The cover does not do justice to this story. It gave me the impression the book would be light and fluffy and that is not the case.

This book is so very different from THG and it really worked for me. The first bit of the book was a bit slow for me but then it really picked up. And I could not put it down. I stayed up until 1:30 am reading it. It made a cry a little bit.

Darcy Barrett is a sad girl. She isn’t eating properly. She isn’t taking medication for her chronic illness. She walked away from her career that she seemed to enjoy. She is drinking too much. She’s actively grieving the loss of her grandmother. Her passport is missing and she feels trapped. In fact, Darcy feels a lot, but she tries to act like she doesn’t. Darcy has a very skewed version of the world right now and is telling herself a lot of lies.

The whole premise is that Darcy’s grandmother recently passed away and Darcy is now in charge of the house is it renovated. Her best friend from childhood, Tom is the contractor. Tom is also best friends with Darcy’s twin brother. Her twin is a jerk and one of the worst things about this book. He deserved a punch in the face. Anyway, Darcy doesn’t believe that she is good enough for Tom. We don’t get Tom’s POV, but I felt like I got enough of him through his conversations with Darcy.

Darcy’s journey really spoke to me. She found romantic love, but more importantly, she learned to love herself again. I was heavily invested in Darcy’s dual journeys. The romantic journey was sweet and emotional and I plucked some Tom quotes for you.

“Don’t go back into your shell. It’s okay that you care about this house. And I want to hear how you picture the finished product.” Through the door, he says in a new tone, “DB, please get dressed so I can hug you and tell you I’m sorry.”

My stool is turned, I’m pulled to my feet, and Tom slowly, deliberately squeezes me against his body. “I am throwing myself at her feet. Every minute of every day. She just doesn’t notice.”

“I’m worried sick about you.” He whispers it above my head. “I’m okay,” I say to his flawless heart, beating so strong beneath my cheek. “All I want is to take care of you, but you make it so hard.” “I know I do. But if it’s going to feel this good, maybe I should let you fuss over me. Just a little, sometimes, when no one’s watching.”

And I’ll give you one from Darcy for good measure-

“I’m done with being the brave one, because it really doesn’t feel great, hanging out on this ledge by myself. The next brave thing is coming from you. You’re not the only one here with something to lose.” “That’s why I’m working so hard on this.” “Not the house. I’m going to lose you. I’m going to fuck things up with you.” I put my elbows on the bar and my face in my hands. “Okay, actually that was the last brave thing I say to you.” “You can’t fuck things up with me.” He says it like we’re family. Like he has to forgive me, no matter what I may do. I look sideways at him. “Friends and family are the only ones I have a chance of keeping forever. And that’s what I want. To keep you, forever.”

Anyway, this book is good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope that you will too.

Grade: A

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