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nadine_booklover's review
4.0
4.5 stars
"I would never be more. He would never love me. And that was the worst part. Because I still held hope that he might, even when I knew he wouldn't."
This book was my first book by Len Webster. And I totally fell in love with it. Even though it is not written in the first POV, I had no trouble in relating to the characters and making their feelings my own. Right from the heartbreaking epilogue I knew I was up to some highly emotional read.
"But an easy life isn't worth breathing for. Life is only as temporary as we make it."
With each chapter, no matter if it was in the past - explaining happenings during last year of High School - or if it was what happened in the present, the knot in my stomach got tighter and tighter. IMO this story is angsty because you wish desperately for a happy ending knowing at the same time that you probably won't get it.
"She loved him completely ... and he loved her fractionally. Just enough to make her is best friend but not a sliver more."
AJ and Evan are quite a pair. A love that was made in heaven, fulfilled on earth. And yes, sometimes you need to loose to realize what you love most.
Evan took AJ for granted. He cared for her deeply but she cared more for him. She was more selfless when it came to Evan than it was the other way around.
What I really enjoyed about those characters was that they truly behaved like young inexperienced teenagers finding their way in life. Their struggles felt real and yes, sometimes annoying. But we were all teenagers once and looking for our right way in life. They don't have to be all grown up and make the right and most logic decisions.
"You're the meaning of my life. You, Alexandra Parker, are my oxygen. My eight protons and eight neutrons."
The Theory of Unrequited is a really great YA love story with the guarantee of a broken heart by the end of the book.
"Her soft, slightly warm lips were the life he needed. She breathed oxygen in him with each flutter of their kiss."
"I would never be more. He would never love me. And that was the worst part. Because I still held hope that he might, even when I knew he wouldn't."
This book was my first book by Len Webster. And I totally fell in love with it. Even though it is not written in the first POV, I had no trouble in relating to the characters and making their feelings my own. Right from the heartbreaking epilogue I knew I was up to some highly emotional read.
"But an easy life isn't worth breathing for. Life is only as temporary as we make it."
With each chapter, no matter if it was in the past - explaining happenings during last year of High School - or if it was what happened in the present, the knot in my stomach got tighter and tighter. IMO this story is angsty because you wish desperately for a happy ending knowing at the same time that you probably won't get it.
"She loved him completely ... and he loved her fractionally. Just enough to make her is best friend but not a sliver more."
AJ and Evan are quite a pair. A love that was made in heaven, fulfilled on earth. And yes, sometimes you need to loose to realize what you love most.
Evan took AJ for granted. He cared for her deeply but she cared more for him. She was more selfless when it came to Evan than it was the other way around.
What I really enjoyed about those characters was that they truly behaved like young inexperienced teenagers finding their way in life. Their struggles felt real and yes, sometimes annoying. But we were all teenagers once and looking for our right way in life. They don't have to be all grown up and make the right and most logic decisions.
"You're the meaning of my life. You, Alexandra Parker, are my oxygen. My eight protons and eight neutrons."
The Theory of Unrequited is a really great YA love story with the guarantee of a broken heart by the end of the book.
"Her soft, slightly warm lips were the life he needed. She breathed oxygen in him with each flutter of their kiss."
kaydanielsromance's review
5.0
The title, The Theory of Unrequited, should tell you alone that love is out of reach, but the story of Evan and AJ goes so much deeper than just untouchable love.
AJ, also known as Alex, Alexi, or even Alexandrea, depending on whom she is talking to, has fallen in love with her best friend, Evan Gilmore. Unfortunately, Evan only sees AJ as his best friend. They have grown up together and he has nothing more than sister like feelings towards her.
However, his older brother, Kyle, has made his feelings pretty clear that he is in love with Alexi. Unfortunately for Kyle, AJ only loves him like a big brother. So the tangled web of unrequited is cast.
Yet, that is only the beginning of a complicated love formula. Anyone who understands algebra (that isn't me), but from what I remember, you were always trying to solve for x. a+b=x or y+z=x. ^jk$oo/hd#=x or something complicated like that. Yes, I know this is why I write and no longer attempt to understand why English needs to enter the number system. Anyway, my point is you had to find the mystery number to solve the highly complicated math problem.
