Review | The Not-Outcast

by Tijan

Title: The Not-Outcast

Author: Tijan

Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice: 🌶

The Not-Outcast is a standalone novel by Tijan. It’s a Contemporary Sports Romance.

Cheyenne’s mother was an addict who used drugs her whole life. A consequence of that was Cheyenne being born neurodivergent. She has a lot of trouble focusing without medication and a strict exercise regiment. As a child she received no help and she coped by creating delusions. One of those delusions was her having a relationship with her stepbrothers best friend, Cutler Ryder. Eventually she gets help and becomes a functioning adult who helps run a kitchen for the homeless and needy. One night she runs into Cut at a party and her past and present collide. She has to work through whether or not she wants to subject Cut to a life with her and her abnormalities.

I love an author who can take real world problems like mental health and disabilities and create an amazing story like this. Cheyenne is fully aware that she, as a person, is not for everyone. She has an amazing chosen family who supports her and understands her to the best of their ability. When she meets Cut she is very upfront about her “problems” (I hate using words with negative connotations to describe mental health or disability issues but Cheyenne tends to do this herself unfortunately). Cutler “Reaper” Ryder is a star player on a hockey team. He has a lot going on himself but he immediately wants Cheyenne to be his when he sees her. He is all in and doesn’t hesitate to try to understand Cheyenne’s needs.

This book has a lot of child abuse/neglect themes. The relationship between Cheyenne and biological father and step mother is very disheartening but again is something that happens in the real world. While this is a romance, the overall feelings of the book are about acceptance and moving forward after a very troubled childhood. I recommend this for those looking for something with a little more substance than spice.