In pain? Admit it. In love? Claim it. Life was too short to be anything but herself❤️

THIS WAS THE MOMENT!!!!!!!

I'm still trying to figure out how to translate my feelings for this into words. I absolutely adored this gem of a novel! It was so Black and very relatable for me in that aspect. It was funny, witty, charming, sexy, romantic, heartwrenching, intelligent & just overall amazing.

I loved (and incredibly related to) the discussions of being Black in predominantly white spaces and the difficulty in getting your voice heard and taken seriously and then the added pressure and difficulty of being a Black woman on top of that.

I LOVED the characters in this; from our two leading characters, Eva and Shane, and their fiery passion, chemistry, and emotional storylines alternating between their pasts and how their past relationship and experiences ultimately shaped their present and dealing the repercussions, to the side characters and how they contributed to the story.

Shane Hall is my new book bf. claimt. we stan. He was so witty, funny, hot, adorable, and charming with incredible banter but also thought and felt deeply - he wasn't fake deep/woke; he was genuinely intelligent. As a writer, he'd sometimes take jobs teaching in middle/high schools and took pride in mentoring kids who'd come from turbulent upbringings. This was one of my favourite things about Shane's character; he was able to connect with students some teachers may have given up on and was determined to make sure they had a future - he genuinely cared about them, so much so that he made himself readily available to any of those students who needed someone when they had no other adult-figure to turn to. 

Eva Mercy was such an interesting and strong character. I loved her relationship with her friends, her daughter, Audre, and found her strength admirable. We see Eva trying to navigate life as a young, single mother, a pretty successful author trying to write the next book in her lengthy series while struggling with writer's block, and constantly managing continuous pain from a chronic illness she's endured since she was a child. Throughout the novel we see Eva battling this pain and the extremities she's gone to in the past and present just to feel an inkling of relief.

I loved the alternating timelines in this novel and how Shane and Eva's stories intersect in the past and ultimately play a role in their current lives. While this story does deal with trauma (and it gets v emotional; they go through some shit), it also places an emphasis on healing and the (Black) joy and love that can occur as a result of allowing ourselves to acknowledge, treat, release and heal from our traumas, not only for ourselves but for generations to come.