Stealing Our Hearts

“I love you more than I can bear. You’re everything to me. You’re the reason the earth turns and morning follows night. You’re the meaning of primroses and why kissing was invented. You’re the reason my heart beats.”

Has there ever been a more perfect Lisa Kleypas novel? I think not. This was by far my favorite story of hers that I have read. I, like every other Kleypas fan, was head over heels obsessed with Sebastian St. Vincent when I originally read Devil in Winter, but a novel about his son? His dirty, delicious, romantic, and incredible son?? I didn’t even need to know the plot of this book to know it would easily become a favorite. And then casting Pandora as the heroine?! LORD SAVE MY HEART! PERFECTION!

I was obsessed with Pandora and her twin Cassandra when we first met them in Cold-Hearted Rake. I loved them equally then, but I found that I leaned more towards Pandora as we got to know her a little bit more in Marrying Winterborne. I love the unique wild child that she is. I love that she is passionate about women’s rights even at the young age of 21. I love that she finds little amusement in what is “expected” of her and dreams of a life of freedom and exploration. She is everything I could have ever wanted in a heroine but she’s also innocent. She’s naive and delicate and that’s what makes her all the more perfect in my eyes. I know the virginity trope is not for everyone, but guys, I am ALL about it. I love a good teach-me moment. Pandora is accidentally compromised by Gabriel St. Vincent at a ball in the beginning of our story and in order to avoid scandal, they must marry. She is highly against it and he doesn’t have much interest in marriage either, but he is fascinated by her. It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game between these two for a while, but Gabriel eventually catches her.

I LOVED the scenes where we get to see Sebastian counseling his son. Truthfully, give me any moments with Sebastian and I’m smitten. The best thing about this book though, was the humor. I cannot count on two hands how many times I actually laughed out loud while reading this. It was hilarious!! Every single character had a moment to shine. Pandora stole the show, as I knew she would, but the passion and chemistry between her and Gab came in at a close second to the humor in this book. Those sex scenes were unreal. I’m not sure if I just started out in the wrong Lisa Kleypas era or what, but as I’ve been reading her more recent publications I’ve started to notice they are more and more sexually explicit. I LOVE IT. Historical romance shouldn’t mean closed doors or face to black scenes. People have been having sex since the beginning of time and there is no shame in it! 

I loved every single moment in this novel. I loved the thrill at the end, I loved the OW issues that weren’t really issues (thank god), and I loved each character we met. I cannot WAIT to start on the next novel!! 10 stars for this one! My favorite Lisa Kleypas book to date!! ❤ 

THIS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN ON MAY 9th 2021

**SPOILERS!!!!**

This book took me two and a half hours to read. I blazed through it so I could start A Court of Silver Flames as soon as possible. I didn’t make note of any quotes because nothing was so monumental that I needed to have it memorialized but I do have a few thoughts:

1. Elain. I’m not sure how I feel about her character right now. I know that she stabbed the King and we all love her for that, but she’s kind of pissing me off. I know she needs time to adjust, but why am I so sympathetic to Nesta but not her? I like Nesta more lol who even am I? I can’t help but adore Lucien and feel so terribly bad for him and all that he’s been through. I don’t want to see him fall for Vassa and I’m afraid that’s where he’s headed because Elain won’t so much as look at him. I thought we had made some good progress in ACOWAR, but apparently not. Then we have the whole weird relationship between Elain and Azriel. Poor Azriel is in love with Mor (at least we think so, but have never read anything from his point of view so we don’t know for certain) and Elain is weirdly shy around him. Does she like him/have a crush on him because he’s kind to her? That’s a load of horse shit and I’m going to be super pissed off if that’s the road Elain takes. Ugh she sucks. Not a fan at the moment.

2. Nesta. This girl is a whole other battle. I love and adore her. She gave her virginity away to someone and we don’t know who he/she was. That is AWESOME. Virginity doesn’t matter and shouldn’t exist and Cassian is stupid for even allowing his thoughts to stray that way. I am obsessed with their dynamic. Cass understands that Nesta saw a lot of horrific things in the battle but she was brave enough to step up when needed. She is struggling right now and needs time to heal and she’s only doing what she can. I find no fault in that. I cannot WAIT to start A Court of Silver Flames to read about this couple. Give me allllll the yummy scenes!!

