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I also think it is unacceptable for people to be recommending this book as just a “sad book” or a “book to make you cry”, because diminishing a book that explores such a difficult and serious topic like domestic abuse, to an object that simply serves the purpose of evoking emotions from you, is extremely disrespectful and shallow. Especially considering that this is such a personal book to Colleen Hoover.
Chapter One As I sit here with one foot on either side of the ledge, looking down from twelve stories above the streets of Boston, I can’t help but think about suicide. Not my own. I like my life enough to want to see it through. I’m more focused on other people, and how they ultimately come to the decision to just end their own lives. Do they ever regret it? In the moment after letting go and the second before they make impact, there has to be a little bit of remorse in that brief free fall. Do they look at the ground as it rushes toward them and think, “Well, crap. This was a bad idea.” Somehow, I think not. A part of me wants to forget this raw, powerful, inspirational, beautiful and ugly book. But the dominant part, even though it suffers, is glad I read it and learned. You guys are always telling me this author writes vaguely shitty romance novels and is unbelievably overhyped... and yet this masterpiece exists? I call bullshit because this was masterful. Also the secondary characters in this book, Lily’s parents and Ryle’s sister and her husband are truly imperative in this story. They are just perfect and add so much to the story. Another thing that I found inspiring was the Lily character. Open to understanding that which she was never capable of understanding before. Also, as with the rest of the story; the understanding did not lead to buying into an excuse. Lily was gutsy and understanding at the same time. I found it something worth reading on and on through the entire book.
Customer Reviews
There are times I am angry and times I am sad. And then I'm both. And it's the worst, because there is a war raging inside me, and the winner side keeps changing. How is it possible to switch from denial to sorrow to fury to acceptance in a heartbeat?
Becca: Yes! I 100% agree with Lisa, if you can go into this one blind then I recommend that you do! It was absolutely incredible to experience each moment and have no idea what was going to happen next! Lily's story is one that I never wanted to stop reading. If I know that I'm going to need to read a book in multiple sittings (which was the case with this book), I usually try to find a good place to stop. One in which, nothing major is happening and nobody is facing some drastic/perilous moment. Well you see the problem with this book is the fact that there is literally NO. GOOD. STOPPING. POINT! None! There was never a part where I felt safe in letting this book sit overnight because I knew that the story and the what if's would play endlessly in my mind. So I stayed up and read it all in one sitting because I simply couldn't stop. Lily was someone that I connected to right from the get go. I knew as soon as the book started that I would like her, and that never once stopped while I was reading. However, I didn't realize how much her character would affect me while I was reading. As I said before, after I was finished reading, I couldn't have been prouder of her decisions. The strength she had throughout the story to go through what she did, but also her resolve and conviction just made me constantly cheer her on. Lily is truly one of the most admirable characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about, and that admiration goes extraordinarily deep. I think this is one of the only books I have ever read that actually seems to understand that abuse is a mortal sin. The wild thing is, aside from his moments of extreme rage, Rylin never appears to be that bad of a guy. He apologizes every time. He continuously seems to account for Lily’s feelings. But his actions against her are enough. There is no question in the narrative on whether she was being unempathetic: Lily was right to leave, no matter how he treated her in the aftermath. And I think that means a lot to me, how his character is nuanced but also irredeemable for Lily. at the beginning i told myself i knew what i was in for and i was completely wrong. there are very few times, personally, when a book feels like it’s become a part of you. like you can physically feel it become a core book that you know you’d never stop thinking, talking, and recommending to those that would enjoy it. this is definitely that bookEDIT: I read this book when it first came out (as an ARC) and did love it, however, with the continuation of the story I feel like it has tainted (or just changed) my view on this one. When I re-read this in prep for the new one and then diving right in to it, I feel the need to change this rating to a 2. However, I will be leaving my original review up. According to Google (all hail Google) less than 2% of the world’s population has red hair, and yet 99.998% of all NA leading ladies do. Just stahp.
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