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�� 4.5 Stars.

this book isn’t just about romance—it’s about grief, identity, friendship, and self-discovery. It’s raw, it’s deeply emotional, and it’s breathtakingly beautiful.

I didn’t cry while reading, but right now, as I’m sitting here thinking about it, revisiting all the quotes I highlighted, and trying to put my feelings into words, I have tears in my eyes. It’s the kind of book that lingers, it sneaked up on me when i least expected it, and suddenly, i realize just how much it mean to me.

"Grief is a relationship, It's the way we figure out how to keep loving them even though they're gone. And in order to do that we have to keep on going. And going and going. You are not betraying her by healing," he whispers directly into my ear, You are honoring her. You are learning to love her exactly as she is. As someone who isn't here anymore ... That's who she is now. And this journey through grief... It's what we do for the great loves of our lives."

�� the author did something extraordinary with this book. I tend to be really critical when it comes to emotional stories—probably because I take a lot of psychology classes, so I see deeper into the pages, and more often than not, I find myself frustrated with how grief and other emotional subjects be portrayed. It’s usually either oversimplified or romanticized, as if grief is just a phase to be wrapped up neatly by the end of the book. like it’s an on-off switch But not here. this author nailed it. the way grief is written in this book—it’s ugly, it’s complicated, it’s consuming. It doesn’t just fade away with time or disappear when love enters the picture. Instead, both characters learn to live with it. they don’t magically “move on��; they carry it. they learn that grief isn’t a wound that ever fully heals—it’s a scar, one that will always be there, but one they can take care of, one that becomes a part of them without breaking them. and that was done so, so beautifully.

�� the writing style was another thing that completely won me over. with romance books, no matter how much I enjoy the story, I sometimes get bored—I find myself thinking, okay, just get to the point already. but not with this one. the pacing was perfect. even though the book is a little long, it flies by because of how engaging the writing is. It doesn’t drag. It doesn’t waste time. It keeps you hooked from start to finish. and honestly? I feel like this is one of those rare books where I genuinely don’t think people could criticize it. I have favorite books that I know not everyone would love, but with this one? I feel like it’s just objectively perfect.

“Just remember. Something good for you, something bad for you, and a change of scenery. That's the winning formula."

�� the story begins with Lenny Bellamy, who has just lost her best friend. and their friendship—it wasn’t just any friendship. It was deep. It was rare. It was the kind of love that goes beyond words. But when her best friend dies of cancer, lenny is destroyed. completely shattered. She stops taking care of herself. She won’t even sleep in her own apartment. She cuts off her family—not because she doesn’t love them, but because she’s afraid that if they look at her, they’ll see how broken she is. then she lands a job as a nanny for a single mother, and on her first day, she meets the kid’s uncle—Miles. and that’s where their story begins.

miles has his own battle with grief. He lost his mother and cousin in a devastating accident, and on top of that, his father abandoned him. He’s also struggling with a difficult relationship with his stepsister—someone who refuses to accept him, even though he’s the one who’s been hurt the most. and yet, despite everything, he still shows up. He still tries. He still wants to be a part of his niece’s life.

�� one of the most beautiful aspects of this book is how Lenny and Miles help each other without even realizing it. lenny makes a list—a list of things to help her find happiness again—and Miles tries to help her check things off. meanwhile, she helps him learn how to be a better uncle. But if you really look at their journey, it’s not just about that. some people may think that it was just lenny using miles because objectively he helped her more in the book. But It’s not just Miles helping Lenny heal—she helps him too. Her wild, chaotic energy, her constant tears, her vulnerability—it gives him something he didn’t know he needed. and for her, miles is something stable, something solid, someone to lean on. they balance each other. they stitch each other’s wounds in the smallest, simplest ways—like going to a café, baking a cake, opening up when it hurts the most. and it’s so incredibly beautiful.

another one of my favorite things in romance is when a couple becomes friends first. I love when characters actually know each other before falling in love, when they build something real and deep before anything romantic even happens. and that’s exactly what happened in this book. their friendship, their connection, the pacing of it all—it was just so well done.

“through my eyes. Maybe I've been trapped in a painting all along. Smeared and brilliantly applied. Every color is from the eye of someone who knows exactly what the hell they're doing.��

when she finally found herself again🥹>>>

�� Lenny, she was such a beautiful character. even in her grief, even in her darkest moments, she had this light inside of her that generally lights of the page. She saw the world in this deeply poetic way, and it made my heart ache in the best way. She was vulnerable, she was emotional, but in a way that never once felt frustrating or overdone. she’s very empathetic. I usually have a lot of issues with characterizations in books—I criticize them to no end—but with Lenny, there was nothing to criticize. she was so real. I especially loved that she didn’t push Miles away. so many books do that thing where the grieving character refuses help, isolates themselves, lashes out at the one person trying to care for them (and while i understand that)—but Lenny let herself be helped. when Miles told her, you’re not a burden to me, she believed him. she relied on him. she called him in the middle of the night when she needed someone because he told her she could. and that? That was everything.

"That's not quite what I mean. Yes, I've been in love before. And it was real and I'm grateful for it and I wouldn't change it. But with you, Len, when I met you ... I sort of feel like I met myself. Not that I didn't know myself before ... it's more like, after my mom and Anders died I was just so injured that I couldn't do anything but survive. It got better little by little, but I was still the guy with the tragic backstory. Everyone was always very careful. And then I moved here and met you. and you ... let me help you. I got to remember what it feels like to give. And you're not in the least bit careful with me. Which ... yeah. Feels good. You helped me remember how to feel strong. Healthy. needed. I didn't know I could feel like that any-more."

�� and Miles. Oh my God, Miles. he was such a tender, gentle soul. he was so emotionally intelligent, so deeply aware of the people around him. and what I loved was that he wasn’t a people-pleaser. I hate when characters are written like that. Miles wasn’t trying to please everyone—he was just selfless in a way that was real. he cared about people, but he also had his own limits. the way he thought about others, the way he made space for their feelings, the way he considered different perspectives even when he was hurting—it was just so beautiful. i have nothing bad to say about him. Nothing. He was perfect. and his journey? the way he learned to carry his grief, the way he helped Lenny carry hers—it was stunning.

”We slip and slide and walk like ducks, white-knuckling one another's coats. We are side by side, sweating and freezing at the same time, laughing and yelping, both terrified of falling and exhilarated with every step we take toward home. Toward whatever comes next. And if that isn't living, then I don't know what is.��

this end ended me! Healed! Rebirthed me 🥹❤️‍��

�� their relationship was so easy. from the moment they met, they just fit. there was no forced tension, no unnecessary drama—it was natural. they bickered like an old married couple from the very beginning, and I swear, sometimes I’d be reading their interactions and just laugh because they felt like two people who had known each other forever. they were raw. they were authentic. they were two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together. this book will definitely be a reread one day.

I take Miles by the hoodie strings again, bringing his attention back to me and only me. "Every time I fall in love with you there's lightning." He closes his eyes, opens them and there's his brilliant love. "There's only you, Lenny. Every time ... it's just you," he says, muffled as he kisses me. "And you." He kisses me again. "And you." I cry, of course. I laugh, of course. I hold him desperately close, of course. We take the ferry all the way there. And then all the way back.

my favourite scene in the book 😭



�� and lastly thank you to youssra for buddy reading this book with me 🩷



�� ARC provided by the publisher—Random House Publishing Group—in exchange for an honest review.

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