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Review

A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME LOVE, AND AN AMAZING STORY OF RECONNECTION.

5 ‘ALL THE FEELS’ STARS

I loved this book! It features two of my favourite kinds of stories – a gorgeously sweet NA romance, and then an amazingly beautiful reconnection between two people years after they parted but who have never been able to let each other go. This story is written so beautifully, I was immediately sucked in, I went on an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and my heart was pounding the whole way through. So standby for lots of quotes and epic gushing.

Matt is 36 years old. He has achieved huge success in his career, but his personal life is a mess. When he sees a girl from his past (the one that got away) in the subway one day, they aren’t able to talk to each other but their brief moment of eye contact and recognition is intense and brings his old feelings to the surface, sparking a need to see her again. So he posts a message in the ‘missed connections’ section of Craigslist – the epically intriguing synopsis for this book that says it better than I ever could:

To the Green-eyed Lovebird:

We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House.

You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more.

We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.

Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…

I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.

After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?

M

OMG! Goosebumpy, right?

The story then shifts to 15 years earlier and we get the full story of Matt and Grace’s past together. Grace is a wonderful character. Wild and free, but also a bit innocent, she and Matt share an immediate bond, becoming the best of friends, and they spend their year together living in each other’s pockets, exploring the city with excitement and enthusiasm and figuring themselves out along the way. They are both very focussed on their studies so the shift from friends to lovers is slow coming, but the build-up is fantastic – full of flirting, banter, UST and a great sense of anticipation.

I felt it for Grace before I even had a name for it. I might have said the word a million times, but it sounded different now that I meant it. When I thought about what we had, it didn’t matter that it was just friendship. I loved her.

Renee Carlino puts SO much heart into this story. I felt everything right alongside the characters

We stood there, so young and so sure about each other. The cold, dank room suddenly filled with light. Matt’s eyes twinkled and I felt dizzy as warmth spread from my head to my toes. His hands were open, reaching out to me, inviting me in for a hug, but I couldn’t move; I had been reduced to a puddle of emotions just from the look on his face.
You can’t re-create the first time you promise to love someone or the first time you feel loved by another. You cannot relive the sensation of fear, admiration, self-consciousness, passion, and desire all mixed into one because it never happens twice. You chase it like the first high for the rest of your life. It doesn’t mean you can’t love another or move on; it just means that the one spontaneous moment, the split second that you took the leap, when your heart was racing and your mind was muddled with What ifs? – that moment – will never happen the same way again. It will never feel as intense as the first time.

Matt and Grace’s coming together is natural and beautiful. Fun, passionate and totally enthralling, full of sweet moments and lots of romance, it’s exactly the kind of relationship that people dream of. They are so amazing together that it seems impossible for anything to tear them apart, but it happens and it’s devastating. The story then switches back to 15 years later in the present, where Grace sees Matt’s message and decides to get in touch.

Their reunion is exciting, emotive, and full of anticipation. The chemistry between them is still electric, and more importantly, the feels are still there. Though they have lived without each other for 15 years, there is still love between them and that is evident from the first moment of reconnection. But so much has happened in their time apart, and they have to unravel it all and deal with the consequences before they can find their happy ending.

OMG, this book tore me apart! The feels! I rode the emotional rollercoaster of this book right alongside Matt and Grace. I laughed, I loved, I cried, I got so mad I wanted to throw my kindle, and my heart broke for all that they go through. But there is a happy ending, and it is stunningly beautiful.

And I need to declare undying love for Matt. The man is so, so amazing! The way he loves Grace and the way he handles himself through everything is incredible. He is strong, he’s sweet, he’s not afraid to share how he feels and he’s the perfect combination of romantic and sexy. Through the whole story he absolutely OWNED my heart.

“You were always with me, Grace. I never found a way to let you go.”

SWOOOOOOOOOOON!

I love a second chance romance, they are some of my favourite stories, but as much as I loved this book and the incredible, incredible love story, this one gutted me, and honestly, I’m still upset at parts of it. Warning, massive spoilers —>

The fact that my feelings are still running so high the day after I finished this book just reinforces that this is a story that drew me in and touched me deeply. I loved these characters, I love how strongly they feel for each other, and even though it’s a hard read at times, there is no denying that this is an absolutely incredible story and it’s definitely one that will stay with me for a long time.

This is my first book by Renee Carlino, and she’s done an amazing job. She told her story brilliantly, giving us a unique relationship with lots of emotion that left me hugging my kindle and grinning like an idiot. I’ll be very excitedly diving into more of her work very soon.

I loved it – 5 stars.