Lefty's Lowdown: We Own the Night by Ashley Poston

We Own the Night by Ashley Poston
(Radio Hearts #2)
Pulished: June 28, 2016 by Bloomsbury Spark
Source: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. That's exactly what this review is: honest. My opinions have not been influenced in any way.

Summary from Goodreads:
"Happy midnight, my fellow Niteowls..."

As a candy store employee by day, and mysterious deejay "Niteowl" by night, eighteen-year-old Ingrid North is stuck between rock 'n roll and a hard place. She can't wait to get out of her tiny hometown of Steadfast, Nebraska (population three hundred and forty-seven) to chase her dreams, but small-town troubles keep getting in the way. She can't abandon her grandmother with Alzheimer's, or her best friend Micah--who she may or may not be in love with.

But for one hour each Saturday, she escapes all of that. On air, she isn't timid, ugly-sweater-wearing Ingrid North. She's the funny and daring Niteowl. Every boy's manic pixie dream girl. Fearless. And there is one caller in particular-- Dark and Brooding--whose raspy laugh and snarky humor is just sexy enough to take her mind off Micah. Not that she's in love with Micah or anything. Cause she's not.


As her grandmother slips further away and Micah begins dating a Mean-Girls-worthy nightmare, Ingrid runs to the mysterious Dark and Brooding as a disembodied voice to lean on, only to fall down a rabbit hole of punk rockstars, tabloid headlines, and kisses that taste like bubble tea. But the man behind the voice could be surprising in all the right, and wrong, ways.

And she just might find that her real life begins when Niteowl goes off the air.

I definitely didn't know what to expect going into this novel. I'm not sure why, but I just kinda thought it would be not-great, and I wasn't actually looking forward to reading it. But WOWZA BUDDY WAS I WRONG. I'm incredibly impressed by this novel. I loved every second of it! 

So, I had a tough time thinking up a rating of this book, because it isn't necessarily the most original story, and it's probably not a book that I'm going to constantly fangirl over and shove in people's hands. This is the type of book that is just so perfect in the moment. It was cute and fun, but it also dealt with some really meaningful subjects, and it had some touching moments. 

This novel follows Iggy, who received some bad news the end of her senior year of high school and distanced herself from her three best friends. However, that doesn't stop Iggy from being in love with one of those best friends--Micah. But then Iggy agrees to go to a party with her friends, and she sees Micah kissing another girl, and things just kinda go downhill from there as she struggles to unravel who and what she wants in life. I really liked Iggy. I didn't necessarily love her, but I found her to be good-intentioned and relatable. I was rooting for her a ton, and I really enjoyed watching her grow and figure herself out. 

As for her friends, I freaking adored LD. She was my favorite character in the book. She was such a good friend to Iggy, even when she didn't necessarily deserve it, and she was just so kickass. Billie, the "golden boy" best friend was adorable! I liked him a lot as well. I didn't like Micah, though. He was, scientifically speaking, a giant douche spoon (I'm pretty sure that was the point). Poston did a fantastic job of giving her side characters depth and fleshing out their character arcs. 

Now, I don't want to say too much, but this book deals with some serious stuff, like Alzheimer's, body image, homophobia, and death of a loved one. Poston handled those topics wonderfully. There were a couple points that I got really choked up, and I was on the verge of tears. 

Also, the radio aspect was really cool. I can't overlook that. 

All in all, this book was downright addicting! There wasn't a single point when I was reading that I felt bored, and that's something I've been struggling with a lot lately. By the end I was grinning like Cheshire cat, and I was actually rooting for the characters out loud (I kid you not, I sat up in my bed, placed a hand to my chest, and chanted, "Holy crap. HOLY CRAP. Yes, this is great! Yes!") This is a fantastic, feel-good summer book. 

P.S. - Even though this is the second book in a series, it is a standalone (it's a companion series). I didn't read the first one, but, obviously, that did not hinder my enjoyment of this novel. 

5/5