what. the. fuck. this is the first book where i shed a tear. and that never happens.

p.s. enjoy my rambling review ~

this book was with completely new characters, featuring recurring ones, in a completely new city we’ve never seen before. i actually didn’t really know what i was expecting but i was excited to meet them all. i immediately loved them and read all of it in one day.

zephyr “rainbow” de la vega. i want to be her when i grow up. she was so incredibly happy, funny, smart, and compassionate. she wore her heart on her sleeve and didn’t give up on the people she loved.

alessandro “alpha” villanova. the man that he became despite everything that he lived... wow. he was a protector, and always had been. he also wears a literal eyepatch. that’s hot.

i also need to highlight all their cute pet names they gave each other because they were just so cute.

10 years had passed, and alpha had no memory of zephyr or their pre-existing relationship. she whirled into his life again like a tornado and a marriage of convenience finally brought them back together like she always wished for. sounds creepy and stalkerish, but it isn’t.

alpha loved zephyr once and their life together was stolen from them by an unknown source so she was going to do everything in her power to bring him happiness, love, and peace. patiently, with care, because she knew he had unknown traumas that she didn’t want to bring to the surface maliciously. even if he never remembered her, she’d still love and care for him, protecting his heart.

it just proved that despite alpha and zephyr being two complete opposites and living different lives, they were destined to be together. her pure love for him, time and time again, was so raw and honest. it was so, so beautiful, and the moment he finally accepted her love and didn’t shy away from his possessiveness? incredible storytelling followed.

runyx is incredible with her words, her story-building and her twists. like in this book, the amnesia, the second chance, the murder-mystery, the horror, everything in this book left me wanting more. the overarching plot that connects in this series was immaculately done. so much shit caught me off guard and i usually see shit from a mile away. the shit that was unraveled leading up to the end had me gasping out loud, a tear falling down my face, and freaking the fuck out.

she also gave us a pre-epilogue AND a bonus epilogue??? we got TWO of them!! AAAAAA this was a happy-for-now story for the couple and that makes me so nervous for what’s to come in the last book...

so, wrapping this nonsensical review up by saying that i’m excited to finally, officially meet the shadow man. i love a boy-obsessed trope. this may be a controversial opinion, but i think i’m going to love this dark, mysterious man...