3. Feyre and her art. YAAAAS queen! She’s finally painting again! PRAISE! I was so happy to read this, it brought tears to my eyes. She deserves the world and I’m so glad she is making friends. I love that by the end of the book she is reaching out to help others heal from the trauma of the war. It’s so beautiful. Good lord I love Feyre so much. One of my favorite female leads EVER. Also, I’m a huge fan of the fact that SJM established a beautiful and healthy relationship between Feyre and Rhysand in ACOMAF and has kept it standing strong this entire time. I know a lot of authors who would have messed with their relationship at this point just to add some drama, but we honestly don’t need that in this series. There is enough drama with everything else. 

I cannot rave enough about this story and these characters. I’m so happy I could jump for joy. I need some love for Azriel soon, though. This man deserves everything good in the world. I love him so much. 5 millions stars again! Here’s to hoping I can make this next book last since there is no definitive date for the next in the series (lord give me strength). xoxo! 

My friends have told me about their earth-shattering kisses, but I’ve never believed them until now. Until Maddox. Because kissing Maddox makes the world stop. It’s like I’m flying and being pulled down by gravity all at once.

Okay, to start off I just have to say this: I loved this book. Absolutely loved every single thing about it. Maddox is the ultimate book boyfriend. He had absolutely zero faults except for the fact that he loved Alyssa so blindly, he forgot to hold her accountable for hurting him. Alyssa was harder to warm up too. She is an interesting blend of a lot of things I usually really don’t like but somehow our brilliant author made her relatable and interesting. When I tell you that I had zero idea what to expect going into this book, I’m not lying. I actually did not read the blurb before I started it. Anna B. Doe is a one-click author for me, and being on her ARC team, it’s safe for me to say that she doesn’t write books that I don’t enjoy. Because of that, I dove head first into this incredibly captivating story and I have so many thoughts!!

First, let’s discuss the chemistry between our leads. HOLY CRAP. That first sex scene. Woooow. Hot mama! I did not expect to get something that good in a friends to lovers novel, and yet here we are. So for a little bit of back story on this couple, they have been best friends since they were little. I do wish we could have had maybe a few flashbacks or something to develop that foundation a little more because I did have a bit of a difficult time believing that Maddox could have been in love with Aly for this long without her ever knowing it. But what do I know? So Aly is apparently a bit of a wild child and Maddox is more calm and collected. He is also a few years younger than her because he’s a genius and skipped a few grades early on. When our book opens, Aly finds out that she is pregnant by her current boyfriend who, once she tells him about the pregnancy, promptly tells her that he has zero interest in being a part of the baby’s life and they break up. And then her parents cut her off…and that’s when Maddox swoops in as her knight in shining armor. When I say my feminism went right out the window and I’m not ashamed at all, I AM NOT KIDDING. She’s PREGNANT. I’m glad she accepted Maddox’s help and offer to let her stay with him while she gets back on her feet. This is when we get the all too favorable “one bed trope”. Yuuuuum, my fav! Maddox and Aly share a bed so neither of them have to sleep on the gross, college-boy owned couch in the living room. When Aly sees Maddox without his shirt on for the first time, feelings start blossoming. It makes sense to me that she might not have seen his body in a few years since he started working out in college, so that didn’t bother me at all. I loved how confident Maddox is in himself and how much he enjoys her looking at him. Maddox is a virgin (I don’t think that’s a spoiler) so you might expect the first time they sleep together to be clumsy and awkward but BOY YOU ARE WRONG. It was incredible. So passionate and sexual and I wish I could read it all over again for the first time. Bravo – the chemistry between our two leads was unmatched. I am obsessed.

There is a lot of push and pull in this novel too. It frustrated me at times because all I wanted was for our couple to communicate with each other! If they have been best friends all their lives, shouldn’t they know how to talk to one another? But it is college and we have to keep in mind that sometimes, when emotions are high or people are going through big life events, they don’t always think clearly. Aly spends a lot of this book pushing her feelings for Maddox to the side and ignoring what her heart is telling her. Maddox, in turn, spends a lot of the book too afraid to tell Aly how he feels for fear of ruining their friendship. I totally understood both sides, but I can’t deny that it wasn’t irritating LOL. When our couple finally got together I was SO happy. I was jumping for joy. I loved Maddox’s devotion to Aly through it all. 

