When Oliver and Leah lose their parents in a car accident, not only are their lives forever changed, but the lives of their best friends as well. Oliver's best friend, Axel, is more like a brother, and thier parents were the best of friends as well. With their deaths, both families are shattered in ways that are explored throughout this book. Nobody feels the loss harder than Leah, who was in the car with them during the accident. Now she is a shell of who she once was, shying away from her past friendships, missing enough school that she doesn't graduate, and basically just existing with her brother as her guardian now.

When Oliver is needed in Sydney for his job, he knows he has to take the opportunity to help provide a better life for Leah, but he also knows he can't take her with him, so he asks Axel to take her. Axel has know Leah since she was born, and can't let her exist the way she has been, and works to bring her back, but when their relationship turns into love, he knows that he has betrayed his best friend in the worst way possible.

I absolutely loved this book. It had angst and so many layers to all of the relationships of the two families. The book definitely meanders its way around the characters, and the reactions each has had to the events that have happened, and the way they each grieve in their own ways. Be warned that the book isn't some wham bam romance, it really takes its time in weaving together the love story, and it is almost like a mystery in the way that it takes its time unraveling each character and the way their lives have been affected and their reactions to the tragedy.

I thought the writing was gorgeous, and the use of Beatles songs and art throughout the book to interweave the characters' lives was really well thought out and a wonderful vehicle to bridge the their emotions and interactions. This book is part of a duet that is only completed in the Spanish language so far, and I'm already desperate to find out how the story ends.

Thank you to Casablanca Sourcebooks for providing me an ARC of this book.

This was such a good book! My only complaint was that I didn't realize when I started it that it would be a little bit of a cliffhanger or even that it was being continued into another book. So, that was a definite surprise and I'm now I'm anxious for the next book so I can see what happens to these characters that I grew attached to.

Leah and Oliver lost both of their parents in a car wreck. Leah was in the car when it happened and has been traumatized ever since. Oliver's best friend, Axel and his family have been the only stable force in their lives ever since. When Oliver needs to take a job in another city for a while to build up more money to be able to send Leah to college, he asks his friend, Axel for a huge favor - - to watch over his sister in his absence and let her live with him. Naturally, Axel agrees but quickly finds himself trying to help Leah move forward and address her grief instead of remaining stagnant. The bond they form is undeniable and intense and it gradually evolves from one of solid friendship to something more....something that feels forbidden.

I absolutely became so invested in these characters and their story. This was truly an emotional and gripping read and I'm ready for more.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I was lucky enough to receive early copies of both the ebook and audiobook. This made it possibly for me to bounce back and forth between the two of them so that I was always able to keep "reading" this book. The narration worked for me and helped to keep me engaged in the book. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook. I voluntarily chose to read/listen to and review them both and the opinions contained within are my own.

I absolutely loved everything about this one!!

I’m super into stories about grief and love persevering after death, especially because that’s big in my life right now. and I love stories that reflect upon life lessons!!

I think having the story about losing parents was a good introduction to each of the characters, especially oliver and leah. it really shaped them in ways I couldn’t even begin to describe - and I adored every second of their honesty and vulnerability!

the love story, on the other hand, was a secondary plot to me and not my favorite, but I am looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out in the sequel!

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: napa valley cabernet sauvignon

This was a decent romance. I think fans of Penelope Douglass might really appreciate the taboo age gap between the FMC and her brother's best friend. The novel focuses on Leah and Oliver who tragically lose their parents in an accident. When Oliver needs to be away for work, he sends his little sister to live with his best friend Axel. Leah is truly struggling with her grief and the PTSD surrounding it and as a result, Axel works to try and return her to the land of the living. I found the character development to be OK, but nothing memorable. I honestly found the entire relationship to be a little unbelievable, but I think that was mainly due to Leah's Naivety. overall, it was an OK story. I think this book probably is really good for someone, just didn't resonate totally with me.

This book was not for me. Neither of the characters really held my attention and felt like it went really slow.

Something about the age difference really bothered me. Don't get me wrong, 10 years isn't a horrible difference...when you're like 35 and 45. But 19 and 29? I don't know, there is still a lot of growth that occurs from that age and I found myself cringing and not really enjoying it. Also, Axel was a jerk the entire time. I kept waiting for something to spark and happen, and it just...didn't. Fell flat for me.

I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen in this book, and nothing really did. Axel was honestly just mean - he thought he knew best and wouldn’t accept Leah doing anything other than what he said. He forced her into situations she didn’t want to do or be in - yes she ended up healing, but she would have gotten there without being pushed into it. And also 29/19 yr old age gap… which is fine?? Except she’s still in high school so that irked me.

