We Were One (A Looking Glass Alternate POV novel) by Elizabeth Reyes

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Synopsis

The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.
~Oscar Wilde~

Adoration is not profound enough a word to express the depth of my love for her. From the moment she walked into my life and set my heart and soul on fire, not a day’s gone by that she hasn’t plagued my every thought.

We were each other’s completion. She was everything I wasn’t–the sigh to my roar, the virtue to my sin, the cure to my wounds.

We Were One.

Until the unthinkable happened.

That I’ve survived such a tragedy without having completely lost it, is a mystery in itself. But as my mind starts to blur the lines between reality and my delusional heart, I begin to question everything, including my sanity.

And then the real mystery begins . . .

 

 

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Review

“Sometimes the stars align in the perfect unison, bringing together the perfect union.”

4 heartwrenching stars

Whoa, this book was unexpected. I dove in not really knowing what to expect, and believe me that’s exactly the way you need to do it! It’s a heartwrenchingly emotional read with an absolutely beautiful love story, a bad boy hero that you will completely fall for, and a surprising element of mystery. All blended together to create an engaging read that had me completely captivated.

This book is written entirely in the hero perspective, and is actually an alternate-POV book of Girl in the Mirror, however it can absolutely be read as a standalone. I haven’t read Girl in the Mirror, and I was easily sucked into this book, and I’m now curious to go back and read the other perspective. Whichever book you plan on reading first though, don’t go looking for too many details, as this story needs to be experienced without knowing too much beforehand.

This book introduces us to Nico Cortez. He and his brothers are considered bad boys in their town. They smoke and drink, they are tattooed and they ride motorcycles and, as the eldest at 19, Nico has had a string of uncomplicated hook ups. But underneath all of that, he is a sweet guy with a huge heart, and I was instantly in love with him.

Maddie is the town’s golden girl. Beautiful, blonde and sweet, she is a ray of sunshine, but though she and Nico share some intense looks, she is way too young and innocent for him to make a move. So they watch each other, and as Maddie grows older, their shared glances and secret smiles become something so much more as they come together and fall in complete, maddening, life-altering, all-consuming love.

Their relationship unfolds easily and naturally, with lots of details and it’s beautiful, sweet and tender while also being passionate and intense. Nico and Maddie are soulmates and they know they are going to be together forever.

“I live for you, baby.”

But life doesn’t always work out the way you think it will. And when tragedy strikes, nothing will ever be the same again.

OMG, this book messed with my emotions. I was in tears more than once, and my heart ached for Nico and all that he went through. His pain is visceral, and OMG, I felt all of it!

I never knew someone could endure so much pain and not die. I thought I was gonna die. I wanted to.

And as if I didn’t love Nico enough already, watching him go through all that he does and the emotional impact it has on him, just made me fall for him even further. He’s tortured and tormented, and watching him try to keep moving forward is heartwrenching. And then everything changes for him once again and he finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew.

I’m not going to say anything more because again, just jump in and experience it, but this was a really great read. It is emotional, dramatic, sweet, sexy, heartbreaking and unexpected, and I couldn’t flip pages fast enough, eager to see how it was all going to play out.

The story is split into two parts. Part 1 is the past, slower paced with lots of details, and although it occasionally felt a little overly-descriptive, it does a great job of setting the scene for the story that is to come. In contrast, part 2 had more of a ‘highlight reel’ sort of feel to it. It was clear, and still emotive, but considering all that was happening in the story, it didn’t have the fullness that the first part did. I figure this is because it’s an alternate POV book and most of the scenes from this part of the book would have already happened in Girl in the Mirror so the author is avoiding duplication, which I can appreciate, but I felt like I wanted something a bit more. Though I’m now even more keen to go back and read it to get all of those extra details.

I loved this one. Nico completely stole my heart, and his story was beautifully written, making me feel everything, and finishing off with a happy ending that had me grinning madly at 2am in the morning because I wasn’t able to put it down.

Beautiful. 4 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Looking Glass series

 

Girl in the Mirror
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

We Were One
Buy:  Kindle Ebook

 

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We Were One Excerpt

As I usually did when I first arrived at the lake, I parked and lit up a smoke so I could stake the place out by myself for a little while first. I’d heard about and seen enough of the twins now to know they were getting popular with the boys. Not in a bad way, but from what Nolan told me, even the quieter seemingly shyer one of the two had just as many admirers as the more outgoing one. But I’d yet to, nor did I plan to, socialize with either—ever.

“Did it hurt?”

I should’ve known right then those deep blue eyes that close, coupled with that sweet voice, would be the end of me. It was one of the twins—but unlike most of the folk in town, I knew exactly which one—stood before me, staring at my arm curiously.

Trying not to get too sucked into her intoxicatingly playful eyes, I looked away from them as our eyes met and I glanced down at what she was staring at instead. I couldn’t help smirking. She was asking about my latest tattoo.

“A little,” I said, not making too much of it, then glanced back at her. Smiling at those curious eyes just couldn’t be helped, so I did as I continued to indulge. “But it’s the best kind of pain there is. The kind that hurts so good.”

I knew flirting with her was a risk, but I could see the way she was looking at me—the way most girls did when I took them in so unabashedly, making no secret of my dirty thoughts.

She was younger than most girls I normally hung out with. I figured a few more risqué comments from me might have her red as a beet and walking away as she should.

“That thing between your legs,” she said, making me stop mid-drag of my cigarette, and my brows jumped at attention. “It just keeps getting bigger.”

Coughing what little smoke I’d inhaled, I proceeded to make an ass of myself nearly choking then laughing until I was finally able to speak. “What?”

 

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