This was such a beautiful story. I don’t normally gravitate towards surprise pregnancy or friends to lovers tropes, but this one did it for me. 100%. I absolutely loved it!! Anna B. Doe has done it again. 4.5 stars!!!! ❤ 

ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

“I could kiss you for a thousand days and it still wouldn’t be enough,” he says. “I could gaze at you for a million days and it wouldn’t be enough. I could touch you, taste you, be so deep inside you that you’re fused to my skin, do this forever and it still wouldn’t be enough. Forever with you isn’t enough.”

Okay umm SWOOOOOOON??? That quote from Viktor is just giving THE MOST? Am I right or am I right?? This novel is chock-full of delicious, panty-melting moments between Viktor and Maggie. Something that Karina Halle does insanely well is mix comedy and drama to create the most perfect romantic dramedy. She has this amazing way of making her readers laugh out loud in one moment and break down crying in the next. She is a brilliant writer that sits on the edge of angst, but never pushes too far over.

This book reminded me of a much more serious and charming version of The Prince and Me movie with Julia Styles. Obviously, it’s not. The prologue is literally Maggie’s parents being brutally murdered. But it’s still an American girl falling in love with a foreign prince who is undercover as a regular joe-schmo. I was immediately shocked when I read the prologue because the cover of this book is neon pink with the cover model smirking – it reads like this would be a romantic comedy. I actually won a copy of A Nordic King in an Instagram giveaway a while back and really enjoyed it. It was also pretty intense, but I think I forgot how heart-wrenching it was until I started this one. Our heroine, Maggie, has custody of her 5 siblings after her parents are murdered and she works as a maid at a La Quinta to take care of them. Her youngest brother is seven. Cue the tears. She is at work one day when she walks into a room to clean it and runs into a very naked, very sexy man. You’ll have to read the book to see what happens, but they quickly fall in love and it’s magic.

I LOVED the pacing of this novel. It didn’t read like a predictable royal romance usually does. This book is fast and quick witted. It lulls you into a sense of security in part one – yes there are 2 parts. I loved it. There is a time jump, so keep that in mind. I know that can be a deal breaker for some people, but Karina Halle does a beautiful job of keeping this story super believable. I loved that the main conflict didn’t actually come from an outside source. You’re made to believe it could easily be a third party, but it’s not!! SO GOOD. Okay, I don’t want to spoil anything else. It’s a phenomenal book. Read it. I’m downloading the second book in this series now. 5 stars!

“I’d loved Tennessee Turner from the minute I laid eyes on her. From the first moment I’d seen her at the nursery, and she simply shone brighter than everyone else. And the worst thing, perhaps, was the fact that I knew Tennessee was wrong. Weak. Spineless in front of her family. A complete pushover. …and I still loved her. Despite her weaknesses. And, goddammit, because of them, too.”

Okay, HELLO LJ SHEN! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read anything by the lovely, talented LJ and this book had been sitting in my kindle for a long time before I sucked it up and read it. I have never been so annoyed with myself for waiting so long to read a book!! I think I was a little turned off initially by what I thought this book was about? I thought these two met on a cruise and it was enemies to lovers or something. I didn’t really read the blurb (as per usual) so I made assumptions before going in that kept me from taking a chance and I AM SO DUMB. Okay yes, there is a section of this book that does happen on a cruise ship, but it’s not centered around that at all. Cruz and Tennessee grew up together – I’m talking rolled around in daycare wearing dirty diapers. They’ve known each other forever and CLEARLY from the quote I used above, Cruz has been head over heels for her since the beginning. Guys. I am the biggest sucker for a pining hero. Truthfully, Cruz doesn’t pine all that much, but it was enough to give me exactly what I needed from this book. 

We also get a taste of something that LJ doesn’t always play around with – small-town romance AND single mom romance. UMM YES!!!!! I was blown away with this story. I cried, I laughed, I got super pissed and almost threw my kindle across the room – I felt it all. It was a wild ride. Tennessee’s character was so unique and different. I was immediately drawn to her when we first meet her. I wasn’t sure about Cruz, I usually prefer a bad boy, but by the end of this novel I was a full-blown Cruz worshipper. If you’re wanting to read something a little bit different, but incredibly impactful and dynamic. READ THIS BOOK. AH. I fell in love with Tennessee’s character development throughout the novel. Cruz never changes her, he gives her the power to make the changes herself. 

