*Look up trigger warnings: kidnapped survivor, SA, pedophile,

Twenty two years ago on Fourth of July, a child went missing, and his name was, Oliver Lynch. For many years, no one knew what happened to Oliver, as the years went by, everyone assumed him to be dead, until one day out of the blue, a man found on the side of the road turned out to be Oliver, the missing boy. For Sydney, she was reunited with the boy she was best friends with when they were kids. Now, Oliver tried to acclimate to his new surroundings, people he use to know, and overall coming to terms with the reality of his life. Through the many obstacles, Oliver and Sydney reconnected and rediscovered friendship, and more together.

The way the story began really put me right into the story in terms of Oliver’s circumstance. Early on, the book gave little bits and pieces of what happened to Oliver and how he was trying to adjust to being back home. For Sydney, it was a big deal since for the longest time, she believed Oliver was dead. In a way, it was like Sydney ( as well as Gabe, Oliver’s stepbrother) were getting a second chance with Oliver. 

I can say with the uttermost certainty that from the beginning, I instantly fell in love with the story, Sydney and Oliver. Oliver’s story was unique in the sense that not only was he held in captivity for so many years, but seeing him back with the people he use to know and love was fascinating to me. I also loved Oliver’s  sweet, shy, quiet personality. Oliver was definitely reserved (especially considering he believed the world was over) and I admired his thoughtful observations around him. For someone, who wasn’t use to being around other people, Oliver could pick up on small social cues to clue him in on how people were feeling like most of the time he recognized when things made Sydney sad or happy. If you love the “soft boy” trope, you will definitely love this book (among other reasons to love the book). While Oliver had to adjust to his new freedom, he had to learn about new things such as, technology, his surroundings, and even in things he didn’t expect to learn about… such as matter of the heart. Oliver started to feel “tingly”/ unexpected feelings around Sydney little by little in the story. Since Oliver was inexperienced, Sydney guided him through that to help him understand. Oliver wasn’t completely clueless in terms of intimacy, but there were still things he learned that he didn’t know about. Oliver was endearing and the epitome of innocence despite all that he went through. I admired his bravery and trying new things. I just also couldn’t get enough of Oliver and him being such an absolute sweetheart! 

Sydney was an equally lovely character and I admired her. While Sydney could only empathize on what Oliver went through, she always made sure he was comfortable, and he had more of a support system besides just his brother, Gabe. I thought Sydney was sweet, fun, independent, and thoughtful, as well as strong in her own right. Seeing the connection between Sydney and Oliver go from being reunited and reconnecting to friendship to  romantic was beautiful, and it had me swooning, smiling, but also a little bit sad due to Oliver’s past of being held in captivity.

The romance between Oliver and Sydney was beautiful and yet also had its moments of sadness. Seeing how close Oliver and Sydney became once he came back was sweet since because, with Sydney being reunited with Oliver, they reignited their friendship, and it allowed Oliver to feel happiness that he hadn’t experienced in such a long time. The chemistry between Sydney and Oliver was equally passionate and omg the tension between those two was WOW! Like you could tell while reading the looks they shared across the room or them being close to each other while watching a movie was filled with so much want and desire for one another. Oliver definitely fell under the category of “falls head over heels for her”. Meanwhile, Sydney not wanting to hurt Oliver tried keeping him at arms length despite how much she truly wanted more with him, but also her inner fears were what initially caused her to not fully commit with Oliver in the beginning half of the story. Meanwhile, I’m over here reading like, “GIRL I WILL GLADLY TAKE OLIVER! GIMMIE!” 

Amongst the romance, I also loved seeing the playfulness, teasing, and bits of flirting between Sydney and Oliver. In a way, it kind of felt like a slow burn with the amount of tension that slowly built up between Oliver and Sydney to the point that when they finally reached their limit, and couldn’t deny nor keep their hands off each other… it was literally GAME OVER! Or more like GAME ON! WOOOOO! Not to mention when Oliver said things like, “I ache for you, Sydney.” GIRL MY OVARIES DANG RIGHT EXPLODED! Oliver is officially top tier in every aspect of book boyfriend material! He went from being so shy to letting know Sydney what was up in the bedroom! I mean come on, Oliver himself even said he was a fast learner, and he DEFINITELY LIVED UP TO IT!

Throughout the story, Oliver underwent a transformation of coming into his own person, and genuinely finding happiness amidst all the lingering trauma he was still faced with. So to see Oliver smiling, laughing, making jokes with Sydney or just engaging in conversation was beautiful to see. Oliver and Sydney were equally fascinating characters in that there was more to them that meets the eye. I found them both to be not only charming and lovable, but also multilayered characters that went beyond their initial introductions. 

The plot twist was good, although the truth was revealed, it was still sad and traumatizing for those involved. Along the way I had my suspicions, and thought, “oh maybe I’m wrong and I was just seeing things”, but I guess I got it right in the end. I won’t say exactly since I don’t want to spoil it, but if you’ve read the book, I think you’ll understand when I say that a certain character seemed suspicious to me, and even other clues in the story seemed suspicious as well. Looking back now, and putting all the pieces together as well as a certain chapter, it all created an interesting plot twist, and a gut punch to the truth. Once the plot twist was revealed, I couldn’t stop myself from putting the book down, I NEEDED TO KNOW THE TRUTH! Then with the danger escalating, my anxiety started to pick up, and omg I was at the edge! 

This was such a beautiful, sad, and emotional book that had me hooked from the very start. Oliver’s story was harrowing and sad and yet through it all, he managed to overcome his obstacles, and heal himself. Sydney equally had her own fears to work through, but with being reunited with Oliver it was such a heartfelt connection that was amazing to watch unfold. The meaning behind the title blew me away, and it was so significant that I can’t believe I didn’t notice it. I loved the depth and heart in this story, and even through the dark topics, it was created a fascinating story. The ending was perfect, especially with the epilogue! I’m always a sucker for epilogues, and I was so overjoyed to see how despite all the hardships, that Oliver and Sydney came out stronger on the other side and got their happy ending.