AJ realized she was the mystery number in their web of a highly complicated love problem. She discovered she was the common denominator, so to speak, and decided to remove herself from the equation. Making a choice to find herself again, find out who she was before she was stuck in the middle of the Gilmore's unrequited love lives.
Neither Evan nor Kyle were aware of what they were doing to her, silently killing her own happiness, while at the same time also killing their own.
It isn't until AJ severs her relationship with Evan that she is able to break free and try to rebuild her broken heart. Reflection and time are a beautiful and horrible gift all wrapped into one package.
GAH!! The Theory of Unrequited ends on a major cliffhanger. Be prepared for a wonderful story that will take you on an emotional journey, but again I say, GAH!! There were so many moments this book broke my heart and yet AJ proved to be braver than I could have ever imagined. I love this book and wish I could give it more stars.
Book 2 in the series, The Solution to Unrequited, is scheduled for Mid 2018 and it cannot be published soon enough. Suffering unrequited love is hard enough, waiting to find out what happens to Evan and AJ's unrequited triangle is going to be absolute misery.
AJ, also known as Alex, Alexi, or even Alexandrea, depending on whom she is talking to, has fallen in love with her best friend, Evan Gilmore. Unfortunately, Evan only sees AJ as his best friend. They have grown up together and he has nothing more than sister like feelings towards her.
However, his older brother, Kyle, has made his feelings pretty clear that he is in love with Alexi. Unfortunately for Kyle, AJ only loves him like a big brother. So the tangled web of unrequited is cast.
Yet, that is only the beginning of a complicated love formula. Anyone who understands algebra (that isn't me), but from what I remember, you were always trying to solve for x. a+b=x or y+z=x. ^jk$oo/hd#=x or something complicated like that. Yes, I know this is why I write and no longer attempt to understand why English needs to enter the number system. Anyway, my point is you had to find the mystery number to solve the highly complicated math problem.
AJ realized she was the mystery number in their web of a highly complicated love problem. She discovered she was the common denominator, so to speak, and decided to remove herself from the equation. Making a choice to find herself again, find out who she was before she was stuck in the middle of the Gilmore's unrequited love lives.
Neither Evan nor Kyle were aware of what they were doing to her, silently killing her own happiness, while at the same time also killing their own.
It isn't until AJ severs her relationship with Evan that she is able to break free and try to rebuild her broken heart. Reflection and time are a beautiful and horrible gift all wrapped into one package.
GAH!! The Theory of Unrequited ends on a major cliffhanger. Be prepared for a wonderful story that will take you on an emotional journey, but again I say, GAH!! There were so many moments this book broke my heart and yet AJ proved to be braver than I could have ever imagined. I love this book and wish I could give it more stars.
Book 2 in the series, The Solution to Unrequited, is scheduled for Mid 2018 and it cannot be published soon enough. Suffering unrequited love is hard enough, waiting to find out what happens to Evan and AJ's unrequited triangle is going to be absolute misery.
beckyrendon's review
5.0
4.5 stars
It hurts.
Love hurts.
Unrequited love tears the soul apart.
Unrequited love with your oldest and dearest friend is a splitting of your soul. Tearing one whole part into two jagged edged pieces.
The Theory of Unrequited is heartache and love. It's grief and mourning. It's young love and epiphanies. It's growing up.- I never want to grow up. Len Webster ruined it for me. I never want to live in reality if the it is at the expense of the dream. Let me explain in all my crazy...
I have always wanted AJ and Evan's relationship. I have always longed for the best friend that grew up with you and knows you. The one person who could understand without being spoken to. I am jealous of the fairy tale. But the reality of it hurts!!! Because ignorance is bliss right? Before feelings were realized, it was everything. Now we are left picking up the shattered remains of broken hearts and dreams...So I opt for the fairy tale.
OR...perhaps The Solution To Unrequited! Like right now!!!!!! are you seeing this Ms. Webster? I could fly there and read it over your shoulder as you type because I need it more than i need 8 protons and 8 neutrons to breathe!
I teared up. I had tears flowing. I gasped. I choked on a sob (multiple times). I shook with anger. I shook with grief. I was shocked and appalled. I fell in love. I got hurt. I hit hard. I may have switched loyalties due to some not so wonderful behavior...But in the end, I want only one thing and even I'm not willing to ruin the allure of fairy tales by saying it in this review.
