Oh oh oh Brigid Kemmerer. This woman writes about broken teenagers finding solace in one another in a way that would almost be formulaic if it wasn’t so damn good and surprising every time. This book had me saying “oooooohhhhh this book” on repeat, and while the ending feels like a slight bit of melodrama I’m still in the tank for Rob and Maegan (but really, I’m in the tank for Rob - more on that it a bit).

Kemmerer’s characters always have terrible, awful things in their background, and this one is no different, though I think Rob Lachlan’s past might be darkest timeline Brigid Kemmerer. His backstory made my stomach clench in a way that even Rev in MORE THAN WE CAN TELL didn’t. Maegan’s story was (and I’m grateful for this because yeesh) a little quieter and less traumatic, and despite that breather I found myself drawn so much more to Rob.

And while this is a romance, of course, my very favorite parts of this book were Rob’s burgeoning friendship with Owen and the rebuilding of his friendship with Connor. Owen is a marvelously complicated, sometimes caustic character with a surprisingly messy sense of morality, and the two of them together is glorious. But what broke me in this book is a scene that happens about halfway in, between Rob and his former best friend Connor, as they change the sheets on a bed. Nothing is said, and nothing is fixed, and nothing actually HAPPENS, but it is heartbreakingly small and perfect.

The ending? Gets a little over the top. And then there’s a neat and tidy bow of an epilogue that doesn’t feel exactly earned. All these revelations and then we don’t unpack them so much as we jump ahead in time and get a bunch of exposition.

I’m still mightily, unabashedly a giant fangirl for this author though.