Sticks and Stones by Santana Blair

Sticks & Stones by Santana Blair
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She thinks he’s looking for a come up.
He just thinks she’s stuck up.

Both Darcie and Elijah step foot onto the campus of Pembrook Academy with one thing on their minds… getting out. Darcie wants nothing more than to finish high school and know that her spot in the Ivy Leagues is secured and waiting for her.
And Elijah?
Well, Elijah just wants out.
It was never his idea to go to Pembrook in the first place and now he’s stuck spending his senior year with a bunch of kids he has absolutely nothing in common with. Then, she came along. From the moment he meets Darcie Fitzgerald, he knows she is going to drive him absolutely crazy. But nothing could have prepared him for how amazing crazy would feel.

Darcie has ninety-nine problems and Elijah Benitez is now her biggest one. He seemed to coast into her life from out of nowhere, and she has neither the time nor the patience to deal with him. But every time she tries to put a little distance between them, life shoves them closer together and Darcie finds herself in a situation far more complicated than she could have ever expected.

They’re both about to learn a few things starting with lesson #1:
Not Everything Is As it Seems

Sticks & Stones hit all the right notes, at all the right points. This is my second Santana Blair novel, and I'm now doubly impressed.

Sticks and Stones is the story of "rough-ish" twins that transfer to a new school, Pembrook Academy. This is a bougie type of school—where everyone started at the top and has no clue what the bottom is. That's where Elijah meets Darcie. He thinks she's just another stuck up princess, and she thinks he's just another bad boy on a mission. But, they both find more in the other than they could have ever expected. It gave off Pride and Prejudice vibes; so if that's your thing, there's that to look forward to.

The story is not unique in its premise, but it tackles romance, backstory, and heart rather well. The story has just enough of all of what needs to make a great story: conflicting and troublesome pasts from both ends, misconceived and conflicting emotions, heartfelt family, characters to root for, and a romance that burns and ignites the heart.

Each character was special to its purpose for progressing the plot. The plot surrounds the relationship and the development of the relationship between Darcie and Elijah. There are small little stories that happen in the book, but the most important factor is Darcie and Elijah's romantic relationship—at least that's what I got out of it. As a heavy romance reader, I'm all about the love, though I missed some heavy angst found in most (some) adult novels.

Because the characters are transitioning from their last year of high school into college(think acceptance letters, and picking the right schools) this is definitely YA, if to be technical, upper YA. It's well written, however and has the right amount of emotions without stringing the reader along with too much drama. It will hit you in the feels with every stolen kiss and sly glance. It's an enjoyable novel written by an author worth watching out for.

It gets my stamp of approval.