Please Ms. Webster give us all something wonderful to cry about. I don't want to hurt anymore. (Okay, that was a lie. I'm a masochist when it comes to angst. Just give me more!)
reviewed for the Sweet Spot Sisterhood
P.S. those that know me and my grabby hands for more (always more) will be shocked to hear that I am avoiding the bonus section of book 2 like the plague. I don't want the tease. I don't need the temptation. I'm already on edge. I will probably cave soon though.
It hurts.
Love hurts.
Unrequited love tears the soul apart.
Unrequited love with your oldest and dearest friend is a splitting of your soul. Tearing one whole part into two jagged edged pieces.
The Theory of Unrequited is heartache and love. It's grief and mourning. It's young love and epiphanies. It's growing up.- I never want to grow up. Len Webster ruined it for me. I never want to live in reality if the it is at the expense of the dream. Let me explain in all my crazy...
I have always wanted AJ and Evan's relationship. I have always longed for the best friend that grew up with you and knows you. The one person who could understand without being spoken to. I am jealous of the fairy tale. But the reality of it hurts!!! Because ignorance is bliss right? Before feelings were realized, it was everything. Now we are left picking up the shattered remains of broken hearts and dreams...So I opt for the fairy tale.
OR...perhaps The Solution To Unrequited! Like right now!!!!!! are you seeing this Ms. Webster? I could fly there and read it over your shoulder as you type because I need it more than i need 8 protons and 8 neutrons to breathe!
I teared up. I had tears flowing. I gasped. I choked on a sob (multiple times). I shook with anger. I shook with grief. I was shocked and appalled. I fell in love. I got hurt. I hit hard. I may have switched loyalties due to some not so wonderful behavior...But in the end, I want only one thing and even I'm not willing to ruin the allure of fairy tales by saying it in this review.
Please Ms. Webster give us all something wonderful to cry about. I don't want to hurt anymore. (Okay, that was a lie. I'm a masochist when it comes to angst. Just give me more!)
reviewed for the Sweet Spot Sisterhood
P.S. those that know me and my grabby hands for more (always more) will be shocked to hear that I am avoiding the bonus section of book 2 like the plague. I don't want the tease. I don't need the temptation. I'm already on edge. I will probably cave soon though.
ssrosepetal's review
4.0
To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. The cover looked promising, the blurb sounding intriguing, and my interest was peaked. I'm glad I gave this book a chance. AJ (Alex and she'd prefer to be called) and Evan were in interesting pair. Best friends for as long as they can remember they were each other's everything. They were young and naive so it doesn't surprise me that they didn't see what was in front of them until it was gone, especially Evan (he is a guy after all). I felt bad for Alex and her struggles but I'm glad that she started to see the mistakes she made it handling this situation near the end of this story. I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand the whole wanting to learn to live for yourself thing, but she could have handled it more maturely. That ending... so simple yet so not at the same time. I dislike cliffhangers because I just want to continue reading and get to their HEA. I'll definitely be patiently (hopefully) waiting for the conclusion to AJ and Evan! *I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this story for an honest and unbiased review.*
bookflutter's review
5.0
This is my first read by this author (certainly won’t be my last) and OH MY LLAMAS- the ending—- I hope that was only the beginning! Ahhhhhh! I need book two stat!
Evan and AJ have been best friends forever- this story filled with love, betrayal, drama, angst, love triangle .....it takes falling in love with your best friend and your mind making decisions for you to shut your heartbreak off that can hurt you more-
AJ is beautiful- she’s in love with her best friend Evan—- Evan is in love with her as well but his mind has not caught up with him so in turn AJ’s heart keeps breaking and she gives up Evan and disappears. Until...... he finally finds her....... but is he too late????????? For the record I am team Evan and Ivy all the way
Evan and AJ have been best friends forever- this story filled with love, betrayal, drama, angst, love triangle .....it takes falling in love with your best friend and your mind making decisions for you to shut your heartbreak off that can hurt you more-
AJ is beautiful- she’s in love with her best friend Evan—- Evan is in love with her as well but his mind has not caught up with him so in turn AJ’s heart keeps breaking and she gives up Evan and disappears. Until...... he finally finds her....... but is he too late????????? For the record I am team Evan and Ivy all the way
elizabethsprettylittlereads's review
4.0
Tears came to surface within the first few pages of AJ’s prologue. Len Webster took me on a whirlwind of nostalgia with The Theory of Unrequited. It took me back to my time as a silly, naive teenager—dealing with all those new and confusing feelings. And not knowing what to do or say about those feelings. I experienced, like I'm sure many have, at a point during high school—literally my senior year just like AJ, with a friend who I adored, and one who made me feel very similar to the way she did.
