Until Friday Night (Field Party)

My first impression of this book was that it was slightly weird, for lack of a better word. I’m not sure if that’s the correct word for the feeling I got in the first couple of chapters, maybe peculiar yet intriguing is more accurate. This feeling was mostly due to the fact that one of the main characters was mute and I just wasn’t sure how I felt about that because it didn’t quite make sense to me. But I got over that fairly quickly. The story is told in alternating points of view, Maggie and West. Maggie is the main character I mentioned above who is mute (by choice) and West is one of the popular guys at the local high school that Maggie will be attending after moving in with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin (who is also West’s best friend). Maggie definitely comes from an extremely rough background and has experienced many things that no one her age should have witnessed. Because of this she has chosen to quit talking altogether. She is terrified that if she hears the sound of her voice it will bring back memories from the worst night of her life. This is partly where my issue came in at first. I couldn’t wrap my head about her thought process about talking. I guess it made sense to her and helped her cope, so I know thats what mattered. Plus with the progression of the story it becomes less and less important. West is also facing his own demons as he struggles with watching his father (and hero) slowly deteriorate due to an illness that is incurable. As expected this takes a tole on him and he needs to find a way to cope. This turns out to be shutting off his emotions, having sex with anyone at anytime, and playing football to feel any kind of pain. When he leasts expects it, Maggie is brought into his life and she turns out to be everything he never knew he needed. They end up forming a connection that no one else can understand and that actually infuriates friends and family. West is desperate to find someone who can understand what he’s going through and he finds that in Maggie. This connection eventually turns into something more, even though they both deny it for a good portion of the book. West feels like he doesn’t deserve someone as wonderful as Maggie and Maggie feels that someone like West could never be interested in someone like her. It’s quite frustrating to read about their feelings for one another and neither one of them sharing it with the other. In an unexpected turn of events, West is forced to face losing the one thing he never thought he would lose. Maggie feels West is using her to cope and will one day throw her out like she is trash. So they force themselves to separate, which doesn’t turn out to be a good idea or very effective. To be honest, the relationship that West and Maggie form is extremely envious! I know in my opinion, I would die to have someone feel for me the way West feels about Maggie. The depth of his loyalty and love for her is something I’m sure every girl dreams of. Watching their relationship develop and then crash is somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, but worth every second. I seriously fell in love with this story and couldn’t get enough of it. By the end, I was extremely sad the book would be over and was secretly hoping the next book in the serious would continue on with revealing more about West and Maggie’s relationship. However, I am more intrigued than disappointed by what the next book in the series is really about. It isn’t about Maggie and West at all, but delves deeper into another relationship that is briefly mentioned in this book. This got me extremely excited to read the next one. I feel like Maggie and West’s story was tied up nice enough to feel closure and to move on to the next drama filled relationship that the next book takes on. If you haven’t read this book yet, you SERIOUSLY SHOULD GO BUY IT NOW! It’s wonderful and amazing. Plus it’s on sale for $1.99 on Amazon for Kindle. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Personally, I’ve already bought the second book and pre-ordered the third one which doesn’t release until August 2017. Just to give you a little idea of how much I loved this book!

Until Friday Night is a sweet and angsty young adult book that had the perfect mix of drama, sweetness, and sadness, all while taking the reader down the high school memory lane! Maggie has just moved to town, and is still grieving the loss of her mother two years ago. She doesn't speak, and she wants to make it through the school year by herself and without the help of her cousin Brady. When Brady is forced to take her to a field party one Friday night, she meets West and everything changes for her. West is popular, fun and a star football player, but no one knows what he is dealing with at home. He is in pain and no one knows, until he befriends Maggie and gets the mute girl to talk to him. Together they help each other deal with the pain both of them are experiencing and a beautiful friendship is formed. Watching West become so protective of Maggie was beautiful and seeing how much she opened up to him and helped him through his grief as well as getting stronger each day was an amazing journey to be on. These two may be young, but both have gone through so much in this book and come out stronger because of one another. I really enjoyed the personalities of the other characters in this book. Brady, Gunner, Nash, Asa, all these guys are big football stars in their own right at the school and are very protective of West, but once Maggie shows up they become extremely protective of her as well. They welcomed her into their lives (some begrudgingly) and helped her and West through so much, even without realizing it at times. When you first start reading this book you'll think Maggie is weak, but she will prove you wrong over and over again in this book with her strength. She's a beautifully written character and doesn't take crap from anyone. She helped West when he needed it the most, but she also helped herself and found the strength she needed to be herself again. This is a beautiful love story, but also full of tears and drama. All of West's ex's are annoying and catty, but Maggie never let them get to her, and West really stood up for her even when she didn't ask for his help. This was not only a great story about West and Maggie, but also about friendship. The guys were awesome friends to West and helped him through some really bad times, and really show that no matter what if you have the right friends by your side, everything will be OK. If you are looking for something a little less sexy, but a really amazing romance, I highly suggest one-clicking your copy of Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines today. I started this book and couldn't put it down!

