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tarrareads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
——————
"𝙄𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧."
Ok, I went into this book completely blind. All I knew was that it was dark, a hockey romance and had a shopping list of trigger warnings. Tick, tick and a big ol’ tick!! This book was fantastic. I truly felt all of the emotions from the characters. It did feel like a bit of a puzzle at times, trying to piece together what happened. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because…
SPOILER ALERT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Lachlan found Lyla aka De-lil-ah way too easy. I feel like the angst of that scenario could have been prolonged and we could have delved a little deeper into the past as well as into the three years she was MIA but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨
✨️ Hockey Romance
✨️ Dark Romance
✨️ Possessive MMC
✨️ He Falls First
✨️ Revenge
✨️ Anti Hero
✨️ Reformed Playboy
✨️ Touch Her and D!e
🌶🌶🌶
——————
"𝙄𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧."
Ok, I went into this book completely blind. All I knew was that it was dark, a hockey romance and had a shopping list of trigger warnings. Tick, tick and a big ol’ tick!! This book was fantastic. I truly felt all of the emotions from the characters. It did feel like a bit of a puzzle at times, trying to piece together what happened. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because…
SPOILER ALERT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Lachlan found Lyla aka De-lil-ah way too easy. I feel like the angst of that scenario could have been prolonged and we could have delved a little deeper into the past as well as into the three years she was MIA but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨
✨️ Hockey Romance
✨️ Dark Romance
✨️ Possessive MMC
✨️ He Falls First
✨️ Revenge
✨️ Anti Hero
✨️ Reformed Playboy
✨️ Touch Her and D!e
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
DEAR GOD i think I finally found my first 6 star book 😭‼️ I’m completely obsessed with Lyla and Lochlone’s story. I was hooked from beginning to end and best believe I balled my eyes out when we figure out her backstory about why she’s so closed off with people and doesn’t get too attached to anyone other than her best friends. I’m so glad that she was able to get her justice and that the fucker who ruined her and other peoples lives is gone for good. My thoughts are everywhere atm so writing them out is gonna take too long lol but this is a book I will forever recommend to people and make sure to check tw !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
whiskers_and_lipstick's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The story moved at a snail’s pace without any apparent reason. Each scene in both the past and present timelines became redundant and predictable.
Both MCs were unlikable and neither really demonstrated growth until perhaps the epilogue (at which point I was already desperate for it to be done). Their instant love story didn’t feel believable. Yes, their chemistry was instantaneous, but they don’t actually get to know each other and their time together is so short that it doesn’t make sense they would still be holding a candle for the other 3 years later.
No one connected to Lyla was likeable either - definitely not anyone I’d want in a friend group. For all the people (powerful rich people) who knew Lyla’s secret and how dangerous it is, none use their power to help her in a meaningful way or to take care of/prepare Lachlan for the risk they were taking and the danger she (they) put him in by lying about everything.
The villain doesn’t really appear to have any motive; their actions seem to be more “… because I can…” or “that’s just how I am.” And for all the talk about the villain’s connections and how they’re able to skirt above the law, the resolution of conflict doesn’t seem to address whether the villain’s influence has ended and if their protectors and coconspirators will face consequences.
Both MCs were unlikable and neither really demonstrated growth until perhaps the epilogue (at which point I was already desperate for it to be done). Their instant love story didn’t feel believable. Yes, their chemistry was instantaneous, but they don’t actually get to know each other and their time together is so short that it doesn’t make sense they would still be holding a candle for the other 3 years later.
No one connected to Lyla was likeable either - definitely not anyone I’d want in a friend group. For all the people (powerful rich people) who knew Lyla’s secret and how dangerous it is, none use their power to help her in a meaningful way or to take care of/prepare Lachlan for the risk they were taking and the danger she (they) put him in by lying about everything.