“She loved him completely … and he loved her fractionally. Just enough to make her his best friend but not a sliver more.”
This story held so much angst, love, growing-pains, and ultimately betrayal. There’s so much that goes unsaid by these characters, dancing around each other and the way they feel. Times you remind yourself that these are teenagers, and it’s the way most go so cluelessly about things. I love how Len intertwined AJ and Evan’s past with the present, the events that led up to AJ turning her back on a pact with Evan. She did a wonderful job at bringing all these emotions with the story and with her characters.
“She breathed oxygen in him with each flutter of their kiss. He knew right from wrong. He was aware that he was kissing his best friend. He was convinced that this one flawless kiss was right.”
The Theory of Unrequited leaves us on a tortuous cliffhanger, I say that dramatically and affectionately because I can’t wait for book 2, The Solution of Unrequited. Also, I want to add that I’m swooning hardcore over Evan’s older brother Kyle! <3
becsa's review
4.0
I really liked Alex and found that she seemed to be living her life for everyone else and not herself. I was so proud of her for choosing a different school and I loved that she kept it secret as she needed to find herself. I was so upset when I saw that she missed her own deadlines due to Evan in different ways and I wanted her to find her own happiness.
I personally didn’t like Evan so many times during the book. I knew he cared for her but at the same time he out himself first so often and then had to make up things to Alex, like prom. I was also mad at Kyle for prom as well and it was because of both brothers that she was unable to date other guys due to them having some sort of claim over her. I understood why Evan was mad at her for not showing up but he didn’t get it at all.
I thought Landon Carmichael was awesome and I loved the banter that he and Alex had together. He truly listened to everything that Alex said and remembered everything. I liked how he made her feel beautiful and appreciated.
As soon as certain things happened I knew the ending was coming. I know it had to happen, but I am hoping that the next book ends how I want it to and not the other way!!
I personally didn’t like Evan so many times during the book. I knew he cared for her but at the same time he out himself first so often and then had to make up things to Alex, like prom. I was also mad at Kyle for prom as well and it was because of both brothers that she was unable to date other guys due to them having some sort of claim over her. I understood why Evan was mad at her for not showing up but he didn’t get it at all.
I thought Landon Carmichael was awesome and I loved the banter that he and Alex had together. He truly listened to everything that Alex said and remembered everything. I liked how he made her feel beautiful and appreciated.
As soon as certain things happened I knew the ending was coming. I know it had to happen, but I am hoping that the next book ends how I want it to and not the other way!!
bookishbaobao's review
5.0
Another amazing book by Len Webster.
I told myself to slow down, don’t finish the book in one night, savor it, but I didn’t listen.
The Theory of Unrequited is such a beautiful story of a girl (Alexandra aka AJ) who has been best friends with Evan who she has grown to love in more ways than just a friend. She loves him so much that she lost a part of herself and sacrificed her dream school to remain by Evan’s side, and now she is fed up and separated herself from him by going to Duke instead of Stanford (the pact).
I loved that this book brought back characters that we’ve grown to love from a couple of Webster’s past books and I love the new characters that were introduced.
So many ‘ships’ are sailing tonight!!
I don’t even know who I’m rooting for.
OTP Possibilities:
Evan x AJ
Alexi x Kyle
Connecticut x Massachusetts
Note: there is a cliffhanger!! Bring tissues (lots of ‘em)
I hope everyone will find their OTP one day and I hope to find mine too.
Read it, Love it, and Cry with the Rest of Us.
I told myself to slow down, don’t finish the book in one night, savor it, but I didn’t listen.
The Theory of Unrequited is such a beautiful story of a girl (Alexandra aka AJ) who has been best friends with Evan who she has grown to love in more ways than just a friend. She loves him so much that she lost a part of herself and sacrificed her dream school to remain by Evan’s side, and now she is fed up and separated herself from him by going to Duke instead of Stanford (the pact).