As much as this could have leaned heavily into the damsel in distress/white knight trope, LJ Shen took a different approach. Cruz forced Tennessee to be accountable for her choices and her life. He forces her to take a hard look at what she has been allowing the people in her life to do, how she has allowed people to treat her, and even how she treats and sees herself! He enables her to make the best choice for her and her son, Bear, in the end. It was amazing. I love the take-no-shit attitude of all of LJ’s heroes. This book was exceptional and I cannot wait to add the paperback to my bookshelf!!! Bravo! 5 stars! 

“You are, and always will be, the most beautiful girl in Fairhope, North Carolina.”

“My soul recognized your soul.”

I don’t know about you guys but this book wrecked my emotional stability. I was not fully prepared for how dark and gritty this novel would be – also extremely bloody. This was my first Kerrigan Byrne novel, and I totally get the hype. This story was intoxicating and breathtaking. I felt like I almost died multiple times, my heart was constantly racing. If you’re looking for a darker, richer, deeper historical romance novel, this one is perfect for you! 

When our novel starts, we meet Dougan and Farah as children. They form a beautiful friendship until they are torn apart by horrific circumstances. Then there is a SEVENTEEN YEAR time jump. Yes, I’m not joking. I almost died (the first time). Farah is twenty eight and working at Scotland Yard. The mysterious Dorian Blackwell appears in her life and kidnaps her. Our story plays on a few wonderful tropes: kidnapping, marriage of convenience, and secret identity. This might be a spoiler for some (SO PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED), but it seemed rather obvious to me: Dougan and Dorian are one in the same. Dorian tells Farah throughout most of the novel that Dougan was killed in prison where they met each other and he made Dougan a promise to take care of Farah when he got out. We as the reader know that Dorian is Dougan, but that didn’t make his reveal any less impactful. Dorian’s face is severely scarred, but that only scratches the surface of his issues. He cannot be touched. He experienced excruciating torture in prison and has sickening PTSD episodes to this day. He doesn’t want to dirty Farah by touching her and initially refuses her request to bed her after their wedding. All Farah has ever dreamed of is a family of her own. She’s nearing thirty and knows that she needs to start soon, but faces extreme obstacles with Dorian’s refusal. Fortunately, he cannot resist her. The sex is off the charts. They are both virgins and it was MAGIC. Although Dorian pulls away from her afterwards, the initial sex and the moments during were so special. 

There is also the side plot of Farah’s life being in danger. She is the long lost heiress to her father’s family and will inherit his estate when she claims her name. Sadly, an evil man is trying to steal it out from under her and does try to have her killed which is why Dorian kidnapped her in the first place (to rescue her in his own way). These scenes are where we get a lot of the blood and gore and gritty parts of the novel. It was tough to read at times, but I was so intrigued I couldn’t stop.

I loved this novel. I am so thrilled to start the next book in this series as soon as I can get my hands on it. Bravo, Kerrigan Byrne! 5 stars! 

“God, I love the way you look at me,” I say, stroking her cheek still. “How do I look at you?” “Like I’m not the boy you once hated, but maybe the man who could be everything you’ve been looking for.”

Harlow is back with another incredible, captivating story! This is a childhood enemies to lovers, fake relationship romance. Our main characters are Charlotte and Damien and their parents were best friends growing up, so they grew up in constant competition with the other. They both excelled in all things including school, extracurricular activities, and pleasing their parents. Until now. Both of these characters clearly struggle with making their parents proud and being true to themselves. It’s been 12 years since these two last spoke, but they both live and work in the same city in California. Damien is up for a big job promotion when he decides to throw his hat in the ring to win an account that could secure him the promotion. The only thing is…he needs a girlfriend. I wasn’t 100% sold on the idea that Damien needed a girlfriend in order to understand or respect women and he able to sell feminine products, BUT as always, our author came through with some delicious chemistry and hilarious banter proving me wrong. Charlotte works for an advertising agency and is very married to her job. She loves what she does and she’s passionate about the life she lives. She doesn’t have any desire to get married and start popping out babies, but her mother has other ideas. Charlotte feels the judgement from her mother almost every day and struggles to juggle that with her desire to be a strong, independent woman. 

