My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4.25ā
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Publication date ~ June 1, 2023
Page Count ~ 422
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ debut, dual timelines ~ present & past (15 years ago), found family, teen love, grief, second chance, minimal steamage
Content warnings from the author~ (view spoiler)
Olivia & Milo’s story begins when his Ma is killed and his father, Mac, is in the prison for killing her. Olivia’s mom, Marie, opens her heart and home to Milo and thus sets forth this emotional tale.
The timeline alternates between the present and the past, which follows them in 10th to 12th grade, and slowly gives clues as to why Olivia is so close to Milo’s dad, Mac, and why Milo is not.
Olivia’s heart has been trampled on and yet she still manages to stay strong and positive.
Milo is a tough character to like. He’s faced so much heartbreak and your heart goes out to him, but he was his own worse enemy. I really wasn’t liking him when he first arrived in the present, and a few other times along the way. His possessiveness was unwarranted and I didn’t care for it.
Olivia and Marie’s relationship was so beautiful. Olivia and her fathers relationship might have been one of the most heartbreaking and neglectful ones I’ve ever read.
Overall, this was a very well written debut that takes you on an emotional journey of loss, grief and love. I’m looking forward to what Ann writes next.
*Thanks to Ann Einerson and Novel Cause for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
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Book blurb:
A tragedy brought them together as teens, and then fate tore them apart. After fifteen years, can the pain and secrets of the past be forgiven to rekindle a once-in-a-lifetime love?
As a teen, Milo Covellās life was destroyed when his mother was killed and his father was imprisoned for causing her death. His first love, Olivia Dunham, was the only beacon that brought his soul back into the light, promises of forever whispered under the stars creating an unbreakable bondāuntil the night Milo left Olivia heartbroken and alone.
When an unexpected phone call draws Milo back to New York, heās forced to face the ghosts of the past he left behind fifteen years ago. Finding his estranged father, Mac, losing his battle with cancer, Milo is overcome with anger and betrayal when he discovers the girl he once loved has befriended the man who destroyed his life.
As Olivia struggles with her grief at the thought of losing Mac, she must also confront the man who abandoned her in her greatest time of need, leaving her life in pieces.
Brought together by fate during this trying time, the two must face hard truths, unshared secrets, and long-forgotten feelings.
Is their teenage love strong enough to span the decades and heal old wounds, or is the pain of the past too powerful to be forgiven and forgotten?
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I really like the sound of this one, especially the dual timeline, thank you for bringing it to my attention
I hope you like it if you read it š