Pepped Up (Pepper Jones)

Pepped Up Pepper Jones Book 1 By: Ali Dean Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski I loved everything about this book, from Ali Dean’s wonderful writing style to the storylines and characters she created to the fabulous narration. This book captivated me from start to end and and now I am “Pepped Up” for what comes next for Pepper Jones. Pepper Jones is definitely the star of this series but she has some terrific co-stars too, including her Gran who I adored and her best friend Jace Wilder and a new friend Ryan Harding. Pepper Jones a HS student and champion track runner. Jace, has been her best friend since they were young, her feelings have morphed into more but he only sees her as a sister, though he does send her mixed signals. He watches over her and is very protective of her. They’ve always share everything with each other but he starts to drift away, he has some new friends and has things going on that he hides from her. Ryan transfers into their school is also a runner and track champion, he and Maisie are friends and have an attraction to each other, they want to take their relationship to the next level. He is ready but is she, will her friendship and feelings for Jace continue to hold her back. Will Jace? I loved how well plotted this story is, there is a lot going on and it all plays out nicely. There is plenty of drama and emotions, angst, twists and some great triumphs and other ups and downs. It is a great young adult book for both young and old, it is about young love, friendship, HS sports, young adults dealing with life and so much more. Ali Dean thank you for this great story, I loved every word of it. I listened to the Audible edition, narrated by the talented Stacey Glemboski. She brings these characters to life, giving each their own unique voice and personality. I loved her take on these characters, you could hear how much heart and emotion she gives each one. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another amazing listen🎧 Thank you 🎧@AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsessionReviewer🎧

This is my first book read by Ali Dean. This is the first book in series Pepper Jones by Ali Dean. This book is about high school love and love between best friends. I love to read about best friends who became lovers because I believe that their love is real and beautiful because they know each other. In this book, we meet a Pepper and Jace, two best friends who are like family and they grow up together. They know each other very well and they take care of each other. Pepper Jones is a high school junior who loves to run and to spend time with her grandma and Jace. Jace for her is her best friend and the guy she loves in secret. Pepper believes that Jace doesn’t see her as a potential girlfriend so, she learned to be just his friend. Ryan is a new boy in her class and he is a runner like Pepper and they began to form a friendship. Ryan likes her and Pepper accepts to be with him because she likes him and she wants to be loved. Jace Wilder loves Pepper and doesn’t want to lose her, so Jace decided to push her away and to be just friends. Pepper, for him, is everything. But, after he sees her in a relationship with Ryan, he realizes that he wants to be with her because he loves her and she is his. Jace began to fight for Pepper and their relationship change from friends to lovers. Pepper chose to be with Jace because he is her soulmate. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and to see how their relationship grows.

There is a point in a high school girl's life when she has a grip on things and is ready for the next step. Pepper Jones has reached that point. At 16 and a half, Pepper is starting her junior year in high school. She has adopted a puppy, Dave, who goes for runs with her. She can drive but has no car. She works as a server at a local restaurant, for spending money. (We hardly see her in her job). She has a solid, trusting relationship with her quirky grandmother, who takes care of her (her parents died in a car accident when she was four). They live in an apartment building on the same street as her best friend, Jace, a senior and her school's star quarterback. He drives her to school and home after sports. They grew up together and they still have dinner together with her grandmother, who was his nanny after his mother left his family. Pepper is a serious cross country runner, whose goal is to qualify for nationals this season. Along with her training comes a rigorous dedication to staying healthy and fit, getting plenty of sleep and learning how to pace her runs and workouts for a long season. She avoids the excesses she hears about at parties Jace goes to by hanging out with her teammates and watching movies with them. She loves apple juice in a juice box. It's a tightly managed, low-risk life and she feels comfortable in it. Pepper senses a shift in her relationship with Jace, this year. He's vastly attractive, out of her league, she thinks. Her friends nudge her about him, are in awe of him, almost scared to spend time with her when he's around. She is not immune to his charms, but she knows his game, and watches the girls circling, driving him places. She hears stories about him with girls -- he's busy with lots of them, sometimes more than one at a time. She's not down with his program, but it's his life. So why is she noticing what his muscles do when he takes his shirt off? Why does it bother her when she sees him kissing senior girls? What does he think of her -- is she still like a sister to him, as he has said in the past? Meanwhile, Pepper is finding that she is being noticed. Her fit, athletic body does not have a lot of curves, like some of the senior girls' bodies, but her legs look good in short shorts and her favorite jeans. She knows people follow her running success, but this year boys are looking at her. The new senior, Ryan, sits with her at lunch. He's read about her running -- he's a star runner, too. Jace notices that Ryan is showing an interest in Pepper. Her time has come and she's ready for someone. Jace lets his friends know to keep their distance from Pepper. It's a mixed message -- he is protecting her and controlling her options, but why? Is that what brothers do? How will these teenagers proceed? Loved this book and these good characters, who navigate the choppy waters of high school sports, relationships and social life as well as they can. Look forward to more from this series.

I just couldn't stop reading this book!! I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to read the next chapter of Pepper's high school and college story. Even though it is a quite cliched and stereotypical high school book, I loved every piece of it!!!

I just couldn't get into this book. I think the main reason for this is that the major issues that arise between the main characters seems a bit far-fetched, and then resolved in a way that is not believable. This is supposed to be a friends-to-lovers book, but to be honest, I couldn't buy their friendship too much, and perhaps because of this, I was not necessarily rooting for them to get together.

This was an enjoyable read. The focus on running something different. The flow of the story was easy. I missed adding the fifth star due to the fact some characters weren't really fleshed out enough.

Wie man schon am Cover erkennen kann, handelt es sich um eine locker-leichte Lektüre, sehr gut für den Strand geeignet. An Handlung gibt es nicht allzu viel, dennoch hat mich das Buch gut unterhalten. Im wesentlichen lebt die Geschichte von den sehr gut gezeichneten Charakteren, die man auch recht schnell lieb gewinnt, vor allem Peppers Großmutter. Sehr gut gefallen haben mir (als Hobbyläuferin) auch die schön beschriebenen Läufe der Romanheldin, da sie im Laufe des Buches an mehreren Wettkämpfen teilnimmt und natürlich immer wieder trainiert. Das Ende hat mich allerdings nicht überzeugt und wirkte arg konstruiert (ich hatte von Anfang an den Eindruck, dass ich schon weiß, wie es enden wird und der Eindruck hat nicht getrügt), schade. Habe dann auch noch in den zweiten Teil hinein gelesen, was mich leider auch nicht überzeugen konnte. Aber dieses Buch habe ich sehr gerne gelesen.

Got this book to pass the time whilst waiting for another book in a series - wanted something light, a happyish ending and no cliff hanger - got all of it! Great Debut novel and Bunny was a treat! Good wee read x