1 #ausgp #raceweekreads #f1romance #sportsromance #fallingoffthecliff #kanithap #fullthrottle
A little late but I am finally getting to share Ra A little late but I am finally getting to share Race 5’s Race Week Reads review. This week I read, Downforce (Pit Lane #1) by Hannah Lily.

🏎️ Review 🏎️

I had so much fun reading this book. I knew I was in for a ride as soon as I started Downforce. It was entertaining, fun, and I just had a good time reading it. And while it does explore some heavy topics, I don’t think it took away from the fun nature of the book.

Right from the start, we can see the tension between F1 Presenter, Olivia Fraser and F1 Driver, Jonah Scott. And while silly at times, it was fun seeing them interact together. Both really didn’t like each other. They both had said things about and to one another that sometimes it caused chaos. And I was here for it.

I did find that at times, just silly things happened. I am not a massive rom-com reader, and there was a lot of falling into one another, and arguments stemmed from nothing. This is honestly just because I don’t like these types of scenes, but it didn’t really make me dislike the book at all.

I loved the whole road trip aspect of the book, it’s different from other F1 books I’ve read so far this year and just made for some interesting banter and lust. I do wish that the road trip was a little longer than it was because I did feel like the romance moved pretty quickly here, but again, it didn’t really affect how much I was enjoying the book.

The romance was this combination of being slow burn and full of angst right at the start, to the road trip happening and then bam. But I loved it, though. The banter between Olivia and Jonah was fantastic. I loved seeing them grow not only with one another but with themselves as well.

Overall, I had a great time reading Downforce and will be continuing the series for sure when the other books come out. The romance was angsty and just felt right. The found family aspect really worked well here, and the F1 aspects were pretty okay. Not the best I’ve seen, but not the worst either. If you are looking for a fun read that has a great romance and a little rom-comy, then pick this one up.
I’ve already had a pretty amazing reading year. I’ve already had a pretty amazing reading year. There have been so many books that I have enjoyed but there are some that I have just loved. 🖤

I didn’t realise before I put this post together that all of these books are from authors I’ve read and loved before. There hasn’t been a Rebecca Yarros book that I haven’t rated under 4 Stars. Elsie Silver is just making me love everything that she writes. Wild and Wrangled may be my favourite in the series. 📖

Three rereads also made it to this list. Binding 13 still makes me gasp and smile all at the same time. And Caught Up and Play Along just hit every time. 📚

I’ve honestly had a great year so far and since making this post a few more books I’ve read I’ve ended up loving. It’s going to be hard to pick my favourites at the end of the year that is for sure. ✨

What books have you loved reading this year? Are any books that made my list on yours? Let me know! 

🏷️ 
#romancebooks #bookstagram  #romancereads #angelreads #bookblogger #spicybooks #romancereader #romance #smut #recentreads #2025favourites #onyxstorm #wildside  #binding13 #caughtup #wildandwrangled
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