"Not you, lad" 😭😭 this book was a rollercoaster, slow start but the ending? Omg.... not Gibsie 💔💔

the ballerina tattoo omg!

Rory👏🏾Miller! He went to the Ryan Shay school of book boyfriends. He has been YEARNING for Hazel since high school and accepts the opportunity to fake date her to get his teammate/her ex to back off of her. Hazel was such an enjoyable fmc bc she was emotionally mature. Loved all the moments of seeing him grow into captain & taking care of her The tattoo? Oh yeah he is so gone for her. 

Dom's red flags looked green to me! The story locked me in from the beginning. The banter between them after the betrayal was so good. Loved the touch her & you die moments. Morally grey MMC but at the end of the day life's Val (fmc) more than anything. 

I'm not a big fan of second chance romances but this was cute! I loved how Aiden had been thinking of Lennox for yearssss and immediately dropped his ex fiancée for her when he walked out of the office. I love a fake engagement to real marriage moment. Appreciated the mental health rep and the fmc being a dark romance lover lol. 

Usually a big Abby Jimenez  fan & reader however this book lacked depth. Didn't dive too much into the main characters but ALOT into Samantha's family. Xavier's problems seemed rushed at the end but overall the book still had cute moments. 

This book ENDED ME. Team Joey Lynch forever omg. I loved the parallel scenes of binding/keeping & redeeming. Being able to see those important moments from Joey's perspective broke my heart even more. Joey is a FIGHTER... his high and lows of addiction but he fought for Aoife & AJ🥹 I enjoyed his experience through rehab and gradually seeing the change. The conversation with him and Darren changed my opinion on their relationship. Aoife has the patience of a saint but I'm happy in the end Joey started taking care of HER. Also the end scenes of Joey as a dad to AJ were sooo cute. Aoife & Joey foreverrrr. 

The suspense! I had no idea what direction this book was going in when I started it. From the house fire to the hangman, I thought so many different people could be the suspect. The relationship between Anson & Rho was so cute, grumpy x sunshine all while they are both healing from traumatic grief. Enjoyed the "fuck it" moment and the maturity of their relationship because there is no miscommunication trope or 3rd act breakup. Also enjoyed the cute doggo moments. A good thriller & romance vibe.

The beginning of this book was soooo good and had me curious of where the story was going to go. I think if this book had 100 more pages and wasn't rushed at the end it would have been 4 stars. I am a sucker for small town pregnancy trope books but didn't feel too connected to Jax or Sasha. I wish we knew more about her brother throughout the whole book. Loved the "tell me a lie" and "tell me a secret" bits.

I could not put this book down, I finished it in one sitting. Shane (mmc) is a complex but very lovable character, I loved how the author incorporated the ups & downs for sobriety, addiction & recovery. He is THE book boyfriend, he has been yearning after Beth (fmc) for years and is his best friend's sister. Shane is an EMT who helps Beth give birth at home during a storm, after that Shane is obsessed with Beth & Kat. The support he gave her during postpartum and the open communication had me swooning. This story was so cute, 400 pages was not enough. No third act breakup but there is third act suspense.