*POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNINGS! WILL BE REFERRING TO THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN PREVIOUS BOOK, “The Upside of Falling”, so if you haven’t read the book, please do not read as potential spoilers will be mentioned.

Picking right up from the ending in the previous book, “The Upside of Falling”, Colby had just suffered a major loss in his life, and in the brief time jump of a year later, everything changed when he came face to face with the knowledge of Rory and Stryder. The opening of the book was told through Stryder’s perspective and it contained a flashback from the night Colby, Stryder meet Rory and Ryan at the party that occurred in the first book. Reading through Stryder’s point of view following the events that happened in the last book truly opened my eyes to the reality of what Stryder was going through, as well as his true feelings towards Rory, including the very moment he laid eyes on her. With the flashback, I was both amazed and surprised by the level of support and sacrifice that Stryder did in order to help Colby get with Rory. Stryder put his own needs and feelings aside in order to help push Colby towards Rory, talk about a good friend. Stryder could have easily been the type of guy that pushed his friend to the curb and got with the girl he had his eyes on immediately, but that wasn’t the type of person Stryder was. Colby and Stryder were the best of friends and just from reading the first few chapters from Stryder, it was evident that he had a lot of love for Colby.

This book mainly focused on Rory and Stryder and how they went from friends to lovers. Rory, still reeling from her breakup with Colby, was trying to find her footing again, and being there for her family as always. Stryder, dealing with the aftermath of not being accepted into Flight school dealt even more with the verbal abuse of his father, and was tunneling down a hole of despair and feeling left behind. Both Stryder and Rory were each trying to find their way through the new chapter in their lives, and along the way they helped each other. Through this new book, it was revealed that Stryder had initially developed feelings for Rory right away, and even throughout the aftermath of Rory and Colby going their separate ways, Stryder couldn’t get his mind off of Rory. In a way, it was this secret longing that Stryder had for Rory that added on to his list of things he was dealing with. Rory, being none the wiser just tried being a friend to Stryder when in reality, all Stryder wished for was that Rory was HIS girl, and not his best friend’s. 

Having Stryder stay over at Rory’s place definitely had the whole “forced proximity” going on, but hey Stryder wasn’t complaining since it allowed him to spend more time with Rory. Now with all this time they spent together, Rory got to not only see more of Stryder, but truly learn about the struggles he’d gone through. There were some moments where you could see that Stryder wanted so badly to move forward with Rory whether it was possibly a kiss or confessing his love for her, Stryder was head over heels in love with Rory, but being a respectful man, he didn’t want to put Rory in an uncomfortable position especially after the breakup with Colby, also the sense of loyalty, not wanting to go after the woman his best friend fell in love with. Talk about quite the predicament for Stryder. Even with all that Stryder was dealing with, Rory was starting to develop new feelings towards Stryder, starting to see him in a new light. 

Having read this book through both Stryder and Rory’s perspectives it was interesting to see how their friendship developed into more, and as well as seeing how Colby would react to finding out about them. While reading I kept wondering, “omg when is Colby going to come out and how is he going to react?” I got a glimpse from the cliffhanger in the previous book, but still there was this sense of looming over the horizon, one that both Stryder and Rory were aware of. Rory had every right to pursue a relationship with Stryder since she broke up with Colby, but the fact that he was Colby’s best friend was where both Rory and Stryder felt like they were betraying Colby. I liked seeing how despite initially feeling guilty about their attraction and feelings towards one another, Rory and Stryder took their time getting to know each other on a deeper level, and ensuring they didn’t rush into things. 

By the end, with Colby’s chapters and seeing how everything ended up, things were cleared up, tears were shed, and most importantly there was a happy ending. Obviously with the way the book ended with the epilogue, it sets up the continuation of Colby’s story in the new duet with the first book being, “The Left Side Of Perfect”, which is about Colby and Ryan. I enjoyed Stryder and Rory’s story, it felt like a slow burn with all the tension and feelings building up throughout the book, and there was angst courtesy of Stryder, and good old romance. This book didn’t hold back on the emotional pull from Stryder, Rory, and even Colby. Overall, I’ve gotten attached to these characters and if you’re looking for a book that’s reminiscent of “Top Gun” definitely check out this book, as well as the others I mentioned earlier that are interconnected.