I loved that this book brought back characters that we’ve grown to love from a couple of Webster’s past books and I love the new characters that were introduced.
So many ‘ships’ are sailing tonight!!
I don’t even know who I’m rooting for.
OTP Possibilities:
Evan x AJ
Alexi x Kyle
Connecticut x Massachusetts
Note: there is a cliffhanger!! Bring tissues (lots of ‘em)
I hope everyone will find their OTP one day and I hope to find mine too.
Read it, Love it, and Cry with the Rest of Us.
reading_with_2_book_lovers's review
4.0
wow ms webster had my heart breaking, soaring and singing with this story and AJ and Evan.
this book gave me all the feels and I devoured it in a day.
I loved that AJ and Evan were best friends made the story all so much better.
this book gave me all the feels and I devoured it in a day.
I loved that AJ and Evan were best friends made the story all so much better.
florallyplaid's review against another edition
4.0
☆☆☆☆
Oh, my! Where do I begin with AJ and Evan? This book took me through an endless, overwhelming windwhirl of emotions, a few of which I might not be able to put to words. But I'm not surprised; it's just Len's super power.
To start off, we're looking at life through the eyes of Alexandra Parker, a 17/18-year-old hard working student who's in love with the boy next door. However, her beloved Evan is completely oblivious to that fact. It's only the cherry on top to that messy situation that Evan's older brother, Kyle, is in fact completely head over heels in love with Alexandra.
This might seem like somewhat of a cliché storyline, but I guarantee you it has its own magical twists and turns that give off its unique, vibrant yet soothing aura. It emphasizes the importance of family, goes deep into the emotional side of love (other than only the physical) and strays away from the successful, flawless, alpha male MC. The Theory of Unrequited is special in its own way; it's a book you'd never come across twice in a lifetime.
Alexandra
or AJ, as Evan likes to call her when he's not being serious and heart-to-heart, is a smart, determined young girl who falls for her best friend. For the first time in her life, she has to choose between the life she has always painted for herself in her mind or give up everything she has ever dreamt of and follow the whimsical swoon of her heart and join her best friend/true love all the way across the country in a university she doesn't even really want.
The choice gets harder and lines grow blurry, especially for someone her age with little experience at love and life. She needs to set out her priorities, and she chooses her future over the love of her life, consequently threatening the fate of their already strained relationship.
Personally, I thought Alexandra is a somewhat strong character in her own way, going all in for big decisions like that, knowing how much she would have to give up in the process. She needed another chance, and she took it willingly, and she was well aware of how 'toxic love' could sometimes influence her decisions terribly.
On the other hand, Alexandra literally whorships the ground Evan walks on and forgives him for every mistake. He's a great guy, but I thought that he's also a bit selfish and egotistical and self-centred and he's completely oblivious to her feelings. He wrongs her more than a few times and exhausts all her chances, and he isn't supportive of her own choices in life.
Evan
Evan's childhood and past events are mostly his main drive. Being an unloved, unwanted child ever since he was born, he has been neglected, ignored, and he lacked the motherly touch he then later found in Alexandra's parents. Therefore, he sees her as no more than a sister and a true friend who stands by him through thick and thin, and in a way, he believes he owes it to her to give back what her parents have offered him, a solace.
Evan's changing emotions confuse him to no end, and he's torn between being faithful to his second parents and cherishing their daughter for the rest of her life, and letting his true feelings for her come to the surface. He can't admit he might be experiencing something else other than sisterly love for her only because the thought of it alone would be a tear through the complete trust her parents had given him from the start. He decides he needs to act fast and set his feelings straight, especially when, for the first time, he realises that Alexandra, whom he took for granted almost all his life, might actually be slipping through his fingers.
Evan's character is complicated and I can't tell if I like him or hate him. He's a good man, loyal, truthful, genuine and caring. He sees Alexandra in a different light from anyone else and treats her like a treasured prize, but still his past keeps haunting him, and the urge to run away from the city where he found no love or care from his own family takes over him. He hates his brother who stole the light from him and is their parents' favourite son, successful and happy and well-known across the state. It doesn't help that Kyle is in love with Alexandra. Evan slips, and we can see his true feelings for Alexandra at this point.
