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Review

4 heartbreaking, second-chance stars

I have loved Riley in the previous books in the series, and have been so excited to finally get his story. His past has been hinted at in previous books of the series, and we know that he once had a great love, but that something went wrong and Riley has never recovered – choosing to lose himself in meaningless hook ups rather than find something meaningful with anybody else.

This book sees Riley returning to his home town following a family emergency. It’s an awkward trip because as much as he loves his family, his father did not cope well with his arrest and prison sentence, and the two have barely had a civil conversation since he was released. Home is also full of memories of his childhood, and of his past with his first and only love, Lexie

Lexie was Riley’s best friend from childhood. As 8 year olds they developed an instant connection, and they were glued to each other’s sides from that moment on. Their story is told in flashbacks to the past, and I loved watching their friendship develop over the years from best friends to teenagers in deep, all-consuming, once-in-a-lifetime love. They were so perfect together – happy, in love and planning for their future, and as the story of their past builds up to their heartbreaking separation, back in the present Riley gets the shock of his life when he sees her again for the first time in five years.

Theirs is an incredibly intense reconnection. It is very clear that there are still strong feelings between them, and though they’ve both moved on with their lives, they haven’t moved on from each other. But Lexie has been through her own ordeal and she has a lot that she’s hiding from Riley. When she finally comes clean with him, will they ever be able to move forward and find a HEA together?

Sophie Jackson does an amazing job telling this story. The feels! OMG, the feels! Just thinking about it again now, days after I finished the book, has all of my emotions in a flurry because as much as I love these two together, parts of this story pissed me right the hell off. I was SO freaking pissed. Honestly, I still kind of am – Lexie’s reasoning and excuses for what she did were pathetic, and her decision – in my opinion – was pretty much unforgiveable . Thank God Riley is a better person than I clearly am because otherwise there would be no story, but the way Lexie handled everything really soured me towards her. What saved the story for me was Riley. His emotional reaction to everything was understandable, justifiable and completely realistic. I love that I felt everything he was feeling, and I thought Jackson did a wonderful job of writing his pain, his grief and anger. My heart was with him the whole way.

And I love how they managed to move forward. Despite everything that happened in their past, Riley and Lexie were so honest with each other as they reconnected. They talked about their past and their present, they shared their feelings and they held nothing back from each other, and I loved watching them find their way forward together and little Noah just melted my heart – and Riley with Noah melted the rest of me!. There was a lot to overcome but they worked at it, they were completely open with each other, and the emotion was beautifully written.

“I love you,” she said, her words quiet but fervent. “God, I love you so much.”
Riley’s breath stuttered from his lungs and his eyes quickly became very hot. He placed his forearms at the sides of her head, framing her, protecting what was so precious to him. “I love you, too,” he whispered, nuzzling her temple. “All the world, Lex. Always.”

Riley blew me away in this book. The ex-manwhore has been through so much and he takes another massive hit in this book, and the way he deals with it was nothing short of incredible. I love that we got to see his huge heart and his fun, gentle spirit, and I loved seeing him get the happy ending that he always wanted.

I did love Riley and Lexie’s story. I think I would have been even more invested had I not been so angry at Lexie, but the beautiful writing, Riley’s forgiveness and their obvious connection was enough to pull me through. There is lots of time spent with them together, and I loved every moment as they rediscovered everything they had lost and learned to trust again. Through it all I thought their chemistry was wonderfully explored, and their love story was beautiful, realistic and full of emotion.

We also get to catch up with Carter & Lexie and Max & Grace and Riley’s brothers were a wonderful addition to the story. I already love Tate, and I’m hoping we get to see more of them if there are more books.

This is a story of true love, forgiveness, family, and second chances. It’s heartfelt and emotional with gorgeous moments of fun and lightness, and I love that Jackson made me feel it all, and feel is so strongly. This is a beautiful story, and there’s an epilogue which finishes off the story beautifully.

4 stars