Oh, my heart!    
 
From the very beginning I was fully absorbed.  The small town.  The hockey team and school.  These broken people that became my family.   
 
This was a deeply impactful journey that felt so raw and so real.  
 
Kyle and Casey had the perfect love story.  Until they didn’t.  Told in dual timelines, the relationship is vividly portrayed.  All the complexities.  All those nitty gritty details, good and bad.  So much love.  So much pain.  And that title question, “What happened to the McCrays?, ruminated throughout the plotline.  How could this happily ever after become so mired in pain?
 
There’s an emotional gravity to the unpacking of Kyle and Casey’s story as it moved from tragedy to healing, and that amplified the beauty found in their love.  I rooted for them.  I longed for them to find their way through the grief.  
 
But it’s not all about Kyle and Casey.  There is an extraordinary cast of supporting characters.  (I adored Wyatt and wanted much more of his story!). Truly, Lange has a knack for creating a community that feels like home.  
 
She also has a knack for writing complex storylines that resonate.  Her books make me think and feel.  They are packed with humanity, never shying away from the hard parts but also leaving me uplifted and hopeful in the end.  
 
This book is a little different from her other two.  There’s no Irish heritage intertwined, which I did miss.  And instead of siblings, it’s focused on a marriage. But, make no mistake, Lange continues to be at the top of her game even as she ventures into new territory.
 
Another 5⭐️ winner.  Maybe, dare I say, her best yet?!  
 
🎧 Narrators William DeMerritt and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker breathed life into Kyle and Casey.  Their performances well embodied the range of nuanced emotions, from fear to vulnerability to warmth and to tenderness.  
 
Thank you @celadonbooks and @macmillan.audio for the free #gifted copies of this book.