Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

He’s such a tactile person. Grabbing my arm, tapping me on the shoulder, hugging me, high-fiving me, tugging on my sleeve to get my attention like a toddler, poking at my face when he’s bored, also like a hyperactive toddler.

If I didn’t know about it beforehand, I’m not sure I would’ve believed it when I found out this is the author’s debut. It is fan-freaking-tastic. I finished the entire thing really quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. The themes are definitely heavy, but I liked that it somehow felt a little hopeful too.

One thing I mentioned to my friend was how I loved that the characters are pretty true to their age. They’re both 22 years old and certainly act like it sometimes. They’re a bit oblivious and stupid, but they’re also very self aware. They aren’t blind to the situations they’re in, and I’m certain both MCs had to grow up very quickly because of their families and lives. That doesn’t mean they aren’t young adults still. I’ve probably got my point across now, lol. I don’t know why that stuck out to me so much.

If I could hollow out the space inside my ribs and place him there for safekeeping, I would.

The mental health representation is phenomenal. Not everything is clearly spelled out in diagnoses and treatments. You experience it with the characters. That certainly increases the angst as well, but overall it wasn’t horribly stressful. I initially thought the ending was a bit abrupt and could’ve been more satisfying, but we’ll see more of them in a second book later on, it turns out. Can still be read as a standalone, though. Very highly recommend.

I can’t wait to read Tristan and Ford’s story.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Misunderstood enemies-to-lovers (brief)
Mental health rep
Virgin MC
Motorsports (motocross)
Trailer park
Small town
EMT
Double sexual awakening
Hands-free Os
Protective and possessive
Dirty talk
Hurt/comfort
Neurodivergent MC (undiagnosed)

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Themes of addiction (not MCs)
Drug addiction (parent)
Child neglect (past and present)
Alcoholism (parents)
Suicidal ideation
Poverty
Parent restricting the diet of a minor (past and present)
Anxiety attacks
Verbal abuse (parent)
Physical abuse (parent)
Drug use (MCs, marijuana)
Unsafe sex
Explicit sexual content
Minor injury to MCs
Breath play (not planned or discussed)
Self harm (hair pulling)
Facefucking
(Assumed) post-partum depression (past, few details)
Parent suicide (past, off page)
Mentions of attempted murder/suicide (past, off page)
Depression

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: MC1 tries to set up MC2 with a woman, but nothing happens between them. Over quickly.
Breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles on page but hinting at future switching
Main characters’ age: 22 and 22
Pages: 347

Affectionate physical touch, without expecting anything in return, does everyone a world of good.

Honestly, I don’t know how someone who is built like an action figure can look so tough and so pathetic at the same time, but Silas manages it. Seriously. He’s better at the puppy-dog eyes thing than my little sisters, and that’s saying something.

And the more time I spend with Silas, the more I suspect that he’s not always awkward. It’s more that he doesn’t always have an appropriate frame of reference for things that most people consider normal. Like all the basic rules of friendship and platonic physical affection that we learned growing up are just a black hole of question marks in his brain.

[…] you know how impossible it can be to get away from someone who convinces you that their abuse is what you deserve.


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