This had very compelling and complex characters. I love a second chance romance and this was pretty well done. The writing felt a bit over the top at times,but was mostly okay.

May I please have five minutes with Jack? What a colossal pri…er jerk. Manipulative is a gross understatement. Gen and Emily were wonderful together. There were some lovely love scenes between them. I only wish the author told us the result of the divorce. Nicely done by the author..

Gorgeous, moving, haunting. I devoured this like I do all of Rutkoski's books. Emily and Gen were compelling and nuanced characters, and I loved the development of a second chance at queer love.

Honestly, this was just alright. I was expecting something to sweep me off my feet, as the synopsis promises, but it didn't. I found this to be a very average novel, with (mostly) serviceable writing and characters. Oftentimes the writing felt contrived, like it was trying to be deep but missed the mark. But as a whole this novel was just fine.

This is the best book I have read in months and I’m so sad it’s over! Emily and Gen’s relationship felt so real and both characters were so vividly depicted. I felt like my heart was in my mouth every time Jack appeared, and I both understood Emily’s attraction to him and feared for her. I loved all of the little details too - Emily’s writing, Gen’s running career. I wish I could live in this book for just a little longer.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Upmarket second-chance romance. Not bad at all, and there were some lovely sentences and moments between Emily and Gen. The book just appeals to the primal-brain the way romances do (Who hasn't wanted to be the "exception" to the person whose constructed rules around romance?) I appreciated the complexity of characterization, especially of Jack, though the storyline was a bit indulgent and verged many times onto cheesy, and the plot points weren't particularly realistic. (I think this comes somewhat from the book's genre issue: for a romance it's fine, but for a book that felt like it was marketing itself as literary, I felt a bit tricked by how much of a conventional romance this was!) The "I don't need your money, i'll get a job! I'll become a published writer!" move was particularly unrealistic.

That said, this was a page turner and I enjoyed inhabiting its world. I'm also a sucker for stories about two people who have loved each other for a very long time, and across long periods of separation. Of course I finished it.