Intensely emotional

4.5 stars

It’s amazing how many times this book has see-sawed between a 4 and 5 star read for me. Even now I feel like I could change the rating any minute. It has all of the beautiful angst that I love and is so crushing in parts that it made me tear up. There are so many heartbreaking, poignant moments in Jackson and Grace’s journey toward healing their broken souls, and finding their way to each other. I especially loved how they bonded over books and words. And no one told me there was a dog involved dammit 😍😭😭😭

But on the other hand, I picked this one up on the verge of a miniature book slump, when I’m feeling nit-picky and every tiny error is getting to me. Chief among those pet peeves was the incessant use of some verbiage, such as the chills that kept racing down everyone’s spine, especially Grace’s. I almost made it into a drinking game at one point. There were other editing issues too, which I probably would’ve overlooked on most other days.

Overall, there’s a lot to recommend in this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author.