4.5 stars — I don’t know what it was about this book, but it was just a Lenore book, you know? Like apparently it had all the right combination of things to just be perfect for this particular reader. It’s funny how that happens eh? Especially because it can be so hard to articulate what those things are…you just know when a book hits you right *there*. And that’s what this book did. I was pretty sure it was going to be a hit for me just reading the blurb, but I was so relieved (especially since I was in a slump) to discover that the book lived up to my expectations (and maybe even surpassed them). It’s funny, because that doesn’t mean that the book was perfect. Or that the characters were perfect. And honestly, there were elements of West’s character in particular, that in another book would have bugged the crap out of me. So why did he get a pass? I honestly don’t know. Or rather, he didn’t completely, but I believed in his potential, and I bought his growth (even if it seemed a bit quick at the end — that probably accounts for the loss of the half star). West was…so damaged. And dealing with something HUGE in a really detrimental way. And it was bringing out all his worst qualities. My heart hurt for how he saw himself, and how he just automatically assumed he couldn’t be a better person…couldn’t be stronger. I think when faced with life’s adversities, it’s initially hard to believe that you can make it through. Maybe it’s that I related so strongly to him and what he was going through, as I also lost my father when I was in high school to the big C. Not everyone can understand what it’s like to have to go to school everyday while worrying about a loved one at home. I thought Ms. Glines did a fabulous job showing his helplessness, and anger, and despair. Maybe that’s why I gave him a pass for being purposely callous to Maggie, and detached from his friends? I’m not sure. But despite his major flaws, I still genuinely LIKED West. He made bad decisions, but he at least struggled with that, and knew he was making the wrong ones. Maggie had my heart right from the start. She was such a damaged soul as well, but you felt her strength. I loved seeing her work through her emotions as they related to her rapidly growing feelings for West, and her confusion over how to deal with that. I loved how helping him helped *her*. I can’t imagine facing the choice of staying friends with West and risk getting hurt, or break it off to protect herself. I loved their connection as well. I just…they had such a strange and interesting path. But I was with them every step of the way. It was kind of different than most romances, as we got to see them move forward and deal with new stumbling blocks, and then move forward again. I will admit I was getting concerned about them, but then Ms. Glines surprised me by addressing those concerns. It made me appreciate these two characters more, b/c it can be hard to see and do what’s right. I still feel like their attachment could be a bit co-dependent, but I’m willing to live with it considering how their bond developed. The secondary cast was really intriguing as well! I adored both sets of “parents” in this book…West’s parents made my heart both full and broken for them. And I was so happy that Maggie had her Aunt and Uncle in her life…they were the right amount of caring and involved without being smothering. Brady was interesting in his own right. I didn’t always understand his damage, but I appreciated the good he did in Maggie’s life. And the other boys were kind of awesome too. I can’t wait to read their books. Honestly, my only other gripe would be about the stereotypical mean girls. There was no depth there, and I was a bit bummed by that. So yeah. Total hit. Totally got me out of my slump. I was surprised I didn’t bawl, but instead slowly cried quite a few times throughout. It might not be for everyone, but it definitely worked for this reader. YAY!!

