Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

“First love is sweet, but good love is sweeter.”

This book really put me through every emotion under the sun. I felt burning anger, I cried (a LOT), and I even laughed a couple times. I will admit that our main dude, Peter, wasn’t always easy to like and root for in this book, but you also can’t help but love him. I wanted to shake him and hug him all at the same time. He’s so real and flawed in this, and just trying to figure himself out, all while dealing with a manipulative (I would even say abusive) boyfriend. He’s dealing with immense feelings of guilt, growing feelings for someone else while still trying to stay loyal to a disloyal boyfriend. Yeah, it’s a lot. It’s very much worth it, though.

There were men out there like me, men whose only crime was love, and for the expression of that love they were dying.

I think I mentioned this in my review for Pictures of You as well, but there’s just something about this trilogy that feels important. Like it’s a story that needs to be heard. It continuously rips your heart out, but you can’t stop reading either.

Maybe it’d be easier if he hated me. Maybe I’d deserve it. After all I’d done someone should hate me. Sometimes I sure did.

It was good to see Peter take charge a bit, stand up for himself, and make new friends. However, when he messes up he does so epically, and it was equally painful to witness these things at times. I feel like I talk (and think) in circles when it comes to this trilogy, but it really is one you need to experience for yourself. I’m hoping to start the third book very soon, because I am beyond ready to experience Peter’s HEA. We both need it.

And as pink bloomed in the east, I just wanted to hear his voice again. Be held in his arms again. Hear him laugh and tell me everything was all right. He was good at big lies like that.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Love triangle
Coming of age
Historical
Romance
Push and pull
Only one bed
Set in the 90’s
Book 2/3
High angst

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Vomiting
Death of a pet (on page, natural causes)
Drugging (GHB)
Unsafe sex
Homophobia
Cheating
Discussions of HIV and AIDS
Side character with AIDS
Intense feelings of guilt
Mentions of the death of a parent (past, off page)
Club hookups with dubious consent (under the influence of GHB)
Alcoholic parent (relapse)

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: Yes, both Peter and Adam cheat on each other.
OM/OW drama: Yes. Peter starts something with Daniel (MC Peter ends up with) in this book. The same situation with Adam and his girlfriend from book 1 still applies to this one. See my review for Pictures of You for more details.
Breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, single POV
Genre: Historical/coming of age/romance
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile (no switching on page)
MCs age: Peter and Adam are both 19. Daniel is 22.

“I don’t need to be taken care of,” I said again, my ego smarting. “I know.” Daniel slid his fingers down the side of my face gently. “But why don’t you let me anyway? Would it be so bad?”

No one came to my defense. Not even me.

“[…] making the right choice can feel like a cop-out, especially when you’ve spent a lot of time justifying making a bad one. […]”