“Sometimes when you love someone too much, your heart is louder than your head.”

I need to say one thing about this series before I dive into this double review: it just kept getting better and better. I enjoyed the first book, Challenge, but didn’t feel a need to write a review about it. It was a four star novel, in my opinion, and didn’t leave me feeling any sort of way. Then I read Endurance, and I thought to myself, “there’s a reason this is rated 5 stars on Amazon.” It was really good. But I still didn’t feel that spark. But then…Keeper came into my life and I was mesmerized. I loved everything about Booker and Poppy. It was true friends-to-lovers at its finest. I wrote a shining five star review for that book and couldn’t WAIT to pick up the fourth book. Little did I know…IT ENDS IN A CLIFFHANGER. I despise cliffhangers, but I thought to myself, “Okay okay we can make this work. Let’s start the fifth book and see how this goes.”

GUYS.

I’M SHOOK. I’M A MESS. THIS STORY WAS THE END-ALL BE-ALL. THE PERFECT ENDING TO THE HARRIS BROTHERS SERIES. NOTHING BEATS THIS.

Alright, getting back on track here, let’s talk about Gareth. We’ve been curious about him since book one. He’s quiet and reserved and intense. We never really knew what to expect when it came to him. We caught a glimpse of *something* happening when Tanner and Belle show up at his house unexpectedly and are surprised to find a woman with him, but that’s it. We never get anything else, no glimpse into his life, until now. Talk about the ultimate turn on. This book was BEYOND steamy. It takes what you normally love about alpha males and turns it on its head. The chemistry between Sloan and Gareth is earth shattering. We first meet Sloan as Gareth’s stylist. He is very particular about the clothes that he wears because he has a sensory disorder. It’s never fully diagnosed or discussed in this book, and it kind of goes away when he’s around Sloan, but it’s still there. Under the surface. And it’s important. Sloan is the only person he trusts because she understands him on a level that no one else does. She knows what he needs without him having to say it. So…on that note…when they first sleep together…NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED ME. I cannot spoil this for you guys because it is epic. It is fierce and sexy and totally taboo. Please read this book. 

Gareth runs his thumb across my lower lip. “Because he didn’t see you the way I see you.” My mouth falls open as tears prick the backs of my eyes. “How do you see me?” I ask, my voice thick with fear. He sighs heavily like he’s been sitting on his answer for ages. “Like a fucking lioness. And any rightful king would be a fool not to bow to his queen.”

Okay, so as we delve deeper into this story a ton of super emotional and taxing things come up. Important to note for you guys as readers of my blog: cancer is a trigger for me. HUGE trigger. This novel is chalked full of cancer. I mean, legitametly three characters have cancer. It’s catastrophic and it took a LOT out of me to make it through these last two books. So yes, we know about Mrs. Harris dying when the children were very young, but what we don’t find out until this book is that our sweet, incredible Gareth was there when she took her last breath, alone. His father couldn’t even be in the room, so, as an eight year old, Gareth took on the responsibility to care for his mother during her last days. Talk about heart-wrenching. I was a complete and total wreck as I read through Gareth’s flashbacks. Nothing could have prepared me. To top all of that off, Sloan’s daughter, Sophia, was diagnosed with a brain tumor (brain cancer?) when she was a baby. She went through chemo until she was three, I think. Please. Stop me while I’m ahead. AND THEN Sloan’s ex-husband’s mother, Margaret, has cancer too and dies!!!! That’s enough for me. I couldn’t take any more heartbreak. Thankfully we get a gorgeous, tearful, insanely well-deserved HEA because I don’t know what I would have done if something else would have happened. 

Alright, back on base. Sloan and Gareth both have major control issues that stem from trauma. Each of them handles it in a different way, but what they’ve come to realize is that, with each other, they can learn to heal. It’s beautiful. So much actually goes RIGHT in the second book, Dominate, that I was constantly on the edge of my seat, scared that the other shoe was going to drop at any moment. Luckily, it seemed that we were past most of the larger issues after the first few chapters. I can honestly say that is has been over a year since a book (or in this case, a duet) has made me feel so much. This book is empowering, it’s emotional and passionate, it quite literally brings you to your knees. If Amy Daws can write a story as captivating as this, what can’t she do? As I come to a close with this review, which I’m starting to realize was more like a rant, I just have to remind you all of one thing: it’s never too late. That’s what this story left me with. It’s never too late to forgive, to fight, to love, to heal. Gareth and Sloan will be in my heart forever. A hundred stars for this gorgeous duet. Much love.

“Jump out of the plane with me, Gareth. You don’t need to catch me when we can fly together.”