He thought I was trouble. I was trouble… at least, I was before.

The Right Side of Reckless (From ARC, quotes may have changed in publication copy)

Thank you, NetGalley and Inkyard Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

They were supposed to ignore each other and respect that fine line between them…

Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He’s done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks…and maybe more.

Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her “perfect” relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can’t ignore her feelings anymore.

The disapproval is instant. Being together might just get Guillermo sent away. But when it comes to the heart, sometimes you have to break the rules and be a little bit reckless…

When I signed up on NetGalley to review this book, I was excited to read a fun, opposites attract young adult romance, and while The Right Side of Reckless does deliver on that promise, it is also so much more. It is a thoughtful story of redemption, freedom, and discovering yourself. 

Guillermo has had a troubled past, hanging with the wrong crowd and acting out whenever he can. After the third strike against him and a trip to juvie, he’s out on parole and has to make amends for his wrongs. The rules: be on time for his community service at the local community center, make new and responsible friends, and no girls. The first two he can handle with no problem. It’s the third one that gives him trouble, especially when he meets Regan, the daughter of the community center owner. 

Regan has a lot on her plate. To make her parents happy, she’s studying a subject she hates, dating a football star she knows isn’t right for her, and volunteering at the community center. But when she meets Guillermo, someone who understands her and treats her with the respect she deserves, she starts to rethink what she really wants from her life. 

Overall, I liked the book. It was filled with diverse characters, which I felt helped me understand different perspectives I’m not used to. It handled Guillermo’s redemption arc well and had a good message that people can atone for their mistakes and have them not define their lives forever. The side characters, for the most part, were well developed and fun. I really liked how easily Guillermo made friends that were good for him, and I loved his relationship with his little sister. There was also great chemistry between Guillermo and Regan, and I especially liked how consent was handled between them. I’m a huge sucker for constant consent. Consent is sexy.

However, a few things bothered me about the story that I couldn’t ignore. While I liked that Regan stood up for herself and found what she wanted from life in the end, I felt like it took a little too long for there to get there. I would have liked to see a little more build-up to the resolution of that for her, especially when it came to her relationship with Troy. 

From the beginning, it’s pretty clear that the reader isn’t supposed to like Troy—he doesn’t support or listen to Regan, and he often keeps pressuring her about sex—but the storyline really bothered me. I won’t say much to avoid spoilers, but I think the resolution of that storyline also took too long, and I found myself getting increasingly annoyed and frustrated with it.