I really liked Charlotte as a character. I wish she would have stood up for herself sooner in the novel because all of the talk of equality felt a little forced when she couldn’t even articulate herself to her own mother. There were a lot of bad guys in this book. It broke my heart a little. I won’t go into detail, but it felt like almost at every turn, there was someone trying to ruin what Charlotte and Damien were creating together. I absolutely adored Damien. He was the typical playboy/commitment-phobe at the beginning, but very quickly falls for Charlotte and shows his true colors. He was so naughty, I’ve never loved an ice cube scene more in my life!!! I also really loved the hilarious internal comments that both of our characters had during the novel. It adds an extra layer of depth to our characters and it levels up the comedy. Side note: we get a crossover and you guys know how much I love those!! Hayes Weston shows up at a club in our book and I swooned so hard!! I love Hayes’ book My Unexpected Vow. If you haven’t had a chance to read that book – run to grab it now!

All in all, I loved this one! It’s a really strong start to what I know will be a great series. The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the repetitive and forced societal commentary. It felt like more of a “telling not showing” situation in this book. I would have loved to have been given more examples of equality and women supporting women rather than just dialogue on it. Other than that, I loved that book!! Beautiful job as always, Harlow! ❤ 

Buckle up, friends! This one has a lot of trigger warnings. We’ve got a story chalked full of chauvinistic and sexist commentary. There’s fat phobia and body-shaming. There are multiple comments about infertility or fertility issues (in my opinion, if this is commented on in ANY capacity it should be mentioned because it’s a very big trigger for a lot of people). There is discussion of ED, but nothing descriptive. Cancer but thankfully it’s only mentioned once. AND domestic abuse sprinkled in there at the end. There’s also just simply a loooot of childhood trauma that both our hero and heroine are suffering from. It’s heartbreaking. I saw myself a LOT in Charlotte’s character. Reading some of the things her mother says to her…I’ve heard almost those exact same comments coming out of my mother’s mouth. It sucks. ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, if any of these things are triggering for you, please proceed with caution. I learned the hard way that I cannot read books where a main character has cancer, so trigger warnings have become my saving grace. Hope this is helpful for all 🙂 xoxo

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve come to the conclusion that A. Zavarelli can do absolutely no wrong. Every single book that I’ve read by her has been a 5 star read. Her Boston Underworld series is still, to this day, my favorite mafia romance series that I have ever read. I found this book recommendation from a BookTok account that I stumbled upon and as soon as I saw it was written by A. Zavarelli, I immediately downloaded and started reading – TBR be damned!

I’m not 100% sure what’s going on with this series of books, but it looks like there are about 24 books all written by different authors. They might all be in the same world? I can’t be sure. I did read a different book in this series a few weeks ago (completely unintentionally) and I can’t recall if there are any crossovers, but both of these novels were exceptional. Is this a mafia romance? Technically, no. I mean, our hero, Alessio, literally tells our heroine that he is not in the mafia – that the mafia is “child’s play” compared to what he is involved in. So, I’m just going to call this a dark romance and keep it simple. Our heroine, Natalia, is mute. We don’t find out about her traumatic past until we’re over halfway through the novel, but it is well worth the wait. There is a lot of secrecy in this book. Lots of things that we don’t find out until our author feeds us the details – it’s very exciting. This way of writing keeps the reader interested and engaged all the way until the end. 

For a spoiler-free quick overview of this story: Alessio hires Natalia as the nanny for a child in his care, Nino. Natalia has ulterior motives that quickly get put on the back burner as she falls in love with Alessio. Bad stuff happens – as per usual with dark romance. HEA.

I cried SO MANY TEARS while reading this book. Wow. This story was moving. Sweet Nino was one of my favorite parts of this book because he was not only the reason for bringing Alessio and Natalia together but he was also the reason behind the biggest conflict. The storytelling was brilliant, as it always is with A. Zavarelli, but this was exceptional. She took a trope that is often times the same story regurgitated over and over again and made it original. She made is interesting and exciting and heartbreaking. THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. AH. It’s going to live rent free in my head forever now, I just know it. If I could give it 100 stars, I would. ❤ 

Also, can we just take a quick moment to acknowledge the MASTERY behind adding body autonomy commentary into this novel?? This is something Natalie says – she is very passionate about Nino feeling comfortable and free to speak up for himself regarding his body:

“Regardless of how your world may work, Nino is entitled to body autonomy. His emotions are valid, and when he’s in my care, I won’t force him to perform for the benefit of anyone. I am sorry if what happened hurt your feelings, but I stand by what I said. I’m here to look after Nino, and that includes his mental wellbeing. I do not subscribe to outdated philosophies that children should be raised to mask their emotions of the sake of an adult’s ego.”

