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Review

You’re okay.
I’m okay.
We’re okay.
Nothing else matters.

5 ‘OMG, the feeeeeels’ stars

Emotional, beautiful, funny, heartbreaking and romantic, this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster and I absolutely loved it! It’s an epic love story of two soul mates who meet as children and who face and overcome insurmountable challenges to be together and create a good life. Beautifully written and full of emotion, it’s an amazing story and I was captivated from beginning to end.

Eliza and Till meet when they are 13 years old. Both coming from homes where they live in almost-poverty and are essentially neglected, they enter each other’s lives when Till unexpectedly climbs through the window of an abandoned building where Eliza goes to be alone, and as they become friends, that room becomes a retreat for them – a fantasy world where they can go to be together, be with somebody who cares for them, and forget about the dramas of their lives. Over the years they go about their lives, even dating other people, but they always keep coming back to their place together. They are the ones that they turn to when they need support or comfort, the only one that the other can rely on, and very soon they become each other’s whole world.

“There is nothing in this world that was ever more mine than you.”

Till’s only other refuge comes from ‘On The Ropes’ – a boxing gym run by ex-world heavyweight champion Slate Andrews (from Among the Echoes). Till escapes to the gym every day, focussed and disciplined, he trains hard to become a professional fighter in order to provide for his family.

But life has more twists in store for Till. He lives in dread of a genetic condition that will see him slowly lose his hearing until he becomes deaf. The prospect of a life lived in silence terrifies him, and again, it’s to Eliza that he escapes.

I wanted to go home.
But home wasn’t where I laid my head every night. I didn’t actually live there at all, but it was the only place I felt alive. What I needed was the dream that only existed inside those four walls.
I needed her.

There is so much love between these two characters – we can see it, they can see it – but one ill-fated encounter which ended badly has them both scared about the possibility of a relationship ruining things between them. And they need each other too badly to ever risk it again. But they remain an essential part of each other’s lives – best friends, soul mates and neighbours – and when Till steps in to take over the care of his two younger brothers, Flint and Quarry, they essentially become a family – loving and caring for each other, hanging out, and being there for each other in the way that they always have. And the chemistry between them continues to burn.

It’s frustrating, but it’s so heartbreaking as well because Till is clearly terrified. His struggle to accept that he and Eliza can be together and make a life together is beautifully and emotionally written. And just when I was begging him to get his head out of his ass, Flint came along and said it perfectly for me!

“I can’t give her what she wants!”
“Pull your fucking head out of your ass and stop being such a pussy. You living in this ridiculous ass fantasy world is fucking up reality for the rest of us. Including her.”

And once Till does pull his head out of his ass, OMG! This book goes from great, straight into the realms of fantastic, because Till and Eliza together are magic!

“I wanted to spend forever with you at thirteen. Nothing has or ever will change that. Eliza, I love you. And I am unquestionably serious about spending the rest of my life with you.”

Romantic, passionate, playful and so very, very perfect together, it’s absolutely beautiful! And their coming together happens early enough in the book, that a good proportion of the story takes place with them together. But that’s just the start of a hard road that they need to travel.

I LOVE these characters!!!! I love Eliza! She’s so strong, with such a big heart, and I love that’s prepared to fight for her man and the life that they want to create together. And Till is just incredible. He’s a man with a strong sense of family, loyalty and pride. He wants nothing more than to make a good life – providing for his family and the life he aches to give them. He’s willing to sacrifice everything for them, all the while with his “future in silence” looming.

His boxing coach and mentor/father figure, Slate, recognises his determination and offers him a way to make his dreams come true – a career as a boxer and a way to provide a good life for his family.

“You’re not hungry for more in life. You’re fucking starving. I can work with that.”

And just when it looks like things are starting to turn around… BAM! Again!

These characters have SO much they need to overcome – their pasts, as well as their future – and it’s so unfair what they have to go through!!! My heart broke over and over for all of them. I felt all of that heartache right along with them, and had tears streaming down my face at one point. And then that ending came out of nowhere and total stunned me. OMG, how much does this family need to endure? But through it all, they pull together like they always have, and don’t let anything come between them, and I LOVE THAT!!!

And I loved that in the midst of all the heartache, turmoil and drama, there is a lot of lightness as well. This is ultimately a book about overcoming the odds to create something special, and that comes through over and over again.

Till’s brothers, Flint and Quarry, are both absolutely gorgeous! Both incredibly different, they have their own distinct personalities, and they each bought something very special to the story. I loved that we pretty much got to watch them grow up in this book, and the banter, rough-housing and camaraderie between the brothers, and how Eliza is enfolded into the group is absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to get to their books.

And Till has a fantastic sense of humour. There are a lot of times that I laughed out loud.

“I’m the only person you fully trust to unload on. You would protect me with your life, and I would do the same for you. If you have a problem, I solve it—”
“That’s actually Vanilla Ice.”

Fans of Aly’s other books will enjoy seeing lots of Slate (and Erica) from Among the Echoes, and Leo and Sarah and Caleb and Emma from the Wrecked and Ruined series. It’s not necessary to read those books first, and this one can definitely be started on its own, but they’re amazing books that don’t get the attention that they deserve so definitely add them to your tbr!

This story is absolutely beautifully written. I feel like I was on Till and Eliza’s journey with them, and I felt every little moment. I loved this book, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished. Till and Eliza’s story ends beautifully, but those final events have me desperate to get my hands on Flint’s book!!! I can’t wait to continue on with the series.

5 stars

 

The On The Ropes series