Review - The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen @SarinaBowen

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
Publication Date: July 10, 2018
Date Read: July 6, 2018
Length: 320 pages
Source: Author
★★★★★

A YA novel from USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen.

Never ask a question unless you’re sure you want the truth.

I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my mp3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face.

My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong.

When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of – not at this cost. 

Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul.


There’s a secret shame that comes from being an unwanted child. It drags me down, and puts distance between me and the boy I love.

My father is the only one alive who knows my history. I need the truth, even if it scares me.

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My Review

This was such a good story!  I was really excited to see how Sarina Bowen would do with a Young Adult novel.  Honestly, she blew me away with this story.  Once I started reading this one, I didn't want to stop.  I needed to know how things would work out for Rachel.  I was hanging onto every word and felt like I knew this group of characters.  This was one of those books that was just a joy to read.

Rachel goes through so much over the course of this book.  When we meet Rachel, she is living in a children's home after the death of her mother.  She has never met her father until he shows up to be introduced by the social worker.  Rachel's father is a star with fans everywhere including the daughter he has never met.  Rachel and her father get to know each other very quickly and before she knows it her life is turned upside down once again.

I loved the characters in this book.  Rachel is such a nice girl, a good girl, and there was a part of me that just wanted to see her scream and be angry.  But that wasn't Rachel. As I read further I really understood who Rachel was and when she did break down she did it in her own way.  She is resilient and tough and proves that she is willing to stand up for herself.  Fredrick was equally great.  He made a whole lot of mistakes in the years that lead up to the start of this book but in this story he is really trying to do what is best for Rachel.  He does mess things up a time or two but he never stopped trying.  His character may have been the one with the most growth over the course of this book.

This book does so many things well.  The core of the story deals with Rachel building a relationship with her father.  It also deals with Rachel's grief over the loss of her mother and her desire to learn more about her parents' relationship.  There is a romance that is well done and offers quite a few swoony moments.  I thought another key aspect of the story is watching Rachel learn what she wants and having the courage to speak up for herself.  Everything really works together to tell an amazing story.

I would highly recommend this book to others.  This was just an amazing story that was able to find its way into my heart.  Rachel is an unforgettable character with an incredibly powerful story.  I can't wait to read more from Sarina Bowen in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.

About the Author

Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over two dozen contemporary and LGTB romance novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller's list in February, with Brooklynaire. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.

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