On The Fence by Kasie West

On The Fence
Written by Kasie West
Published July 1st 2014
320 Pages
Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for the ARC
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She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chic boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets, she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.
Growing up with three mammoth sized brothers and the boy next door, has made sixteen year old Charlie the ultimate tom boy, swinging, kicking, running and fighting with the best of them. Charlie no longer has a strong female presence in her life, after having lost her mother at only six years old. With only a few memories remaining, Charlie's sleep is plagued by the night of the accident, the only way to stop the nightmares is to run until her body reaches the point of collapse. But lately Charlie doesn't have the time for a grueling workout, being the only daughter of a police officer, her latest speeding fine is about to turn Charlie's life upside down.

She has a ticket she needs to pay and her only option is to look for a job, and luckily Linda's Bazaar is hiring. But one requirement of working at the small boutique is that her jeans and over sized sports sweats aren't considered appropriate working attire, and Linda sets Charlie the task of finding a new look to coincide with her new position. But when Linda decides to expand her business and take on a new cosmetics line, Charlie unwittingly becomes their new model and poster child, the extra payments will ensure her debt is repaid, now she only needs to hide her new look from her brothers.

With the new job comes sacrifice, and with Charlie unable to run, she finds her nightmares are keeping her awake. Boy next door and her brother's best friend Braden has trouble sleeping, his father yelling drunken abuse long into the night. Once having a close friendship, Braden and Charlie begin to meet on opposite sides of the fence. sharing their fears, their troubles and secrets. But the middle of the night whispers at the fence fade away each morning, leaving what feels like a almost sibling like bond. But as Charlie finally sees that her feelings for Braden run deeper than just a childhood crush, her world will be turned upside down.

My Thoughts


Having never read a Kasie West novel before, I was pleasantly surprised. It was entertaining and endearing in places, but sadly I couldn't find any distinguishing qualities to set On The Fence apart from authors such as Jennifer E. Smith, Huntley Fitzpatrick or Miranda Kenneally. It follows the story of Charlie, who's only friends seem to her her four older brothers and their best friend Braden from next door. She can't relate to other girls her age, as she considers herself to be another one of the guys by being heavily into her sports and roughhousing. I really enjoyed the relationship between her and her siblings, she wasn't seen as a delicate girl, she was included in every aspect of their lives. But where they were overprotective about anyone being romantically interested in her, they would often wrestle her to the ground and playfully elbow her, wind her and rough her up. If she can handle being taken down what was essentially four muscular young men, surely she could handle her own romantic interests.

Having grown up without any female influence, Charlie has become what is seen as a tom boy, wearing no make up, not concerned with her appearance and prefers to dress in athletic gear, being basically image of her brothers. So when she meets Linda and make up artist Amber, her transformation begins. Charlie never seemed comfortable with easing into her 'femininity', she hid her new clothing from her brothers and made sure to wipe any residual make up off before she went home. With her new sense of style, Charlie didn't seem herself, she was self conscious and felt as though she was just appeasing others.

Her slow building romance with Braden was sweet and heartwarming and my favourite aspect of the storyline. The shared conversations on either side of the fence allowed readers to see the sensitive side of Charlie and how much the two had shared with one another throughout their lives. With the introduction of Evan, a young man that Charlie met while at a cafe with her new circle of friends, we finally see that Braden may be jealous, taking an instant dislike to the possible love interest in Charlie's life. But Charlie, having no romantic experience with the opposite sex, has no idea that Braden is brooding. But Evan never stood a chance, he has only seen Charlie as a girl who doesn't play sports, takes care of her appearance and plays the stereotypical role of fashion loving, helpless girl. She feels she can't be herself around him, and is torn between two worlds. She soon starts to realise that her feelings for Braden may be more than a harmless crush.

It was cute, sweet and refreshing to see two characters that didn't follow the usually contemporary storyline, being irrevocably broken and seeking solace in another who can 'fix' them. Fans of My Life Next Door, Katie McGarry's Pushing The Limits series and the Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally will adore this book, as have fans of Kasie West.

11 comments

  1. When I read The Distance Between Us, last year I ADORED it, and gave it an instant 5 stars, but when I reread it about a month back, I couldn't believe why I'd loved it so much as I found it so shallow and gave it 2 stars. :( So I'm kinda worried about On The Fence. Will I love it, will I hate it...etc :( Being a massive tomboy though *bows* I think maybe I'll relate a little more to Charlie :) I to, hate dresses and skirts and you're most likely to see me in jeans and a baggy jersey too, lol! And don't even START talking about make up! XP *shudders* I will NEVER understand it ;)

    Frabjous review, Kelly!! :D

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    1. I think we all go through stages, when I was in my early twenties, I wouldn't leave the house without make up. Nowadays, I really couldn't care less. But Charlie was just a girl who spent her time being active, it was really refreshing to see actually.

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  2. I'm yet to read anything by West, but this one does sound appealing, even if it's not very unique. I like that it wasn't about fixing each other, that is something that feels so overdone now!

    Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist

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    1. Urgh, doesn't it just. The old, I'm broken, you're broken and together we'll fix one another. It always ends the same way, one becomes possessive and the other complete blind to a toxic relationship. But this one wasn't. Both characters had issues in their lives, but nothing they allowed to define them. Thank goodness.

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  3. I just got my copy of this and I am so excited! I am a fan of Kasie's books so I think I'll enjoy this. I am glad that you still liked this. Great review, Kelly! :D

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    1. Thanks Abby, can't wait to see what you think of it. Hope you really enjoy it and looking forward to your review.

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  4. I did adore this book, it was just so sweet and I loved the best friend romance, even though it developed super late in the book! My review for this will be going up soon, lovely review Kelly.

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    1. It was a really slow burning one wasn't it. I was hoping they would have got together earlier, so the ending wasn't so short, I would have loved to have seen the dynamics of their new relationship and how it effected her brothers as well. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts.

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  5. Maybe this is why I just can't see the special in Kasie West like other people do. I've been trying to read her books but I keep DNFing for some reason (please don't brick me, Kasie West fans!!). It feels like I've read other author's writing better, and I can't wrap up around my head what differentiates her from the others. I'm glad to know that you enjoyed this one nonetheless, Kelly!

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. Me too Faye. Although I did enjoy it, I was waiting for something more. It was perfect for a feel good, pick me up read, but nothing jumped out as being unique sadly.

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  6. "three mammoth sized brothers" hahaha! I'm really looking forward to meeting them. I rewritten up with 3 brothers too, and I know the feeling of not being treated like a girl. They tease and mock too when I'm being "too girly." I.e. makeup, hairdo, nails, etc. They say I'm weird. :P
    I'm a big fan of Kasie West, and some of the similar authors that you mentioned. I guess I like a certain type of writing.

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