Yet, his burning desire to leave and never come back blinds him from the fact that he isn't putting his best friend's interests at best anymore, and he might be letting her parents down for real this time.
The story follows a steady pace of a dual alternating POV, flipping through a series of flashbacks that go deeper into the pair's pasts, until the big twist towards the end and the climax just after that. It's not a light read, based purely on the emotional connection between the characters rather than the usual story arc.
Overall, The Theory of Unrequited is a complicated, emotional story that will definitely leave you nursing a terrible book hangover and begging for more.
Oh, my! Where do I begin with AJ and Evan? This book took me through an endless, overwhelming windwhirl of emotions, a few of which I might not be able to put to words. But I'm not surprised; it's just Len's super power.
To start off, we're looking at life through the eyes of Alexandra Parker, a 17/18-year-old hard working student who's in love with the boy next door. However, her beloved Evan is completely oblivious to that fact. It's only the cherry on top to that messy situation that Evan's older brother, Kyle, is in fact completely head over heels in love with Alexandra.
This might seem like somewhat of a cliché storyline, but I guarantee you it has its own magical twists and turns that give off its unique, vibrant yet soothing aura. It emphasizes the importance of family, goes deep into the emotional side of love (other than only the physical) and strays away from the successful, flawless, alpha male MC. The Theory of Unrequited is special in its own way; it's a book you'd never come across twice in a lifetime.
Alexandra
or AJ, as Evan likes to call her when he's not being serious and heart-to-heart, is a smart, determined young girl who falls for her best friend. For the first time in her life, she has to choose between the life she has always painted for herself in her mind or give up everything she has ever dreamt of and follow the whimsical swoon of her heart and join her best friend/true love all the way across the country in a university she doesn't even really want.
The choice gets harder and lines grow blurry, especially for someone her age with little experience at love and life. She needs to set out her priorities, and she chooses her future over the love of her life, consequently threatening the fate of their already strained relationship.
Personally, I thought Alexandra is a somewhat strong character in her own way, going all in for big decisions like that, knowing how much she would have to give up in the process. She needed another chance, and she took it willingly, and she was well aware of how 'toxic love' could sometimes influence her decisions terribly.
On the other hand, Alexandra literally whorships the ground Evan walks on and forgives him for every mistake. He's a great guy, but I thought that he's also a bit selfish and egotistical and self-centred and he's completely oblivious to her feelings. He wrongs her more than a few times and exhausts all her chances, and he isn't supportive of her own choices in life.
Evan
Evan's childhood and past events are mostly his main drive. Being an unloved, unwanted child ever since he was born, he has been neglected, ignored, and he lacked the motherly touch he then later found in Alexandra's parents. Therefore, he sees her as no more than a sister and a true friend who stands by him through thick and thin, and in a way, he believes he owes it to her to give back what her parents have offered him, a solace.
Evan's changing emotions confuse him to no end, and he's torn between being faithful to his second parents and cherishing their daughter for the rest of her life, and letting his true feelings for her come to the surface. He can't admit he might be experiencing something else other than sisterly love for her only because the thought of it alone would be a tear through the complete trust her parents had given him from the start. He decides he needs to act fast and set his feelings straight, especially when, for the first time, he realises that Alexandra, whom he took for granted almost all his life, might actually be slipping through his fingers.
Evan's character is complicated and I can't tell if I like him or hate him. He's a good man, loyal, truthful, genuine and caring. He sees Alexandra in a different light from anyone else and treats her like a treasured prize, but still his past keeps haunting him, and the urge to run away from the city where he found no love or care from his own family takes over him. He hates his brother who stole the light from him and is their parents' favourite son, successful and happy and well-known across the state. It doesn't help that Kyle is in love with Alexandra. Evan slips, and we can see his true feelings for Alexandra at this point.
Yet, his burning desire to leave and never come back blinds him from the fact that he isn't putting his best friend's interests at best anymore, and he might be letting her parents down for real this time.
The story follows a steady pace of a dual alternating POV, flipping through a series of flashbacks that go deeper into the pair's pasts, until the big twist towards the end and the climax just after that. It's not a light read, based purely on the emotional connection between the characters rather than the usual story arc.
Overall, The Theory of Unrequited is a complicated, emotional story that will definitely leave you nursing a terrible book hangover and begging for more.
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