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batgirl602's review
5.0
Davis and Raelyn’s story was a bit of a rollercoaster, but nothing short of perfection of a ride!
simplydreareads's review
2.0
Um what? Nope, just nope. I wanted to love it and I gave it a fair shot but good grief these characters were a train wreck. She wanted to avoid him but seemed to have no problem going at it with him every time they were alone.
read_on_reader's review
5.0
This book had my emotions all over the place my heart ached along with Raelyn when her lifelong crush did exactly what the word is and crushed her heart. Raelyn loved Davis for years even knowing he was several years older and pretty much a recluse, but that never stopped her from trying to grab his attention. For years she pined for him and tried so hard to grab his attention, but what she didn’t know was Davis was suffering in silence by his past and it turned him into this grumpy man who had no time or patience for anyone especially those willing to spread rumors. Rae saw him as so much more than what the town did and when she thought he finally saw her she ended up with a shattered heart. Years later returning to her small hometown Rae knows she must stay away from Davis, but her parents and fate have other plans. Davis is this incredibly talented man who likes to live his life on his own terms, might be lonely, but prefers loneliness to the gossips of town. He works hard and stay out of others way, but Rae caught his attention, and he can’t escape her even if they don’t hit it off to start with. I don’t want to give so much away because this book is full of angst, steam that will melt your pages, and so many emotions. At times I would cringe with Rae and how much she chased her crush in the past and I hated the way she handled telling him the truth especially when he willingly shreds his secrets. She was immature at times, but she grew on me because her and Davis truly belong together, but will the secrets of their pasts shred things before they start? I enjoyed this read I was embarrassed for Rae at times, swooned hard over Davis, and lord that mouth of his (fanning myself). Heartbreak and crushes are painful but finding the one that makes your heart happy is worth that pain. I can’t wait to see if we get a Nora and Colson story.
elliegrayreads's review
4.0
Ashley is slowly becoming one of my new favourite authors! She has such a way of writing angsty books that are really enjoyable. I loved the angst and tension of this one and really glad I decided to listen on audio, I didn’t want to stop listening and devoured it in pretty much a day! I can’t wait to read more of Ashley’s back list
rhreviewer91's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just... wow.
This book can be heavy in places, and it fills you with so many different emotions.
At around 89%, I'm not ashamed to say I cried a few times. There's grief, hurt, anger, confusion... but in the end, there's love, understanding, peace, acceptance, and closure.
As the blurb explains, Rae has a crush for years on the town recluse who lives up on the mountain, Davis. She tried doing things for him, like putting a "VIP" sign on the counter for him at her parents' diner, and putting notes in his library books. It was definitely obsessive, but she was a teenager in love, I get it. A lot of us have done crazy things when we've had crushes, even if it seems outlandish. Well, Davis never appreciated it. He viewed her as a pathetic kid who just had a crazy obsession with him. When she received a note from him saying to meet her at the library one night after she graduated, she thought he was finally seeing her. Instead, she found him screwing another woman. Devastated, she moved across the country for college for four years until her parents called her back. She knew she was bound to bump into him at some point, but she didn't expect it to be in her parents' house for dinner.
He remembers the incident at the library. He saw the girl who caught him all those years ago, and it stayed with him. Haunted him. However, he has no idea that it was Rae. Therefore, he has no idea why she hates him so much when they meet for "the first time." However, for the sake of his relationship with her parents, he's willing to put the effort in to be friendly with her.
Things are revealed about his past that explains the way he is. Eventually, Rae's secret comes out, too. The story is written so well. The characters have depth, you can feel their raw emotions, and you connect with them so much. I love that the author expresses Davis' emotions so openly. He's may not show his feelings around others, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have them. As the reader, we get inside his head, and he's certainly not as stoic as he leads people to believe.
There was a little bit of the book that I nearly skipped, but in the end, I decided to push through. It's when Rae goes to his house for the first time to spend a weekend with him. It was them getting to know each other, spending alone time together. There's about 30-40 pages of it, and I briefly skipped ahead to where Rae leaves again, but I figured I'd go back to really appreciate their intimacy and bonding. COULD I have skipped it without missing anything? Yes. It has some sweet moments in it, though.
Overall, I still rate this book 5 stars and recommend it!
This book can be heavy in places, and it fills you with so many different emotions.
At around 89%, I'm not ashamed to say I cried a few times. There's grief, hurt, anger, confusion... but in the end, there's love, understanding, peace, acceptance, and closure.
As the blurb explains, Rae has a crush for years on the town recluse who lives up on the mountain, Davis. She tried doing things for him, like putting a "VIP" sign on the counter for him at her parents' diner, and putting notes in his library books. It was definitely obsessive, but she was a teenager in love, I get it. A lot of us have done crazy things when we've had crushes, even if it seems outlandish. Well, Davis never appreciated it. He viewed her as a pathetic kid who just had a crazy obsession with him. When she received a note from him saying to meet her at the library one night after she graduated, she thought he was finally seeing her. Instead, she found him screwing another woman. Devastated, she moved across the country for college for four years until her parents called her back. She knew she was bound to bump into him at some point, but she didn't expect it to be in her parents' house for dinner.
He remembers the incident at the library. He saw the girl who caught him all those years ago, and it stayed with him. Haunted him. However, he has no idea that it was Rae. Therefore, he has no idea why she hates him so much when they meet for "the first time." However, for the sake of his relationship with her parents, he's willing to put the effort in to be friendly with her.
Things are revealed about his past that explains the way he is. Eventually, Rae's secret comes out, too. The story is written so well. The characters have depth, you can feel their raw emotions, and you connect with them so much. I love that the author expresses Davis' emotions so openly. He's may not show his feelings around others, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have them. As the reader, we get inside his head, and he's certainly not as stoic as he leads people to believe.
There was a little bit of the book that I nearly skipped, but in the end, I decided to push through. It's when Rae goes to his house for the first time to spend a weekend with him. It was them getting to know each other, spending alone time together. There's about 30-40 pages of it, and I briefly skipped ahead to where Rae leaves again, but I figured I'd go back to really appreciate their intimacy and bonding. COULD I have skipped it without missing anything? Yes. It has some sweet moments in it, though.
Overall, I still rate this book 5 stars and recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Death, Medical content, Dementia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
westcoastwords's review
5.0
Obsessed!!!
Davis has officially been made my favorite grump!!!
The author took us through this expansive roller coaster of emotions between Davis and Raelyn and there were times I wanted to throttle both of them!!!
The entire book has this intense push and pull both on page and off because we are getting this internal look into Raelyn and at least for me I was yelling at her during her internal monologues frequently.
The steam level of this book is probably one of the author's most spiciest stories and I loved every freaking minute of it!!!!
In the end we get that HEA we all crave and I devoured this books in one day while 'working'!
Davis has officially been made my favorite grump!!!
The author took us through this expansive roller coaster of emotions between Davis and Raelyn and there were times I wanted to throttle both of them!!!
The entire book has this intense push and pull both on page and off because we are getting this internal look into Raelyn and at least for me I was yelling at her during her internal monologues frequently.
The steam level of this book is probably one of the author's most spiciest stories and I loved every freaking minute of it!!!!
In the end we get that HEA we all crave and I devoured this books in one day while 'working'!
givemetheromance's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
pigeonellaa's review
1.0
DNF.
A bunch of 20 year olds acting like teenagers having a first crush and talking like children. Did not even manage to get to the parts other reviews write about as I cannot stand this kind of writing.
A bunch of 20 year olds acting like teenagers having a first crush and talking like children. Did not even manage to get to the parts other reviews write about as I cannot stand this kind of writing.