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Review
“We joined our fates together so long ago, fused our lives together in such an irrevocable way, and I know there’s no way I’ll ever recover from it.”
4 darkly tragic, yet beautiful second-chance stars
Callie Hart writes some of my favourite dark romance so when I saw she had released a standalone, I jumped on it. It’s a bit different from Callie’s action-packed reads that I have read and loved, instead she brings the emotion to a heartbreaking yet beautiful second-chance romance between two people who have been shattered by their pasts, but who fight to recapture the incredible love they once shared. I loved it!
Coralie and Callan were once each other’s whole worlds. They grew up next door to each other, but didn’t really notice each other until were teenagers, and they soon became best friends and fell into all-consuming, life-changing love. But Coralie was keeping a devastating secret from Callan, one that would eventually alter the whole course of her life, and lead to their heartbreaking split.
In the years since, they have both carried on with their lives in the practical sense, both successful in their fields, but they have never recovered from the pain of their pasts, or moved on from everything that they shared together. Now, 12 years later, they are about to be brought back together for the first time as they both return to their home town. It’s a reunion full of chemistry, sexual tension and intense emotion, and though Coralie wants to keep herself protected from her past and have nothing to do with Callan while she is in town, he throws himself right into their reunion.
“Hey, bluebird,” he whispers. “I’ve been dreaming about you.”
On our first introduction to Callan, the dude seems like an unfeeling asshole, but this is a man hopelessly in love who has been trying to survive without the other half of his heart for over a decade. And now that he has her back in his life, there is no way he is going to let her go again.
“Don’t ever pretend that we weren’t for real, Coralie. Don’t ever pretend that what we felt wasn’t a lifelong, consuming, powerful thing, because I know you still fucking feel it.”
“I couldn’t have forgotten about you even if I’d tried. The seas could have frozen over. The heavens could have come crashing down to earth. Time could have stood still, and I would never have been able to cleanse myself of you.”
But Coralie is broken. She was broken by all that she endured in her past, and being separated from Callan shattered what was left of her heart. Her struggle is devastating, and as we relive moments from her past and see how she has suffered, how the loss of Callan impacted her, my heart broke for her.
“You shouldn’t even be here. Why did you come back? Why? To torment me? To break my heart? Because let me tell you…. I can’t be any more tormented. And my heart can’t get any more broken. Both tasks are already complete.”
It’s almost too much to bear that he’s so close to me and he’s looking at me like he wants to take me into his arms and hold me there forever.
But Callan is there for his girl. Possessive and protective, he puts himself right out there for her, making it clear that he still loves her, and fighting hard to reclaim her and what they once had, and his heartfelt declarations are an absolute swoonfest!
“Just let go. Stop fighting. Stop working so hard to hate me. Hating me feels safe, I know, but loving me would be so much better. How can anything terrible come from something so beautiful? The way I love you feels beautiful to me, bluebird. It doesn’t make me scared. It doesn’t make me angry, or make me feel cheated. Loving you is just part of what makes me who I am. I knew that the moment I met you, and you did, too.”
“Fuck, bluebird. You’re the only thing I want in this life.”
And then there is the fact that the man is sex on a stick, and the steamy time is the perfect mix of soul-deep connection and fiery hot passion. And it. is. Hot!!!
“We’ve been through so much,” he whispers. “You were my first, and I was yours.” His voice is strained, controlled, like he’s having trouble keeping it together. “But we’re adults now, Coralie. Back then I loved you like a kid. Now I plan on loving you like a man. Do you know what that means? Do you think you can handle that kind of fucking?”
But Coralie and Callan have a lot they need to work through. The trauma of their past continues to haunt them both, and when Coralie starts to face her demons and finally let Callan in, their struggle to move forward together is beautifully written – even as it puts them to the test like never before.
“I feel… lost,” I whisper. “I hurt. I hurt so much.” I look up into the face of the man who stole my heart so long ago, and I know without a doubt that I’m still deeply in love with him. It’s a crippling realization— one I’ve been denying for so long. Callan’s expression is fierce, protective and possessive all at once. How can he feel this way after so long? How can he still want to love me? Or even be near me after everything we both put each other through?
“I hurt, too,” he says quietly. “But you have the ability to make that hurt stop, bluebird. Just like I can take your pain away. Every last scrap of it. I won’t rest until the past is dead and buried and you’re happy, if you let me. Please. Please… please just let me.”
This is a tragic yet beautiful book. Written in dual POV, the story shifts between past and present to fully unfold Coralie and Callan’s stories, and I’m not going to lie, it’s not all easy reading. There are some very dark themes…
… and the way Callie Hart dove right into that without holding anything back makes you feel all of it! But that’s what I expecting this book to be, it’s what I wanted, what I was in the mood for, and she totally delivered! And at its heart is a gorgeously beautiful story of healing, moving on from the past, and the glory of true, enduring love. The romance totally captured my heart and left me with a big smile on my face.I loved it – 4 stars.