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bluebell4's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cursing and Death
Minor: Car accident
bostonreader's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
2.0
2/5 🪻,🫧,🌙
as someone who usually flies through ya contemporary romances in a matter of hours, I knew I was struggling when it took me three entire days to finally finish this one
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle has the stereotypical dream life : he is the quarterback of his high school football team; his girlfriend, Kimberly, is the cheerleader captain; and he is being scouted for D1 colleges to play football. His dream begins to careen off course when his best friend misses a block on the field that leads to Kyle being sacked, and in turn, injured badly enough to lose any chance of ever playing football again.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Because of this injury, Kyle finds himself relying heavily on his two best friends, his need for control becoming overbearing on their own lives. Kyle’s perfect plan to attend UCLA on a D1 scholarship with Kimberly and his best friend, Sam, comes crashing down around him when Kimberly tells him at their graduation party that she feels they need space apart from each other, and that she has been accepted into Berkeley and plans on attending.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Overwhelmed with the grief of his perfectly crafted life falling to pieces around him, Kyle leaves his graduation party tailed by Kimberly, running to his car in the rain. As Kimberly enters the car, they drive off into a storm, Kyle desperately trying to understand why his relationship is crumbling around him, and whether or not it’s fixable.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle and Kimberly pull off on the side of the road as the storm intensifies- Kyle planning to pull out his final Hail Mary to save their relationship- a charm bracelet with 6 charms, each charm a representation of one of their six years together. Before Kyle can pull this off, their car is crushed into oncoming traffic, and when he wakes up Kimberly is dead.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Grappling with the death of Kimberly, a severe brain injury, and a broken femur, Kyle is forced to confront his grief, guilt, and shame, and truly begin a journey of introspection.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Haunted in his dreams by Kimberly telling him “not to let go”, he reflects on her words to him at the graduation party, and learns that maybe letting go is exactly what he needs to do in order to move forward. Visiting Kimberly’s grave, he’s introduced to a mysterious girl suffering her own loss, whose quiet shyness and timid smile may just pull him out of his despair.
🪻,🫧,🌙
As Kyle grows closer to his new confidante, Marley, bits and pieces of his life suddenly become more clear. He learns that Sam has been in love with Kimberly for years, and that his own relationship with Kim has been largely superficial, charged with silly arguments and incompatibilities that were overlooked simply because he felt that he could not live without her.
🪻,🫧,🌙
As Kyle and Marley begin to open up to each other, Marley effectively pulls him out of the rut he’s been stuck in since the accident, motivating him to take up sports journalism, and encouraging him to break out of the confines he set over his life. Kyle does the same for Marley, slowly getting her to open up about her sister’s tragic accident, and the guilt she feels over the situation.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
🪻,🫧,🌙
Everything seems to click into place in Kyle’s life, his relationship with Marley blossoming, his friendship with Sam mended after his shocking admission of love for Kim, his internship, and his healing brain injury. Kyle and Marley spend an entire year sharing stories, feeding ducks at the pond, spending holidays together, and healing. <b>Until Kyle wakes up in a hospital bed, told that he was in a coma for weeks… and that his life with Marley never actually existed
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle reels with the news of Marley’s non-existence, the news that Kim is alive and well, and the reality of his treacherous healing process which he already felt that he had lived through. His doctor explains that the coma created dreams that didn’t exist in reality. He tells Kim about his newfound perspective on their relationship, and tells Sam about his life during the coma. No one quite believes Kyle’s story but Kyle is desperate to prove that Marley is real, and that what they shared did exist outside of his dream.
🪻,🫧,🌙
After a futile search for Marley, culminating in his breakout from the hospital and appearance at a stranger’s home that did not belong to his Marley, Kyle agrees that his brain fabricated this dream while recovering from the coma. Two days after Kyle agrees that his dream was all fabricated- he spots Marley outside of his hospital window. This Marley is different from his dream version- she wears all black, her hair hides her face like a curtain, and she speaks to no one. Desperate for answers, Kyle begins to follow her, employing the help of Kim to find out that her mom is a nurse working on the cardiac floor of the hospital where he’s staying, and that she usually waits in the hospital during her mother’s shifts. During one of his attempts to speak with Marley, Kyle finds a notebook filled with stories belonging to her. Looking closely at the stories, Kyle realizes that these are his memories from the coma. More confused than ever, Kyle desperately tries to get Marley to talk to him.