ROUND OF FUCKING APPLAUSE QUEEN!!!!!!!!!!

“My lady, I don’t simply care for her. I love her. She is my entire life. Without her, I am nothing. I have nothing.”

Oh my goodness, I can’t remember the last time a historical romance novel made me feel so many emotions in a single book. We are 5 days into 2022 and I’m going to be hard pressed to find another historical romance novel that will beat out this one this year. This book was exactly what I wanted without even realizing it! We have a deaf heroine, who has kept her disability a secret from everyone out of fear for her life, and then we have the most wonderful, delicious, alpha hero. These two have the most emotional, beautiful love story and I loved it so much!!

The Montgomerys and the Armstrongs families have been rivals for years, but the King decided that they needed to find peace, so he decreed that Graeme Montgomery wed Eveline Armstrong. Truthfully, we have the King to thank for this entire book, because without him, none of this would have been possible! Of course the families are both extremely against this match, but any refusal would be seen as treason against the King – so arranged marriage it is. Graeme shows up at the Armstrong’s place to meet and marry his future wife as quickly as possible. He, along with everyone else, believe her to be “daft”, so he wants to get it over with and get back to his life as fast as he can. She took a fall and was bedridden for weeks with fever, and when she recovered she never spoke again. No one believes she is capable of being a wife, not even her own parents. Little does everyone know but our sweet heroine is deaf and has learned how to read lips. There is a reason why she never told her parents that she was deaf, but I’ll let you read the book and find out! The moment she sees Graeme she notes that he’s not conventionally attractive, but there is something about him that draws her in. He sees her and, of course, thinks she is the most “bonnie lass” he’s ever seen. *SWOON* This meet cute was adorable. I loved every second of their relationship, as they got to know one another and slowly as they fell in love. 

Unfortunately, because these families have been enemies for years there is a lot of pushback regarding Eveline being the Laird’s new wife. No one shows her respect and it is absolutely heartbreaking to watch her try to navigate her new life when everyone wants to see her fail. This story is dynamic and exciting. There is quite a bit more action than I was anticipating and sprinkle of suspense at the end! I loved it SO much! Thank you to my favorite two ladies, Jessen and Juliet, of the podcast Smart Women Read Romance, for this rec! 5 stars! 

“Turns out, it takes knowing the right person to realize the wrong ones don’t matter as much as you thought.”

Man oh man I reeeeally wanted to like this book. I was still rooting for it to turn around at the 75% mark, but sadly it just didn’t work for me. This book read like a women’s fiction piece instead of a romance. Sure, our heroine falls in love again and lives happily ever after with another man, but the entire novel is all about her getting over her divorce. Hell – her ex keeps showing up whether it be in person or in conversation all the way through the very last chapter of the book! WHAT?? I was not about that. 

Let’s start from the beginning. I was ALL for a forbidden romance where the heroine falls for her ex-husband’s commanding officer. I love military romances and I was feeling it when I first started this book. Fletcher lives next door with his autistic son, who just so happens to be in Stevie’s class. She is a teacher at the local elementary school. Stevie has been divorced for 2 or 3 years at this point, but she has not moved on AT ALL. This woman still struggles with anxiety attacks and breakdowns on the reg when she thinks about her husband or gets triggered, but don’t worry! She goes to YOGA! LOL. I was appalled by the clear need for therapy with no regard for mental health. She meets Fletcher and his son Nicki and is immediately drawn to them. Of course, she has a moment of panic when she realizes who Fletcher is, but is able to move past it relatively quickly which I was thankful for.

Overall, I was really enjoying this novel until we get to the “climax” or the big fight where everything falls apart. I could not, for the life of me, empathize with Stevie’s emotional response to the situation she found herself in. Frankly, I was disgusted when she reveals her awesome news at the end of the novel and everything just works out. There is SO MUCH going on under the surface with Stevie and not a single person has recommended that she get help. It was heartbreaking to me because, for all we know, her relationship with Fletcher could crash and burn in a couple of years when Hunter shows back up again. Who knows! I was super disappointed with the way this book ended, but couldn’t bringing myself to rate it super low because I thoroughly enjoyed the first and middle parts. I’m giving this guy 3 stars. Hoping the next B. Celeste book will bring me better luck! Xo. 

“If love at first sight existed, there is no doubt I would have fallen deeply in it with you. No matter how wrong.”