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Review
4.5 stars
Well holy feels, this book! I thought I knew what I was getting into with this book, but I was wrong. Well, I was partially right, but there is so much about this story that was unexpected. I laughed and cried and swooned and cried some more, and I felt everything with these characters, and I loved their story so much.
Falling in love is easy.
Falling out of love is the hardest thing in the world.
Elin and Ty were high school sweethearts who fell in mad love, got married and dreamed of a simple but blissful life together. But things didn’t turn out that way. Reality smacked them hard, and little by little, they fell apart, devastating them both. This book begins a few months after Ty suddenly left town. Now, he has returned to win back his wife, but they’ve got a lot they need to work through if they’re ever going to find a way forward together… if she’ll give him the chance.
It’s sort-of a second-chance-romance, but also not. Ty and Elin love each other fiercely, that never went away, and they both admit that the love is still there, they’ve just been through so much, there’s so much hurt between them, and they’re in a really complicated situation. The tragedy of their past unfolds slowly, and my heart ached for both of them as we see what tore them apart. It’s real and relatable, and that makes it so much worse because you can see how a couple who loved each other so deeply could lose it all, and I wanted so desperately to see them figure it all out.
“Bruises go away, Tyler. Scars stick around to prove you showed up for life. That you lived. That you fought. That you loved.”
Their story is a heartfelt journey, and I was right there with them through all of it. The love between them is raw and honest, emotional and passionate, and I loved seeing them fully open up to each other, own their mistakes, forgive and overcome the pain of their pasts and come back together. They are soulmates and they belong together, and it hurt to see them apart, which makes their reunion so very sweet.
“I think it’s time for the rest of me to come home,” I say, kissing the top of her head.
She yawns, her heartbeat evening out. “The rest of you?”
“My heart was always here,” I whisper.
But life continues to test them, and the newly recovering couple still have big challenges to overcome. They are scarred but they are strong, and I was all up in my feels once again watching these two fight like hell for their much-deserved HEA.
Supporting them along the way is their close group of friends who bring so much to the story. There are laughs and fun, and some beautifully sweet moments, and they’re a great bunch.
I’ve had this book on my TBR for such a long time, and I was so glad I finally got around to reading it. I read this one as an audiobook, narrated by Emma Wilder and Lance Greenfield, and they do a fabulous job bringing Elin and Ty to life with all the feels and intensity that I was already feeling from the story.
I loved this one.
4.5 stars.
An Advanced Audio Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.