I have said it before and I will say it again—I have mad love for Abbi Glines. Her ability to write across multiple genres is impressive. I have liked all of her books, but one of my favorites is The Vincent Boys. This book brings her back into the young adult genre…and with a bang. The characters in Until Friday Night all have great depth to them. Maggie, the female MC, is one of the most complex YA characters I’ve read in a long time. Maggie is strong yet fragile, she is kind and unselfish and a smart character to read. She loves with all of her heart. West is a deeply flawed character, which I appreciate. So often the heroes’ flaws are overlooked or glossed over in favor of a nice set of abs. That is not the case with West. Yes, he is the typical good-looking football jock when the story first begins, but he develops and evolves into someone you, the reader feel for and care for and ultimately root for. The secondary characters are even developed enough that the reader can relate to them and either love or hate them. The thing that truly makes this book special is reading how the relationship between West and Maggie evolves and being drawn in to their stories. You can feel the emotions that ebb and flow between Maggie and West and they are realistic enough to be believable and even though I know this is fiction, I want the story to be real enough. It is evident that Abbi Glines loved this project and put her heart and soul into this story. In this first book alone, she has cared enough to develop the secondary characters so that the reader is now interested in what their story might be, as well. I’m not sure if this is intended to be a Stand-alone or not. The main characters do get a HEA, but, in my opinon, there was one question unanswered. Could be just me. Probably is just me. However, Abbi Glines characters almost always make a reappearance in later books in her series and often have second books. So… 

Maggie Carleton is the new girl in town in Lawton, Alabama. Like any new, beautiful girl, she doesn't go unnoticed - but there's more to her than meets the eye: Maggie is mute, or rather refused to speak since she witnessed her mother's homicide two years ago. West Nashby is Lawton's biggest player and can about get into everyone's panties. But right now, he couldn't care less about the girls lined up in a queue, as Maggie, his best friend's cousin and the girl whom he dclared off-limits, just caught his attention, and seems to be the best way to take his mind off his dying father. What I loved about this book: The depth - which is unusual for Abbi Glines What I felt needed improvement: The book was too tame The storyline is too flat The story wasn't polished enough towards the end Until Friday Night is the beginning of a new Abbi Glines series called Field Party . It follows the same old Abbi Glines MO were the writing is concerned (alternating 1st person POVs), but it different from any previous Abbi Glines books for quite a couple of reasons. The first one being the theme. Previous Abbi Glines books were pretty light and a tad predictable. They held complications, but those complications were never as heavy and deep than the ones in Until Friday Night . It feels like the author wanted to give more mature concerns a try, and no matter how sad the theme of this book was, it was certainly refreshing. "It had been like she'd seen through me. Seen my thoughts. And she understood. But she also expected more from me. That had been hard to swallow." However, what really surprised me in this book (in a bad way...) was how tame the read was. I wonder if Abbi Glines tried to pull a more PG rated, Young Adult genre here, because there was literally no single sex scene in this book. And you know, Abbi Glines is generally quite big on those. I was all the more surprised that Maggie lost her virginity to West in the back of a truck and there was no walkthrough for the reader! How unspectacular! And well, there were no details at all, although it should have been a big deal. Especially since it was a rushed decision, and well, it was Maggie's first time! So yeah, that was disappointing. And what was even more disappointing was the fact that although the book was tame overall, there were still far too much details about West getting off with other girls. And he openly admits that he uses the place between a girl's thighs or getting head as a form of meaningless distraction. That really made me despise West despite the fact that he was still a good son to his parents. I think he just wasn't a great role model (if this is really supposed to be a YA read) and his personal circumstances should in no way excuse his jerk behavior towards women. It was actually a shame he ended up with someone as pure as Maggie. Well, at least he's right in saying he doesn't deserve her. I still managed to warm up to West in the end, simply because of the storyline and the fact that the two main characters could so openly share their feelings and break each others walls. As I said previously, this book was quite deep: West deals with the grief related to having one of his parents at a terminal cancer stage, and Maggie is still trying to cope with the murder of her mother, which she witnessed. Maggie basically helped West deal with his own situation, and that gave West the strength to stand by Maggie and get through to her. "He gave me a reason to love life again. I'd not really lived in two years, and I finally realized now that I missed so much. Not speaking had protected me in many ways, but it had also isolated me. From everyone." While there was a really good foundation to the story, the ending wasn't exactly spectacular and just makes an already tame book even duller. It's a shame I couldn't enjoy it as much as previous books from this author, but I will still check back on the next releases in this series, hoping they will be a little more exciting.