The villain doesn’t really appear to have any motive; their actions seem to be more “… because I can…” or “that’s just how I am.” And for all the talk about the villain’s connections and how they’re able to skirt above the law, the resolution of conflict doesn’t seem to address whether the villain’s influence has ended and if their protectors and coconspirators will face consequences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking
beckyremillard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
shaykay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Reread 2024
It's one of those books that's hard to explain and is a good one to go in as blind as possible. However, it is a dark book; you must look up the trigger warnings before picking it up. So, in the first half, we are in a college setting. We're seeing the two main characters meet, but it's the end of their college careers. Lachlan is getting ready to go pro and is an open book, but Lyla has a lot of secrets and is very guarded. But we see these two meet and fall for one another. But then we do a time skip, and suddenly, it's about four years later, and Lachlan has achieved all of his goals and is working on finding Lyla. We learn all of her secrets during this reunion, and the book gets dark. The book is mysterious and tense, but we don't learn just how bad it is until, towards the end, the truth starts coming out. I wish there were more books in this world.
Initial Read
I need to read more Clare Conteras books! This one was amazing, and it's one of those books you feel wrong about loving so much because it's super dark. So I picked it up right after Conteras was announced to be at Sweetgrass next year because it's been on my radar since it got some traction on TikTok. Still, it was just sitting on my KU TBR. I'm so glad that pushed me to pick it up. It's hard to explain this one because it spans over a few years, and it's split into two parts. So, in the first part, we are with Lyla and Lachlan while they are in the last semester of college. He's a pretty big hockey player for the school and has plans to go pro.
Meanwhile, we know quickly that something is going on with Lyla, but we need to know what. It's initially played off like she's just a big homebody, but we soon learn what's happening with her. But these two hit it off really fast, and we see it go from 0-60 super-fast between them. It was so much fun, but things with Lyla hit a whole new level, which caused her to run away and start over. She literally vanishes, which starts part two. We see her in this new life she's created, and she's flourishing but living at the same time, she's been keeping everyone an arm's length away.
Meanwhile, Lachlan went pro and has been living out his ice hockey dreams. But he never forgot about her, and she was always the one that got away. Eventually, he finds her, and we see the whole truth emerge. It is insane just how much she's gone through over the years. By the end of the book, we do get a HEA because this is standalone, but we tie up everything to the point where she finally gets to live a happy, carefree life with him, and it's just amazing. This is another one I need to reread. I bought the physical copy to take and get signed, and it would be fun to annotate it since I have the physical copy now.
It's one of those books that's hard to explain and is a good one to go in as blind as possible. However, it is a dark book; you must look up the trigger warnings before picking it up. So, in the first half, we are in a college setting. We're seeing the two main characters meet, but it's the end of their college careers. Lachlan is getting ready to go pro and is an open book, but Lyla has a lot of secrets and is very guarded. But we see these two meet and fall for one another. But then we do a time skip, and suddenly, it's about four years later, and Lachlan has achieved all of his goals and is working on finding Lyla. We learn all of her secrets during this reunion, and the book gets dark. The book is mysterious and tense, but we don't learn just how bad it is until, towards the end, the truth starts coming out. I wish there were more books in this world.
Initial Read
I need to read more Clare Conteras books! This one was amazing, and it's one of those books you feel wrong about loving so much because it's super dark. So I picked it up right after Conteras was announced to be at Sweetgrass next year because it's been on my radar since it got some traction on TikTok. Still, it was just sitting on my KU TBR. I'm so glad that pushed me to pick it up. It's hard to explain this one because it spans over a few years, and it's split into two parts. So, in the first part, we are with Lyla and Lachlan while they are in the last semester of college. He's a pretty big hockey player for the school and has plans to go pro.
Meanwhile, we know quickly that something is going on with Lyla, but we need to know what. It's initially played off like she's just a big homebody, but we soon learn what's happening with her. But these two hit it off really fast, and we see it go from 0-60 super-fast between them. It was so much fun, but things with Lyla hit a whole new level, which caused her to run away and start over. She literally vanishes, which starts part two. We see her in this new life she's created, and she's flourishing but living at the same time, she's been keeping everyone an arm's length away.
