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Review
OMG, LOVE, LOVE LOVE!!! THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!
Every now and then a little indie book pops up that is a total surprise and just completely takes your breath away. This is that book. An absolutely beautifully written love story that made me laugh, cry, and squee over and over. I was gripped from the first page and couldn’t put it down.
It tells the story of Lauren and Michael, who are unexpectedly reunited after not seeing each other for eight years. When they first see each other in the book, there is an obvious intensity between them, and from that point the book splits into dual POVs and starts to jump around in time as the story of their past is interwoven with the story of their present.
Good girl Lauren befriended Michael in high school. It’s a relationship that nobody else understands as pretty much everybody else in school is afraid of the volatile bad boy, but Lauren sees past that to the real Michael, and as they get to know each other, they discover that they have something very special together. Very quickly they become the best of friends, and the unfolding of their story is absolutely sensational as they are there for each other absolutely and completely. There are some really emotionally intense moments as the story delves further back into Michael’s horrific past, and we see how the traumatic events that he went through as a child impacted on his life. But I also laughed a lot and had a grin on my face pretty much the entire time I was reading about them in high school. A romance begins to emerge as Lauren falls in love with Michael but, despite how he feels, he thinks that she’s too good for him and is not prepared to risk what they have together to do anything further. It all builds up to a mysterious ‘incident’ where Michael does something that tears Lauren’s world apart and they lose contact.
Watching them reconnect as adults with all of the murky history between them is intense as the two of them battle with their feelings over everything that happened when they were younger, as well as understanding how those events shaped who they became as adults, and what that means for them now.
The pacing is perfect as Lauren and Michael reconnect and an incredibly intimate, honest and passionate love story unfolds. You feel the strong emotional connection between them from the very beginning, but there is so much that they both have to work through in figuring out what they are feeling. It’s a slow build, but watching Lauren and Michael find their way back to each other is so worth the wait because when it happens… O.M.G!! I was in floods of tears. Yes… floods!
“You were never supposed to love me. I wasn’t prepared for it …
I always knew I would fall in love with you … but you were never supposed to love me back.”
…and then this…
“I never stopped loving you. Not for one second.”
WAAAAAAAAIL!!! All of this, for me, played out to a song that is mentioned in the book, which I had playing on repeat during the last part of the book and it just turned me into a gibbering mess! And just when I calmed myself down, there is a beautiful epilogue which set me off again.
I absolutely adored these characters! They are both so real! Michael is a flawed guy, with a traumatic background who had a rough time growing up but has made a good life for himself. He has an absolutely adorable 3 year old daughter, and when he sees Lauren again he wants so badly to make amends for the past and have her back in his life. And Lauren is a wonderful heroine! She’s so genuine. Strong, smart, funny and confident, she goes through a lot in this book, but she’s always honest with herself and what she’s feeling and I completely understood her thought processes and actions. Love her!
Shout out to Adam, I loved his addition to the cast. He’s absolutely gorgeous and pretty much perfect boyfriend material. The love triangle element is definitely there, with the chemistry definitely there between Lauren and Adam, but it’s more about what these two guys represent in her life – perfect vs flawed, and part of Lauren’s struggle is to work through who she should want and who actually has her heart.
I cannot gush enough about this book and how much I loved it. It’s a superbly written, intensely emotional read with humour, drama, and some gorgeously swoony moments (both romantic swoon, and platonic swoon – God I wish I had a friend like Michael when I was a teenager!!!). It astounds me that this is the author’s first novel! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Priscilla Glenn’s work.
EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE – READ THIS BOOK AND READ IT NOW!!!!!
6 sensationally shining stars!