*LOOK UP TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING!

Right from the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect, which is typical for most of Colleen Hoover’s books, but it took me a bit to get into the story and get a good understanding of the vibe, the type of characters, and overall see where the plot was heading. 

Sky, a seventeen year old, was adjusting to her new school and also dealing with the backlash of rumors students were spreading about her. Sky seemed like the kind of girl who liked remaining unseen, blending into the background, and not one for attention. In addition, Sky seemed more focused on school than anything aside from her love of running and spending time with her best friend, Six. All in all, Sky was determined to get good grades and then apply to colleges, and boys weren’t a thing for her as she never felt anything with the few guys she made out with. Suddenly, Sky met Dean Holder, and she immediately felt butterflies in her stomach, an immense sense of heat flow all over her, and couldn’t stop checking our Holder any chance she got, she was experiencing lust and desire and true attraction for the very first time. 

Holder seemed like the “charming, mysterious bad boy” that everyone knew except for Sky. When first meeting Holder, he came off as intense to Sky, but then slightly flirty towards her once they started to become “running buddies”. Holder definitely had his fair share of mixed emotions and angst. At times, he left me confused with the way he would suddenly change in his behavior and left me wondering, “ok so what’s his deal?”. The romance between Sky and Holder was sweet and passionate, but again bits of angst mostly from Holder’s side (in my opinion). In a way, reading how Sky and Holder’s relationship was reminded me of the kind of love you experience when you’re young.  Everything is heightened, your emotions are all over the place, and it’s a mix of pure bliss and pleasure. Despite Holder’s internal issues and subsequently affecting Sky, I enjoyed seeing him be so thoughtful and loving with her. 

All throughout the story, there was an underlying mystery going on between Sky and Holder. Each character had something going on, but it wasn’t out right said what exactly it was. With chapters that focused on the past thirteen years ago, it was implied that it was from Sky’s childhood that she couldn’t remember, but as the story progressed she suddenly had flashes of her memory come back to her that left her overwhelmed and crying. Holder seemed to be holding back some truths from Sky and it wasn’t until the later that it suddenly made a lot of sense as to what secrets he had been hiding from Sky. In addition, with Sky’s memories coming back to her, it also became clear why she became so upset during her almost intimate moment with Holder, poor Sky unknowingly was reliving some trauma that she most likely blocked out from her mind during the past couple of years. 

OOOOOOH and let’s not forget the plot twist reveal because, I DEFINITELY WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT! Literally was not expecting ANY OF THAT. Sky went through it in this book, and all her trauma came back full force, she couldn’t catch a break with all the revelations. Thankfully, she had Holder to help her through all the horrible things, and (sniff) my god Holder was the one and only person to be there for Sky. 

Overall, this story had filled with heartbreaking revelations, plot twists, heavy topics, angst, romance, trauma, and emotionally packed. Definitely look up trigger warnings before reading this book. Despite the heavy topics and this book obviously not being lighthearted whatsoever, I still loved it. I loved Sky and Holder’s connection, they truly had a unique love and bond together that was beautiful yet sad with all the horrible things they endured. Through the flashbacks and the present, Sky and Holder’s story was an emotional rollercoaster, but one that I would go through again just for the sake of them.