Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

I was entertained by this book and invested in the story the whole way through, which is always a good sign. I thought it was really neat how it started with the MCs being younger, showing us defining moments in their lives that would shape the people they eventually became. Definitely different from how it usually goes. It wasn’t drawn out, and the MCs never met while they were younger, but a few chapters giving us an idea of who they were and the struggles they would deal with as adults.

My silence certainly made everyone happy at the expense of my own. Little threads of happiness were slowly plucked out of me, leaving me an unraveled mess who looked fine on the outside, yet depressed on the inside. It didn’t take me long to figure out that denying your identity could be detrimental to your well-being, but the fear was too much to push me forward. Instead, I lived in Purgatory.

It was also nice to read about two men who actually wanted domestic bliss. They were both looking for relationships, and both wanted something good and stable. I’ve read too many books with MCs who think murder is the only thing worse than commitment. Both MCs pasts end up coming back to cause problems (who could’ve seen that coming?), and it was a little sad, and a little bit of action, which suited me fine after reading a long ass book with character driven plot only.

I’d told Bria about a crush, though I didn’t say that my crush was a gorgeous, five foot seven inches, tattooed Latino man with thick dark curls and a smile to die for… when he wasn’t scowling at me. When he smiled, it lit up his entire face, making him twice as gorgeous.

I’m not sure how I feel about giving the raging homophobe a ‘sort of’ redemption ARC, but maybe I’m just not a forgiving person. All in all, I was invested in the characters and wanted them to get a good HEA, which I wholly believe they did. The epilogue made me smile.

To anyone outside, looking in, we probably looked ridiculous. A giant of a man being cuddled and held by a smaller one.

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Nurse x2
Size difference
Interracial relationship
Foster dads
Hurt/comfort
Past trauma
Very mild mafia element
Opposites attract
Closeted MC
Frenemies to lovers

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Homophobia
Graphic violence
Underage drinking and smoking
Arson
Murder
Parent death
Sibling abuse
Attempted murder
Betrayal (side character)
Mentions of racism
Hate crime (beating)
Brief mention of sexual assault (side character)

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM drama: No. One MC is kissed by a past friend, but it is not reciprocated.
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile