Good book. The ending was very sweet and made up for this book. I loved the proposal, and honestly just the way Cal constantly made Daphne feel worthy and loved.

I just didn't necessarily vibe with the writing style. I thought the lack of contractions made the writing feel very stilted and awkward. EX: " I cannot do this, I must not, I cannot cope" all the time instead of changing it up with " I can't" and being more casual., I also found occasionally the dialogue/scenes seemed to jump forward a bit with no warning and it was like how did they get on this topic debating whether they should get together when they just sat down together. Things like that could have used a bit more work.
I also found the "conflict" to be a tad too dramatized to be real. I understood initially why they couldn't be together, but after the multiple time jumps, once they are in their 30's and 40's, still being like "we can't be together" is a little childish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Tropes: age gap, dad’s best friend, forbidden romance.
Triggers: DV (not with the main couple), cheating (not the main couple), revenge sex tape leak (not the main couple), parent death (cancer), and infertility.

Instantly hooked me! This story was so addictive and I couldn’t get enough.

I absolutely loved the storyline. It was complex and multilayered which had me in a chokehold. This was a story about right guy wrong time, heartbreak, and a family learning to come together after such a great loss. But most importantly, this is a story about a woman picking up the pieces of her life and a man who helped her learn to love herself again.

The characters all had so much depth. It was easy to connect with them and fall in love.

Cal, specifically, was perfection. A man willing to do the dishes? Raw, next question.

Besides his unwillingness to conform to standardized gender roles, this man went out of his way to show Daphne her self worth and never once tried to steal her shine. And he made it all look so effortless! Cal is a king!

Now, poor Daphne was really going through it the entire book but I still loved her. It was incredibly easy to see why Cal felt the same. Despite life constantly taking Daphne out at the knees, she never once sounded like a whiny baby over it. She took it all square on the chin and reacted exactly how I would expect someone to IRL. Yes, she would cry at times and would have to take a step back to protect her peace, but she didn’t make everyone else miserable around her in the process. Nor did she throw pity parties and try to make everyone feel sorry for her. I absolutely loved that about her.

The supporting characters were equally full of depth. I won’t say they are all likable, but I definitely appreciated how even the smallest of characters had so much personality. It really brought the story to life.

The spice was spot on. There is nothing sexier than a man who understands consent and boundaries and boy does Cal get it! If Daphne was uncomfortable with something that was enough for him to take a step back. I also loved how he took the time to gain Daphne’s trust before pushing her to go further in the bedroom. Every intimate interaction between them was whatever Daphne was comfortable with and he never once complained or asked for more. Again, Cal is a King!

Despite my obvious obsession with this book, the ending did fall a bit flat for me. Children seemed to be a major component in the story whether it be fertility issues, a surprise pregnancy (not the MCs), or exes with babies needing a sitter. Not to mention the conversations about having kids between the main couple…. So tell me why they never had a baby??? Like, not even in the epilogue. I was so disappointed that the story presented every neon sign pointing in that direction and it didn’t even happen.

Also, I just flat out needed more. It really seemed like all of a sudden the characters were just like, “okay, we can be happy now” and went on about their day. NO! After everything these two went through, I desperately needed to really see them be happy together. Yes, this did end with an HEA and we get a crumb of their future, but I didn’t want to settle for a crumb! I wanted the whole damn cookie!

Knowing me, I am totally blowing it out of proportion, but at the end of the day, I’m just a girl who gets attached to fictional characters. I’m not sorry about that.

With all of that said, I really loved this book. I adored the characters so much, I don’t think I could ever get enough of them. If this got turned into a series where we followed the characters mundane lives all the way to the end, I would devour it and probably still demand for more.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a deeply relatable story with so much depth you could drown in it. Especially if you are someone who loves a fictional man who fully understands consent. Cal is your guy!

Despite my rave of this book and my definite recommendation, I still advise everyone to read the triggers before jumping in and avoid reading if it may disturb your peace.