Meanwhile, Lachlan went pro and has been living out his ice hockey dreams. But he never forgot about her, and she was always the one that got away. Eventually, he finds her, and we see the whole truth emerge. It is insane just how much she's gone through over the years. By the end of the book, we do get a HEA because this is standalone, but we tie up everything to the point where she finally gets to live a happy, carefree life with him, and it's just amazing. This is another one I need to reread. I bought the physical copy to take and get signed, and it would be fun to annotate it since I have the physical copy now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
spicycronereads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had previously read one of this author’s prior works and came away from it really frustrated by a plot that just didn’t hang together. I am so glad that I tried another of her books. I needed a sports-themed romance for a reading challenge and did not want something cutesy.
I think in terms of the romance, plot, and the character arc of the MMC, I probably would have rated it at 3.5. However, I thought that once certain events unfolded, they explained so much of the FMC’s backstory and her character arc, that it bumped it up a bit in the ratings for me. Be sure you read the content warnings carefully becausethere are multiple explicit scenes of SA and strong themes of stalking. That said, I really appreciated how her reluctance to tell anyone was treated as I think it aligns with the experiences of many SA survivors. And then to have her dad believe her so readily and reconcile the relationship at the end, was really sweet. Those things taken together show how pervasive the social stigmas are around reporting SA and connect to why a lot of assaults go unreported.
Lilah, the FMC, and her relationship with Lachlan, the MMC, is really special. It’s almost like a grumpy-grumpy book. She has a dark sense of humor and qualities that, honestly, I would crush on. At one point Lachlan refers to her as his Wednesday Addams and that seemed perfect. I really loved their dynamic. And the way their relationship continue to burn, despite obstacles.Lachlan’s more obsessive turn after the time jump definitely pushes him into morally grey territory and I am here for it. I shared Lilah’s fear that he was going to kill Jameson and be separated from her.
The book has a fair amount of diverse racial representation. Lilah and her family are Dominican-American and multiple of the secondary characters are Latinx or Black.
The spice is pretty spicy. I mean, Lachlan smirks and smolders his way right into the reader’s heart. And their seggs scenes tick a lot of boxes.
Overall I enjoyed this. I thought difficult plot points, while sometimes graphic, integrated into the story in a way that made sense.
I think in terms of the romance, plot, and the character arc of the MMC, I probably would have rated it at 3.5. However, I thought that once certain events unfolded, they explained so much of the FMC’s backstory and her character arc, that it bumped it up a bit in the ratings for me. Be sure you read the content warnings carefully because
Lilah, the FMC, and her relationship with Lachlan, the MMC, is really special. It’s almost like a grumpy-grumpy book. She has a dark sense of humor and qualities that, honestly, I would crush on. At one point Lachlan refers to her as his Wednesday Addams and that seemed perfect. I really loved their dynamic. And the way their relationship continue to burn, despite obstacles.
The book has a fair amount of diverse racial representation. Lilah and her family are Dominican-American and multiple of the secondary characters are Latinx or Black.
The spice is pretty spicy. I mean, Lachlan smirks and smolders his way right into the reader’s heart. And their seggs scenes tick a lot of boxes.
Overall I enjoyed this. I thought difficult plot points, while sometimes graphic, integrated into the story in a way that made sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
caseybottiger's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking
crgrace's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The plot of this book had the potential to be so great! And the spice was giving. Unfortunately what started out well got lost somewhere along the way. The character development, and pacing of the conflict/ resolution just felt off in the second part of the book. :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Murder
what_karla_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
enchantedtaleswithlaur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book - wow. From the very first chapter, Lyla and Lachlan had me hooked. This story had a lot of super heavy themes (TW: mention of suicide, death, murder, rape, to name a few), but I think Claire Contreras approached these topics in a delicate and tasteful manner.
In addition to completely sucking me in, I found myself rooting for both Lyla and Lachlan throughout, which I really loved. These characters were in no way without their flaws and red flags, but that only made them more real.
All that being said, I highly encourage anyone who may read this book to look at the trigger warnings first, as there were a few chapters that were very hard for me to read.
In addition to completely sucking me in, I found myself rooting for both Lyla and Lachlan throughout, which I really loved. These characters were in no way without their flaws and red flags, but that only made them more real.
All that being said, I highly encourage anyone who may read this book to look at the trigger warnings first, as there were a few chapters that were very hard for me to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder