Rise to the Sun Review

 TW: Mentions of scandals, losing a parent, and shootings.

It's been a while since I read something by Leah Johnson! The last thing I remember reading from her was Ellie Engle Saves Herself (you can read that review here) two years ago, and a year before that my favorite book so far from her You Should See Me in a Crown (you can read that review here). 

So how was this book?

Rise to the Sun is a dual POV book about two girls: Olivia and Toni. They both find each other at a weekend-long music festival while hanging out with each of their best friends. Each girl is trying to escape from something that's weighing each of them down. Olivia with her most recent breakup (not to mention a scandal with her recent ex-boyfriend), and Toni after losing her musician father. 

The two girls end up bonding during a scavenger hunt and over their favorite musicians performing at the venue. Their respective friends Peter and Imani end up falling for each other, too. 

But when a shooting happens on the second day that rattles everyone (don't worry, no one dies!), it makes both girls really confront their pasts, and wonder if they are really meant for each other. 

This was a really good book with some funny, sweet moments and great discussions on mental health and loving yourself. However, I did find Olivia and Toni's relationship to be very insta-lovey (doesn't help the fact the story takes place over a course of three days only). I also didn't really like the friendship between Olivia and Imani (they get better towards the end, but for most of the book I wondered why they were even friends at all. It kind of reminded me of Alice and Feenie's relationship in Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann). 

So I gave it 4 stars. It's a good book, but not my favorite by this author. But I will still read anything she puts out!