Caragh Reviews // Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

Publisher - 13th August 2015
Published - Simon and Schuster
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Meeting Jack on the Owl—San Francisco's night bus—turns Beatrix's world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive...and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists. But Jack is hiding a piece of himself. On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is.

I spotted Night Owls whilst on a shopping trip with Holly. I'd honestly never even heard of it before but Holly insisted that it was brilliant and I vaguely remembered that I had read her review on it a while ago. After a little bit of research, it turns out that I actually have had my eye on this one for a long time but it has another title! So for those wondering, this book is also known as The Anatomical Shape of a Heart.

There's something about the cover that is just so aesthetically pleasing. The gold text is raised slightly and the whole cover has a soft feel to it. The gold is sparkly but not in your face either and really... I just enjoyed having it in my hands regardless of the content of the pages!

I think any big reader will admit that after a while, it's kind of difficult to find a YA romance book that doesn't follow the same basic plot. When I first started reading Night Owls I did actually think that it would be the same and that I could see where it was going a mile off... but I was surprised at literally every corner. The relationship between Bex and Jack was quite simple but strangely felt very real. The circumstances around their meeting and the events that take place in the book feel a little forced sometimes but their connection seemed to come naturally and that was really refreshing to read. In fact it's more than that. It would be unfair to write a review and not bring up the fact that ALL of the relationships in Night Owls were so beautifully done. 

Bex's familial relationships were perfect. They very accurately summed up both the closeness and frustration that comes with a 'broken' family. I love the trust and conversation between Bex and her brother and between Jack and Gillian. It very much reminded me of my own family relationships. I think Holly mentioned this in her review too but I got so excited over how uninteresting it was that Heath and Noah are gay. It was just matter-of-fact and not a big deal at all - exactly how it should be. I would LOVE if more novels had this interpretation of LGBT characters. 

I didn't really 'get' anything from this book other than a wonderfully lovely read. It was GREAT to be shocked and proved wrong when I thought i'd figured out what was happening and at times it was super emotional. I would definitely recommend it. If you're looking for something life-changing then this probably isn't it, but I think no matter what your gender, age and preferences are this book does offer something to think about regarding how we spend our lives and how to fight for success!