3/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️

I had a bit of a hard time with this one, but ultimately enjoyed the read. I had no clue it wasn't a standalone and as I got down to the last few chapters I couldn't figure out how it was going to become a happily ever after, but then it said to be continued. I was also a little confused because I thought more was going to happen, the entire plot was in the summary... No surprises or extras, just all out there.

The beginning was difficult because I kept getting upset that Axel seemed to refuse the advice of Leah's medical professional team... He seemed to think he knew exactly how to get someone to get over their grief and depression and didn't care what anyone else thought about it, which rubbed me the wrong way. And of course it worked, because it's a book, but all I could think about was the ways it could have gone wrong...

Now, all that being said, I loved the last 20-30% as Leah and Axel became involved. I not only loved their romantic relationship, but loved watching Leah spread her wings a bit and find peace again. It was really beautiful.

I'll likely be picking up book two, just to see how this ends. I really love the characters and hope to see them get those hard fought HEAs.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a ARC of this book.
This book took a long time for me to start getting somewhere, and then it just didn’t happen for me. I am not really a fan of age gap romance, and neither of the main characters could really hold my attention. I don’t think I will be picking up the sequel to this book.

I was interested in reading All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen because Ali Hazelwood mentioned that she really enjoyed this. Overall, I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. I don't think the romance worked for me for some reason. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that didn't work but I think this would work for a lot of other people.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me an ARC!

4.25 stars!

I hadn't read a brother's best friend plotted book in a while and I'm glad I got this one! I wasn't totally sure if I'd like it because I'm very much a picky mood reader, but I was honestly surprised that I LOVED it. The MMC was so kind and always cared for the FMC (she did NOT always deserve it honestly), but I just... my heart! I need more!!

I will say what really excited me was the small-town trope, it is one of my favorites... but I was hooked by every other trope this book threw at me and I am not mad about it at all. This author is so talented and I can't wait to read more by them. So good. So SO good.

I think this was very well written! Overall, I don't think this romance is necessarily fully up my alley, as I'm not a huge fan of age gap romance. But I will speak to what I did love! Each character is very well developed and very endearing. You truly want the best for them, but especially Leah. I feel like this story handled grief gently but accurately. It was heartwarming and exciting to get to cheer for Leah as you see her beginning to reconcile with her grief and begin gaining pieces of herself back. She was so easy to root for.

Captivating and moving but left me confused. I wanted to know what was going to happen with the characters from the beginning. Getting to the end and seeing to be continued was disappointing. The writing kept my interest and I was invested in the characters.

Two families trying to move forward following a tragic accident lays the ground work for this forbidden romance novel. There is a musical element to this book, while also including surfing and painting. I felt like the focus could have been set more on one of these specifically to provide more depth to the book in general. I thought it was a pretty good book if you’re looking for a slow burn, but I kept waiting for things to really pick up. I wanted to feel more emotionally invested, especially given the heavy content of sudden, tragic loss, but I kept feeling like a little something was missing. The ending clearly leads into the next book, so perhaps the sequel will provide the pieces I felt missing from this one.

I would like the thank NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced electronic copy of this book. I was paid for this review, nor was it a requirement, but I do appreciate the opportunity.

Loved this so so much! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ad for allowing me to be among the first readers

Wow! Looks like this book will have a sequel since it ends … to be continued … I did not see that coming. I did enjoy this story even though it had a lot of sexy, love scenes in it. Like, ALOT!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. It was actually a quick read and I really enjoyed all the characters.

This book was not at all what I expected it to be. This book was amazing and so well written. The story was absolutely beautiful, I loved being able to watch Leah grow as the story went on. I also loved how the ending was not what you expected it to be while reading. I started reading and could not stop until the book was finished a few hours later. I’m going to buy a physical copy to have. Would read again and recommend to anyone. May be my favorite book of the year

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book. I was very excited because it sounds like a lot of books I’ve read. This book was a bit unsettling to me. The age difference was a bit weird and I thought the flow of the book was odd. I did have a bit of a hard time finishing this book.

I'm trying very hard to finish this book. I just hit the 50% mark and I am bored to tears. I don't want to DNF it because this is an ARC, so I feel like I need to give it an honest review, but wow am I struggling to get through.

I just finished. I missed the part where Axel got his degree in psychology. (said very sarcastically) He's trying very hard to fix Leah in all the wrong ways, it seems. It's very painful to read. He held her down while he played the song that was on when her parents died??? Are you kidding me? What. An. Asshole. The 2 stars are for the "unhappy" ending and my compassion for Leah. Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel to this one.

I was flying through this book and finished in 2 days! This was my first time reading a book by this author and safe to say I was quite impressed. The writing style is really simple and interesting and it sucks you in. Overall recommended!! <3