I have been a huge Abbi Glines fan for quite a while now, I know that when I pick up one of her books whether it be YA or New Adult I will find myself immersed and enraptured in whatever world of hers I'm reading at the time, her ability to transition between the two different age brackets is flawless never have I read a bad book by her, I love them all, and Until Friday Night is no different. I knew just from reading the synopsis that I was going to enjoy this book, Abbi can write tragedy extremely well, with her writing you can find yourself overcome with emotion, which I did more than a few times throughout this story, but I find that's the way to tell if someone is a great writer, if I find myself crying while reading a book and it wasn't just the once then that's the making of a true author, to have you caring enough about a character(s) that you feel their every pain as if it were your own, and that's what I'm guaranteed to get with every book of Abbi's that I pick up, she is one of the best author's around, and I can't get enough of her books. I'm glad that this is going to be a series and not just a standalone, there are quite a few characters that deserve their own books, Brady in particular who's book I'm hoping will be released next, and also glad that while the series is based around American football it's not heavy with information about the game, there is mention of a couple of things but for those of us not into sport it's a welcome relief that the story isn't saturated with all that is football. I can certainly see myself re-reading Until Friday Night at some point, it was thoroughly enjoyable, with just the right amount of drama and romance that will keep you glued to the pages, another winner from Abbi, I suggest that everyone should pick this up.

Approximately 3000 locations. Alternating POV between West & Maggie. The blurb does a good job of telling you what the story is about. The quote that Abbi has been using to promote is what made me want to read this story. First topic of discussion - Price $10.99 + tax came to a grand total of $11.90 for me here in Texas. In regards to the length of the book, that is expensive, especially compared to similar authors and books of the same YA genre. But, Abbi has increased in popularity in the New Adult m/f romance genre recently and with popularity comes an increase in price. It's like paying $30 for something at Forever 21 when you could basically get the same thing at Kohl's for $15. Now, to compare... I paid $7.99 + tax ($8.65) for Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey, but got approximately 10,000 locations. I've also paid $8.99 + tax for a m/m book with nearly 5,800 locations. I also subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $9.99 + tax per month, but for the most part the books available through that aren't written by the popular authors. I typically buy books at the $5.38 or $6.99 + tax price. Now, I know Abbi has no say in the price and it is set by the publisher. I understand that the publisher has to make money, that Abbi has to make money, and that third party sites like Amazon have to get their portion too. BUT, if I'm going to pay an inflated price for an eBook(compared to similar works) then I expect the length to reflect that price. In my opinion, the length of this book does not reflect the price. I went ahead and bought it because I hadn't bought a book in a little bit - just reading Kindle Unlimited ebooks. In terms of quality if the length is taken out of the equation, then this story was worth more than some of her previous books that I've read. Second topic - Realistic portrayal of high school characters? I personally had trouble believing some of the things that happened and/or that people said is a realistic portrayal of a high school student. Now, maybe in small towns that obsess over football this stuff really happens. I don't know. All I can compare it to is my own high school experience and fictional tv shows/movies/books. Now, I live in Texas. Another state where football is king and home to America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys. The city where I went to school is not that small as it is a suburb of Dallas. Football was the most cared about sport, but it wasn't the school's best sports program the four years I attended. Our baseball and girls soccer were actually the best. Anyway, all that just to say that the football players were "popular," but not one of them ruled the school or had girls throwing themselves at them in the hallway. Ain't nobody got time for that when you had five minutes between classes and 30 minutes for lunch. For that matter girls didn't yell at other girls in the hallway. So guys didn't come swooping in yelling and cursing and beating their chests to "protect" their girlfriends. Plus, we didn't even have lockers. Third topic- Alpha male behavior overload In books, I like alpha males. They're manly and protective and are often wrapped around the woman's little finger. Love it. Sometimes they talk dirty. Fantastic. For a fictional story where you can temporarily escape life's realities, I love me some Alpha males. What I don't like or appreciate is when those qualities I mentioned are taken to the extreme and the romance of the fantasy is lost. As a woman, I don't want to read about guys being so jealous and possessive and claiming or owning women. Not sexy. Not romantic. Not healthy emotionally. (in my opinion) And I really don't want to read about girls who let guys get away with talking to them so chauvinistically, so I was glad to see Maggie actually take a stand in that regard. And thank you Abbi for not once using the word p***y in this book. I personally hate that word and was the main thing I disliked about her other books. In conclusion: I gave this 4 (3.5 really) stars because I actually liked this book better than some of her New Adult romances. The last Sea Breeze I read was Bad for You & the last Rosemary beach I read was When I'm Gone. I was lucky and got most of her Sea Breeze and early Rosemary Beach books for $3.99 or $1.99, but stopped when the price kept going up and the length of the books didn't increase and to be honest, the stories were getting to be like the same story different couple. I gave Until Friday Night 4 stars because it was different from her other books and for once in a sports book there was no overbearing dad who abused/embarrassed/lived vicariously through his son. Overall, I liked the moral of the story. You never know what some is dealing with behind closed doors, so you should always be nice and treat others how you want to be treated. Do I recommend? If you can overlook the price being high for the length, then yes, I do recommend this book. In my opinion, this is a story for mature teens 15 years & older.

