This was my first book by this author, but I can promise it won’t be my last. I went in completely blind, and I was thrilled when it blew me away. There were a lot of moments when I really, really, really wanted to stop reading… but I couldn’t. I read it a few sittings over a long cruise with several consecutive sea days, so I had a lot of dedicated time to focus on the story and really feel it. And feel it, I did… feel it, you must.

The Pros & Cons

Quinn and Graham meet under unusual circumstances, both as victims of cheating, and find themselves together later down the line as fated partners, but their relationship is threatened by the daunting sorrow of infertility. The chapters jump from “Then” and “Now” tracing back the couple’s origin story, and it’s a doozy of a heartwarming rollercoaster that — unfortunately — plummets into the darkest depths of despair in their marriage.

I do love “real-life romance” — hell, I’ve got to love it, because I write it! — but this one was a gut-punch I didn’t expect. The writer accurately captures some of the nuances of marital intimacy, familial relationships and so much more — the tiny moments that can pivot everything, and that are often missed in films, books, and just about any other form of representation.

Thank God for the “origin” moments of levity, because honestly it’s a difficult read if not for those. You love the young couple because they’re simply awesome, and they’re meant to be. Graham is knee-bucklingly adorable in his over-the-top moments, and Quinn is a female character you actually enjoy reading about because she’s not “too much” of anything. She feels real. They are easy to love, and it’s heartbreaking when it flashes to the present-time when they’re both so awful.

Still, you can connect with them even in the bad times, and the story is so intricately woven between the two extremes that you feel like you are there with them. The steamy/sexy scenes — both now and then — are perfectly done (even perfect in its awfulness for the “now” moments), and I always appreciate writing that successfully straddles this fine balance with taste and grace.

My only tiny niggle was the ending. I don’t want to have a huge spoiler, but I think the supposed “solution” they found minimalises all they’ve been through in their journey to this point. It felt like something was added on that just didn’t belong there. It almost, almost, almost made me dock from my rating, but I eventually forgave it and gave the story the full five stars because it stayed with me so vividly as I write this weeks later, and I’m sure it’s not a book I’m likely to forget anytime soon.

Conclusion

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read, particularly the writing style that jerks at your organs at times, the symbolism — “Category 5 hurricane” as a marriage, and the entire journey this book took me on. It was a fresh, tough look at real life that leaves a lasting message about who we are, how we can be better partners to our loved ones, and most importantly the overarching truth in all relationships: you are your own worst enemy.

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