Review: The Distance Between Us

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Title: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: July 02 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 320 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Love it. One of my favorites, it is so cute and actually perfect for the story.
Point of View: 1st person, following Caymen

My Rating: 4 Stars

I will freely admit that it was first the cover I was drawn to.  I hadn't even read the synopsis and I knew I wanted to read it.  Then I saw the blub and was thankful when it sounded like something I would enjoy.  And, I'm happy to say I did enjoy it, but sadly I wasn't fully in love with it.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story... and by the end I was grinning from ear to ear.  Overall I would describe it as 'cute'.   I was fully involved in the story, and never once did I want to stop reading.  In fact, I read it all in one sitting.

“His eyes are so intense I want to look away . . . or never look away, I can’t decide.”

My favorite character was Xander.  I wish this would have been dual point of view, I think the story could have used a a bit of time inside his head.  Not that I disliked Caymen, I actually liked her quite a bit.  I just feel it would have benefited from that back and forth. Caymen was actually quite funny.  She has a wicked dry, sarcastic sense of humor that I clicked with right away.

“Is that your subtle way of saying you missed me last week?"

"I've missed my hot chocolate. I just think of you as the guy who brings it to me. Sometimes I forget your name and call you hot chocolate guy.”

For a cute romance novel, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.  It was pretty easy to figure one or two of them out, but there are still a couple that succeeded in keeping me on my toes.  That was a pleasant surprise.

I'm not sure exactly what it was that made me not fall in love with it.  The only thing I can really pin point is the timing of it all.  Everything seems to run super quick.  If there was meant to be the impression that more time passed than we actually got to see, it wasn't very clear.  I am not a hater of 'insta love', but I felt it while reading The Distance Between Us.  I just wanted more of a build up to their feelings.

“Sometimes it's the little things that bring that special someone back to us in some small way.”

The ending also seems quite abrupt.  When I started it, I knew it was a one off so I expected there to be a nice rounded out ending.  And even though it does end in a very happy place, I am left with a lot questions and worries for their happy ever after.  I could easily see how there would need to be at least one more book.  Yes the characters are happy with each other at the end, but there are more factors at play here than just Caymen and Xander.  So yeah, I wish there would have been more to the ending, a promised second book or even an epilogue.  Something to give an indication as to where these two are in the future.

Even though I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, I would still recommend it.  Like I said, it was a quick easy read, and even though it left me with more questions at the end... it also left me with a big smile on my face.

“Caymen?”
“Yes?”
“You look terrified. Does this scare you?”
“More than anything.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t bring my mints.”
“And now the real answer . . .”
“Because I’m afraid that once you catch me, the game’s over.”

MORE QUOTES FROM THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US