🪻,🫧,🌙
A few days before he is discharged from the hospital, Marley finally speaks to him. He learns that Marley would sit by his bed reading stories that she wrote about their lives while he was in the coma, and that his subconscious digested them and made them tangible memories in his head. He learns that she doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness after her sister’s death, and that her overwhelming feeling of culpability over the accident has led her to believe that she can never find happiness. Kyle convinces her that she does deserve happiness, and that he can be the one to help her achieve it. Starting a relationship, pieces begin to fall into place for the couple- fitting together seamlessly as though they were still in the dream. Until tragedy strikes, and Marley is involved in car accident, fighting for her life.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Desperate to bring Marley back to him, Kyle fights for her attention while at her bedside, transporting himself into their dream world. He pleads for Marley to come back, painting a portrait of what their life could look like if she stayed with him. When Marley’s sister appears in the dream world, beckoning Marley to join her, Kyle is distraught, knowing that he has lost Marley forever. Marley takes her sister’s hand, letting Kyle know that she loves him and will never leave him. Outside of the dream world, Marley flatlines. Kyle is riddled with guilt and grief, until the he sees Marley’s hand move to grasp his own.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Marley chooses to stay with Kyle, letting him know that she left him briefly to say a final goodbye to her sister, and that she is ready to begin their story- for real this time.
I hate to be the bearer of bad of bad news, but I legitimately did not enjoy this book at all. I could see and feel the plot twist coming from a mile away, and it felt so cheap. It truly felt like the authors wrote “and then they woke up” and expected it to be groundbreaking. This trope was probably there at the conception of time- this is not new or special. Marley, while sweet and endearing, was the typical manic pixie dream girl everyone who read during the early 2010’s is familiar with.
The plot-line itself was also crazy, the fact that Kyle was essentially brainwashed into a new life and fake memories by a girl who read stories she’d made up about him everyday was absurd. To know that Kyle himself and the adults around him weren’t completely weirded out by this was a testament to how incomprehensible this story was.
The sheer amount of car accidents in this novel were also absurd- 3?!?!! In one story?!?! Why?!?!
🪻,🫧,🌙
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the first 65% of this book, and loved the themes of overcoming guilt and grief to open yourself to new opinions and friendships you would have missed out on by wallowing in the past. Although I wish this one would’ve ended differently, I’m happy to cross this off of my TBR
as someone who usually flies through ya contemporary romances in a matter of hours, I knew I was struggling when it took me three entire days to finally finish this one
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle has the stereotypical dream life : he is the quarterback of his high school football team; his girlfriend, Kimberly, is the cheerleader captain; and he is being scouted for D1 colleges to play football. His dream begins to careen off course when his best friend misses a block on the field that leads to Kyle being sacked, and in turn, injured badly enough to lose any chance of ever playing football again.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Because of this injury, Kyle finds himself relying heavily on his two best friends, his need for control becoming overbearing on their own lives. Kyle’s perfect plan to attend UCLA on a D1 scholarship with Kimberly and his best friend, Sam, comes crashing down around him when Kimberly tells him at their graduation party that she feels they need space apart from each other, and that she has been accepted into Berkeley and plans on attending.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Overwhelmed with the grief of his perfectly crafted life falling to pieces around him, Kyle leaves his graduation party tailed by Kimberly, running to his car in the rain. As Kimberly enters the car, they drive off into a storm, Kyle desperately trying to understand why his relationship is crumbling around him, and whether or not it’s fixable.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle and Kimberly pull off on the side of the road as the storm intensifies- Kyle planning to pull out his final Hail Mary to save their relationship- a charm bracelet with 6 charms, each charm a representation of one of their six years together. Before Kyle can pull this off, their car is crushed into oncoming traffic, and when he wakes up Kimberly is dead.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Grappling with the death of Kimberly, a severe brain injury, and a broken femur, Kyle is forced to confront his grief, guilt, and shame, and truly begin a journey of introspection.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Haunted in his dreams by Kimberly telling him “not to let go”, he reflects on her words to him at the graduation party, and learns that maybe letting go is exactly what he needs to do in order to move forward. Visiting Kimberly’s grave, he’s introduced to a mysterious girl suffering her own loss, whose quiet shyness and timid smile may just pull him out of his despair.
