“I never thought I’d love someone as much as I love you. You’ve changed my life, Luke. You and Grayson.” “No, baby,” I say, placing my hand over hers, staring intently into her eyes. “You gave me mine back.”

I’m currently suffering from a major book hangover after finishing this book. I’m recovering, or trying to. This story was surprisingly painful. I knew it was going to be a difficult read because of the nature of the story, but I wasn’t prepared. Make sure you have some tissues with you. You’re in for a bumpy ride.

To say this story holds a special place in my heart isn’t enough. This story is everything to me. It speaks volumes about grief and moving forward. It drives home the meaning of forgiveness. This is a story of second chances, of re-discovering what it means to fall in love. Harlow gives and takes equally from her readers throughout this book. This is a story of a man who lost his wife and, five years later, still isn’t over that loss. Luke hasn’t been able to move on from losing the love of his life, Hannah, in a car accident when his son, Grayson, was only three months old. Now, five years later, Luke is desperately in need of a nanny after his mother falls, and breaks her hip, and can no longer care for Grayson. That’s when Rachel comes into the picture. Rachel is Piper’s best friend from New York. Piper is the heroine in Harlow’s last book, Captivated. Rachel moves to Emerson Falls shortly after Piper and Cash get back together (if you haven’t read their book – DO IT NOW). She is planning on teaching elementary school, but needs to finish some classes in order to get her teaching license for the state. At the beginning of our novel, she’s currently living with Cash and Piper, but is looking for somewhere to move on her own. When she agrees to be Grayson’s nanny, Luke has her move into his house. (There are a few extra scenes in between that I’ve left out, but you’ll just have to read the book to see what you missed *wink wink*). 

These two characters are drawn to each other from the very beginning. Rachel lets herself get swept up in Luke and his life, she relishes in feeling like she belongs somewhere. She loves Grayson with her whole heart and thoroughly enjoys taking care of him. Luke is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He struggles daily with his attraction to Rachel. He feels like he is cheating on his late wife. He doesn’t want to move on from Hannah, and he’s constantly at war with himself as time moves forward and his attraction to Rachel only grows. When Luke finally gives in and takes Rachel out on a date, it’s like the stars have aligned. They share a beautiful weekend together and you think everything might finally work out…but you’re wrong. Luke still feels like something is holding him back. He can’t fully give himself to Rachel. Guys, I’ve got to admit, this was so difficult for me to read. I felt SO terrible for Rachel, feeling like she didn’t deserve this wishy-washy back and forth from Luke. But I also saw it from his perspective, he never truly had the chance to grieve for his wife. He jumped into being a single dad immediately. It wasn’t until he met Rachel that he started processing his loss and what it might mean to move on. That’s HUGE, right? I mean, how often is it that you read about someone simultaneously experiencing grief and falling in love? That’s what made this book so special. You get to experience a miraculous story about a brave man finding his way again. It brought so many tears to my eyes. 

Okay, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this or not but Harlow named Rachel after me. That’s right folks! HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT??? Okay, now that I’ve had my grand reveal (hehehe), let’s talk about this ending…I’m not giving anything away…but I just want to say that the epilogue was everything I needed. Specifically this: “Through therapy and being honest with Rachel over the past two years, I’ve been able to conquer a lot of my fears about death and moving on with my life…”. Truthfully, that gave me all the closure I needed for this story. It left me with so much hope for this couple, knowing that they have been through the ringer, but with each other they are able to get through anything. According to Luke, “feeling is living” and he was out of touch for so many years AND for most of this book! He wasn’t living until he met Rachel. She made him feel alive again and that’s because he felt SO much when he was with her. I’m such a huge proponent of living for the “now”. You never know when it will be your last day on this earth, so it’s important to have no regrets. Luke shows us what that means when he makes a conscious decision to move forward with his life. IT’S SUCH A PHENOMENAL STORY.

Last thing to discuss (I promise)…Grayson. He’s honestly one of my favorite parts of this story. Children either make or break a novel for me, and Grayson definitely exceeded all expectations. He loves facts about the human body. He’s so adorable and honest. He loves his dad fiercely. And he understands that his mom is in heaven. I think one of my favorite parts of this book was when Grayson said he has a “Heaven Mommy” but he wants an “Earth Mommy” too. Such a smart, sweet child. Harlow told me that she based his character on her son, and all I can think is “man, I would LOVE to meet her son!” Grayson is empathetic and gracious, and wicked smart. He’s the perfect missing puzzle piece to this story. I couldn’t have asked for a better written child. I’m blown away again by Harlow’s insane talent. This is not a story you want to miss out on. It tests your limits and asks a lot of you as a reader, but it’s well worth it. This story is definitely the most raw and the deepest of any of her books. If you’re anything like me, you’ll finish this book and need some time to simply sit and let it all sink in. It’s an incredibly powerful story and it leaves you feeling raw, but satisfied. I can’t compliment Harlow enough on how truly impressed I was with this masterpiece. I’m in complete awe of her talent. If you take anything away from this review, I hope it’s that you will give this story a chance. 5 stars!

“I’ll meet you on the other side of the stars.”