It's no secret that I love football. And I love Abbi Glines. So when I first heard about her writing a YA series that centers around football, I added to my TBR no questions asked. That was enough for me to hear to know I needed this book in my life. And after reading this book, I'm glad to say that I was right. Until Friday Night quickly became one of my favorite books of the year. I'm a wee bit obsessed with it upon finishing. Maggie experienced something traumatic when she was younger and since then she hasn't been able to talk. She's become a mute and for the past two years she hasn't uttered a single word. When living with a relative becomes too difficult, Maggie is sent to go live with her aunt, uncle, and cousin in a small town in Alabama. Here she gets thrown into a life of field parties and football. It's also where she meets West, the star of the football team at her high school and a player. Except, there is more to West then what he presents on the surface. He's in pain. He puts on a show for the world to see while on the inside he is falling apart. His dad is dying and he has to stay strong, for his momma's sake. But with Maggie, West is able to not put on a show. He's able to be himself, his whole self and so is Maggie. West is the only person Maggie has talked to since she stopped talking. When they are together, Maggie and West have no fears. They are able to fight through it. But when tragedy strikes West's family and it's Maggie he leans on, Maggie has a feeling she's been more of a crutch for West, letting him distract his pain and hurt. She wants to be more to him than an outlet for his pain, but in order to be strong for West, she has to be strong for herself. She has to learn to deal with the past and move on. This book hit me in the feels so many times. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. Maggie and West are from polar opposite worlds but come together in a magnetizing way. I'm a proud member of this ship and can't wait to see more of their relationship through the other books in this series. Abbi Glines takes us back to her root, where she first got started and I have to say she's a goddess of a writer. I think there isn't anything this lady can't write. So if you're a fan of Abbi, football, or emotional books this one is the one for you. Read and fangirl with me!!

I really like this author and I've already read a lot of her books but I love how personal she got with her characters in this one, she didn't try to make them seem like Gods, they acted the same way I would've in their given situation and it's something that I really appreciate. Abbi Glines has done it again. P.s. I cried like a baby, that's when you know it's good.

Everytime a read an abbi glines book i want more!! I loved the characters and the plot!! Cant wait to read the next one! My only hope is that glines dont make me wait for ages!

Superó mis expectativas 😍😍, de los mejores que he leído de Abbi Glinnes. Nos hace reflexionar de porque las personas actúan de cierta manera

Until Friday Night was so, so sad. I was crying through the majority of the book. The characters where well written for a young adult book, and the story was easy to read and beautifully written. I do love Abbi Gline’s writing technique. The character development was steady and realistic, they are after all only High School students. The series is said to span out over main group of Football players; Wests best friends. With the next book going to Gunner. I will be keeping an eye out for this next book that’s for sure. If you’re looking for your next emotional read, or maybe you just want to have a good cry then I recommend this book! Full Review at www.wormsandbibliophiles.com

Beautiful, sad, romantic, full of emotions. Love this book and love Abbi Glines for ever and ever :)))♥♥♥ i want to live her stories!