** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

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 The Embracing of Evergreen (Unexpected Love, Book 2) 

 by Rayne Hawthorne, D.W. Michaels 

★☆☆☆☆ 

 307 Pages 

 1st person, dual character POV 

 Triggers: intense grief and depression; loss of past love; suicidal ideation; self-neglect; historic domestic abuse 

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 DNF'd 

 The Embracing of Evergreen is a hurt/comfort, slow burn romance within the Unexpected Love series. As Book 2, it actually continues right after the end of Book 1, with a letter from Ken – the funeral home guy from Book 1 – explaining that he, Jayce and Namid are leaving their small town because of the attack on Namid. So, right from page 1, it makes it clear that this book cannot exist as a standalone. Fine, I knew that going in. 

 Full disclosure: I did not enjoy Book 1. Long-winded, overly floral and less hurt/comfort more full on depressive. 

 Sadly, Book 2 was just more of the same. Before I even got to the end of Chapter 1, it began with a letter in Ken's POV, which surprised me. Then I kept reading and...this wasn't Ken from Book 1. I don't know why or how, but this Ken didn't speak like the serious, 60 year-old funeral home director of Book 1, instead talking like a teenager who was unfamiliar with complete sentences. So many sentences ended with “or something” and “or anything”. 

 Then we get into the crux of the story, with Ethan's POV. 

 On page 1 alone, we get FIVE instances of paragraphs starting with “Maybe this time...” which makes me want to break out into Cabaret. Turn the page and we get SIX more. Then we start with repetitions of “I've stopped counting...” where we get three on page, turn over and get SIX sentences IN A ROW that all start with “I know...”. Turn the page and we get SEVEN sentences that start with “I miss...” 

 Now, I get it. Repetition at the beginning of a sentence can be a good thing. However, when we get THREE separate instances within the first 3%, that is what you call overkill. It's unnecessary and it loses the magic of the formula that is supposed to make that repetition work. 

 Just as with Book 1, there were endless pages of thoughts and emotions, with the first dialogue at 5%. This was an improvement upon Book 1, but it still took far too long to get to the point. 

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 Overall, I'm just seeing the same problems with this book as there were with Book 1. I'm bored. It feels endless because of the countless repetition, paragraphs that fill an entire page or half a page, all to talk about ONE thought process, and memories mentioned that I have no connection to, interest in or that have any impact on the plot or character. Yet again, this is about intense grief and I just don't have the desire or invested interest in either the characters or the plot to continue reading something that – if it follows the formula of Book 1 – will be so draining and depressing that it makes me want to cry for the wrong reasons. 

 So, to spare myself the pain and the author the negative review, I'm bowing out – of this book and this series.