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Review
“Soulmates are a reward, not a certainty. I think you have to earn them. And I believe, if you’re one of the bastards lucky enough to stumble across yours, that you have to fight for them with everything you have.”
4.5 stars, with lots of feels!
I love this book! A deeply intense and emotional story of true love the first and second time around, told with humour and lots of heart and intertwined with a mystery/suspense storyline featuring the disappearance of young girls. And the writing is absolutely sensational!
It’s kind of funny how a decision you make when you’re eighteen can change your life forever. And by funny I mostly mean absolutely fucking terrible.
At age 18, Lux and Sebastian (Bash) are deeply in love. Even though they are from different sides of the tracks (him the son of a US senator, and she from a white trash family with neglectful, alcoholic parents), they share the soul-deep, forever kind of love that totally consumes them both. But their worlds are both shattered when Lux, forced into a heartbreaking decision, unexpectedly ends things with Sebastian and leaves town, leaving them both destroyed.
When you walk away from your soul mate – when you take real, true love and throw it in the fire and watch as it burns down to ashes – you know you’ll never be the same again. The heart isn’t like the liver; it doesn’t regenerate, no matter how much time passes. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
I’d left mine with Sebastian when I walked away that day, and I hadn’t seen it in the seven years since.
Seven years later, and Lux is a journalist and working in New York City. She has created a good life for herself and seems content with where she is at. Although she has never forgotten the boy who still holds her heart. And then, without warning, her past, and all of the emotion tied up with it, comes racing back into her present when Sebastian unexpectedly re-enters her life. And oh holy God, their reconnection is intense!
We stared at one other, two strangers bound eternally by a shared past of lies and broken promises, and I wanted to throw myself into his arms. I wanted to bawl like a baby and take it all back – all the distance and the hurt, the deception and shattered trust. I wanted to erase the past seven years and kiss him until he forgot how I’d destroyed us.
Sebastian is now all grown up! Highly successful in his own right, he is more gorgeous than ever, and He. Is. Angry!!! Still shattered over the events from the past, he too, has never recovered from losing the love of his life and it is obvious that he is consumed with rage and all kinds of hurt. When the two of them are forced together, the chemistry between them is electric, and the result is heart-pounding, highly emotive and intense interactions which left me both shocked, fanning myself at the sexual tension, or bouncing up and down and grinning with anticipation about all that is to come.
“I wouldn’t run too far, Freckles,” Bash added, his voice a blend of frustration and determination. “Because we’re not finished. Not by a fucking long shot.”
With the story of their past unfolding in alternate chapters with their reconnection as adults, their full story is slowly revealed, and we get to see all of the little moments that made their relationship so special. The teasing, fun and banter is fantastic, but as we finally learn all that Lux has been through and uncover the big (not so) secret that led to their heartbreaking separation, once again the emotion is huge, and my heart shattered right alongside theirs.
“People say love isn’t supposed to be painful. But maybe the best things in life are the ones that hurt the most after they’re gone.”
I love Lux! She endures so much, but she is so positive, looking for the happy moments, with a fabulously sassy attitude and a fantastic wit. Her capacity for love is enormous, and I really admire her spirit.
And then there is Sebastian *dreamy sigh* I fell in love with Bash twice in this book – once as a confident, funny and sweet 17 year old, and again as a highly successful but closed off 25 year old, still desperately searching for answers and struggling to cope with the heartbreak that he suffered 7 years ago. His absolute conviction that Lux is the girl for him, and his determination to get to the bottom of the big secret, and then claim her back, is sensational!
“You might think you’re the villain in my story, Lux, but what you don’t seem to realize is that I don’t care. Princess or Evil Queen, I want you standing by my side when the tale comes to an end.”
It’s not all intense emotion though. There are lots of light, fun moments as Lux and Bash recapture their spark, and start to open up to each other once again.
“I’m not going out with you.”
“Come on, it can just be a friends thing. If we choose to get naked afterward, so be it.”“I don’t care how you label yourself — friend, girlfriend, strange blonde girl who follows me around…”
He laughed when I smacked him on the arm.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m crazy about you,”
And it all unfolds in the middle of Lux investigating a series of disappearances. Young girls are being taken from their families, and when it personally affects somebody in her life, Lux goes out to find out what happened, and who is behind the disturbing disappearances. I thought that this was a really interesting addition to the story and even though it was all a bit consequential, it tied in nicely with the flow of the story and gave us some good dynamics. Although I do think the book would have been just as strong without it.
A quick shout out to the absolutely fantastic cast of side characters. Can I just take a moment to squee about Jamie? SQUEEEEE!! He is absolutely fantastic! He brings SO much to the story, and I thought every little interaction with him was just gold!
And then there are Lux’s best friends, Fae and Simon – absolutely hilarious, I loved them both, and laughed pretty much every time they made an appearance. And it looks like Fae may have her own book coming with a very interesting set up for her, and lots of secrets to uncover!I loved this book and raced through it, unable to put it down. I was enthralled from start to finish and Julie Johnson’s beautiful writing made me feel everything – from absolute heartbreak to blissful happiness, and everything in between.
Highly recommended! 4.5 stars.