🪻,🫧,🌙
As Kyle grows closer to his new confidante, Marley, bits and pieces of his life suddenly become more clear. He learns that Sam has been in love with Kimberly for years, and that his own relationship with Kim has been largely superficial, charged with silly arguments and incompatibilities that were overlooked simply because he felt that he could not live without her.
🪻,🫧,🌙
As Kyle and Marley begin to open up to each other, Marley effectively pulls him out of the rut he’s been stuck in since the accident, motivating him to take up sports journalism, and encouraging him to break out of the confines he set over his life. Kyle does the same for Marley, slowly getting her to open up about her sister’s tragic accident, and the guilt she feels over the situation.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
🪻,🫧,🌙
Everything seems to click into place in Kyle’s life, his relationship with Marley blossoming, his friendship with Sam mended after his shocking admission of love for Kim, his internship, and his healing brain injury. Kyle and Marley spend an entire year sharing stories, feeding ducks at the pond, spending holidays together, and healing. <b>Until Kyle wakes up in a hospital bed, told that he was in a coma for weeks… and that his life with Marley never actually existed
🪻,🫧,🌙
Kyle reels with the news of Marley’s non-existence, the news that Kim is alive and well, and the reality of his treacherous healing process which he already felt that he had lived through. His doctor explains that the coma created dreams that didn’t exist in reality. He tells Kim about his newfound perspective on their relationship, and tells Sam about his life during the coma. No one quite believes Kyle’s story but Kyle is desperate to prove that Marley is real, and that what they shared did exist outside of his dream.
🪻,🫧,🌙
After a futile search for Marley, culminating in his breakout from the hospital and appearance at a stranger’s home that did not belong to his Marley, Kyle agrees that his brain fabricated this dream while recovering from the coma. Two days after Kyle agrees that his dream was all fabricated- he spots Marley outside of his hospital window. This Marley is different from his dream version- she wears all black, her hair hides her face like a curtain, and she speaks to no one. Desperate for answers, Kyle begins to follow her, employing the help of Kim to find out that her mom is a nurse working on the cardiac floor of the hospital where he’s staying, and that she usually waits in the hospital during her mother’s shifts. During one of his attempts to speak with Marley, Kyle finds a notebook filled with stories belonging to her. Looking closely at the stories, Kyle realizes that these are his memories from the coma. More confused than ever, Kyle desperately tries to get Marley to talk to him.
🪻,🫧,🌙
A few days before he is discharged from the hospital, Marley finally speaks to him. He learns that Marley would sit by his bed reading stories that she wrote about their lives while he was in the coma, and that his subconscious digested them and made them tangible memories in his head. He learns that she doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness after her sister’s death, and that her overwhelming feeling of culpability over the accident has led her to believe that she can never find happiness. Kyle convinces her that she does deserve happiness, and that he can be the one to help her achieve it. Starting a relationship, pieces begin to fall into place for the couple- fitting together seamlessly as though they were still in the dream. Until tragedy strikes, and Marley is involved in car accident, fighting for her life.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Desperate to bring Marley back to him, Kyle fights for her attention while at her bedside, transporting himself into their dream world. He pleads for Marley to come back, painting a portrait of what their life could look like if she stayed with him. When Marley’s sister appears in the dream world, beckoning Marley to join her, Kyle is distraught, knowing that he has lost Marley forever. Marley takes her sister’s hand, letting Kyle know that she loves him and will never leave him. Outside of the dream world, Marley flatlines. Kyle is riddled with guilt and grief, until the he sees Marley’s hand move to grasp his own.
