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Review
5 huge stars!
OMG, I am in so much love with this book! An emotional and blissfully romantic story about childhood penpals reconnecting in adulthood and falling hard for each other. With fantastic banter and flirting, awesome chemistry and emotion, and a hero to die for, this book absolutely rocked my world and is a fave for 2019!
Luca is a successful author in her mid-20s living with an almost crippling anxiety disorder. It dates back to a devastating tragedy she experienced as a teenager, and has left its mark on almost every part of her life. She has pretty much given up hope of a normal life, and doesn’t really socialise beyond her therapist who is more like a father-figure. So when she receives a letter out of the blue from Griffin Quinn, it throws her into a spin.
Griffin and Luca ‘met’ as children. They became penpals through a school program, and even though she was in the US and he was in the UK, they stayed in touch for years, sharing the lives, their hopes and their dreams, and becoming the best of friends. Until Luca all of a sudden stopped writing. It’s been eight years since they’ve been in touch, and Griffin’s letter is full of anger at the way she cut him off, so she decides to write back and explain her situation, opening up communication once again, and the two old friends very quickly reconnect and recommence writing to each other.
Friendship very quickly turns to flirting, which turns to dirty flirting and confessions of their fantasies about each other. It’s fun, sexy and seriously hot, and I loved watching the change in their letters which is so obviously a reflection of their growing feelings for each other. But when Luca suggests meeting in real life, Griffin repeatedly shuts her down. You see, he’s become a massive rock star. He’s living in LA and his life is full of publicity, paparazzi, and life on the road – not exactly the kind of lifestyle that he can easily be shared with somebody who Luca’s anxiety. But when Luca takes the biggest step of her life to track down the man that means so much to her, everything is about to change, and OMG, what a ride!
This book is written in dual POV, which I love. The bond between Griffin and Luca as teenagers was so much deeper than just friends who write, and that is so clear when they reconnect as adults. Their feelings for each other have become more mature, but their soul-deep connection is still there, and after all of those letters and knowing how deep their feelings for each other are before they even meet, I was bouncing up and down with excitement as the story moves towards to the big moment. The anticipation builds perfectly, and I was feeling it all as Griffin and Luca finally take that step, and it was worth every moment of the build up!
When they actually meet, it’s just amazing. Sweet, emotional, sexy and exciting, the feels are intense and the romance is gorgeous, and I absolutely loved seeing them together. But they’ve both been through a lot, and their lives are so very different. There’s a lot that they have to deal with as they figure out what they want, and how to make it happen, and I honestly adored every moment. It’s not easy, but it’s real and heartfelt, and I could not get enough.
“The world keeps spinning without you. The world keeps spinning, but I stand still.”
Luca is a wonderful heroine. Her battle with anxiety is written with so much heart, and I really felt for her and all that she goes through. Her strength is so inspiring, and I love her wit, her sense of humour and her bravery.
And Griffin! Well, Griffin is pure perfection! Not only is he understanding and supportive of all that Luca goes through, but he is a man who knows what he wants, and he’s not afraid to fight for it, and he proves his love over and over through his words and his actions, and I fell madly for him!
“We all have light and dark inside us, love. We try to hide the darkness from others because we’re afraid it will scare them away. But your dark doesn’t scare me, Luca. It only makes me want to hold your hand and be your light until you can find your own again. That’s what people do when they’re in love. I won’t always be able to give you your light back, because sometimes you need to find that within yourself, but I’ll stand by your side and hold your hand in the dark so things aren’t so scary.”
Shout-out, too, to Doc. An incredible side character who has such a profound impact on both characters, he brings a lot to the story and I thought he was wonderfully written.
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Andie Arndt and Jacob Morgan (Zachary Webber), and they are pure perfection telling this story. And if there is anything sexier than Jacob Morgan’s voice, it’s Jacob Morgan’s voice doing an English accent. Holy hot damn!
Keeland and Ward prove once again why they are such an incredible combination. A beautifully written story that is funny, sexy and emotional with a fantastic love story, I could put this book down.
I freaking loved it – 5 stars!
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