5/5 Stars

TW: sexual assault, verbal abuse, death of a loved one, grief

This was the first time I wanted to fight J.L. Seegars. We start to follow Chris & Mallory's story from the very beginning. We met them in Restore Me and were not disappointed by the first part of their story. Chris & Mallory meets in college. Chris is a friend of Mallory's twin, Eric. She's always had a crush but a game of truth or dare shifts everything. We have the fake dating trope that turns into something more. But as we follow the story, we find out the trauma that Chris is going through on top of why Mallory is the way she is. We see two young adults trying to handle things while falling for each other when time and circumstance and familial difference tell them it will never work.

This is a 'We hate Chris's Dad' account but the chaos he ensued really made this a five-star read for me. We got to grieve with our main characters and feel the heartache, especially with the cliffhanger. The anticipation for the complete story of Chris & Mallory is real. It's clear that their story is much more complicated and intricate than we know or imagined.