🪻,🫧,🌙
Marley chooses to stay with Kyle, letting him know that she left him briefly to say a final goodbye to her sister, and that she is ready to begin their story- for real this time.
I hate to be the bearer of bad of bad news, but I legitimately did not enjoy this book at all. I could see and feel the plot twist coming from a mile away, and it felt so cheap. It truly felt like the authors wrote “and then they woke up” and expected it to be groundbreaking. This trope was probably there at the conception of time- this is not new or special. Marley, while sweet and endearing, was the typical manic pixie dream girl everyone who read during the early 2010’s is familiar with.
The plot-line itself was also crazy, the fact that Kyle was essentially brainwashed into a new life and fake memories by a girl who read stories she’d made up about him everyday was absurd. To know that Kyle himself and the adults around him weren’t completely weirded out by this was a testament to how incomprehensible this story was.
The sheer amount of car accidents in this novel were also absurd- 3?!?!! In one story?!?! Why?!?!
🪻,🫧,🌙
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the first 65% of this book, and loved the themes of overcoming guilt and grief to open yourself to new opinions and friendships you would have missed out on by wallowing in the past. Although I wish this one would’ve ended differently, I’m happy to cross this off of my TBR
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Medical content, and Death
gabi_715's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
chireadsandchill's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Medical content, Car accident, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
the_embodiment_of_chaos's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Child death
Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, and Death of parent
thefloralbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Child death
urmomcom's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Car accident
jjjjo's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Car accident
Moderate: Gaslighting
vickeyreads's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
OH MY GOD IDK WHAT TO SAY OTHER THAN I LOVED THIS BOOK.
EASILY OMG THAT TWIST I LOVED SEEING THIS RELATIONSHIP BLOSSOM TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL! WOULD RECOMMEND OMG.
Those were my initial thoughts/reactions when I first finished this book.
Overall, I loved both Marley and Kyle respectively, especially their own journeys battling their own griefs.
As a twin, I really felt for Marley when she was grieving for her sister. Like her feeling responsible for her death made sense cuz I feel responsible for my sister when we cross the street. I was intrigued by Marley as soon as she is introduced. She is a storyteller and continues to be one for her own story, including the ones she makes up.
I enjoyed Kyle’s journey throughout his grief about Kim. It’s understandable as she was in his life since middle school and together since. Seeing him transform from this grieving living in the basement shut-in to a caring and truly loving human being in his relationship with Marley.
The only thing I remember about Sam was he was too drunk for this story.
The plot twist was something I could’ve never expected and made me question if I was reading the same book.
I hope to read more of her books!!!!
EASILY OMG THAT TWIST I LOVED SEEING THIS RELATIONSHIP BLOSSOM TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL! WOULD RECOMMEND OMG.
Those were my initial thoughts/reactions when I first finished this book.
Overall, I loved both Marley and Kyle respectively, especially their own journeys battling their own griefs.
As a twin, I really felt for Marley when she was grieving for her sister. Like her feeling responsible for her death made sense cuz I feel responsible for my sister when we cross the street. I was intrigued by Marley as soon as she is introduced. She is a storyteller and continues to be one for her own story, including the ones she makes up.
I enjoyed Kyle’s journey throughout his grief about Kim. It’s understandable as she was in his life since middle school and together since. Seeing him transform from this grieving living in the basement shut-in to a caring and truly loving human being in his relationship with Marley.
The only thing I remember about Sam was he was too drunk for this story.
The plot twist was something I could’ve never expected and made me question if I was reading the same book.
I hope to read more of her books!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Grief
laheath's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Such an emotional book! I thought I had it figured out and was wrong as usual. It was interesting to see how things transpired and the twists were big surprises. Some reviewers were not happy with the unusual circumstances in the plot, but similar accounts have been widely documented. My big issue with the book was the age difference between two of the main characters, but I guess that's the mom in me talking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Medical trauma, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing