Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Winter's Eve Then, Now, & Always: A Three Kings Novel

5/5⭐️3.75/5🥵
- Where do I even begin its so much I wanna say. This book was extra special because it felt like therapy. I got a cameo from some of my favorites. The writing was top tier, character development was on point and it was fun to read. Every relationship in this book was amazing romantic, platonic, mentor/mentee, brotherhood, and literally so much more.

- Eve Valentine the baby girl of her family and the true definition of stubborn. She thinks she can fix everything herself and the things she cant fix she ignores them lol. I've never and I mean never had beef with one of A.E fmc like this before🤣. By the end of the book I sympathized with Eve a little more bc she truly thought she did the best thing for herself. However comma I feel like the time they spent apart she didn't do any healing she just buried it all and thats why she irked me so bad when shit was coming up that she couldn't control. Then its Winter mf King..... I already knew I was gonna love him because hes funny asl but baby I love him REAL BAD now. The amount of growth on these pages had me tearing up! Depression and grief are no joke and it can really make you into another person and it was amazing how he came back to his true self. Winter is definitely a charmer he knows how to make a person feel good in EVERY way. 😌

- Now lets get into this book Ms.Eve know she dead fucking wrong playing in Noah face like that. She dragged it for more than half of the book but she got it together by the end. Then Winter kept giving me butterflies this man kept me on my toes he wasn't settling. Why tf was he on Eve asssss yall. He kept it so cute but definitely made himself crystal clear he's taking EVERYTHING. It was a little found family vibe going on, then Winter was literally the best Mentor ever, we had back to back therapy sessions with Dr.Maddox, and my favorite part Eve taking accountability that she wasn't there for Winter in the way he needed. This is not to say Winter is innocent at all lol.

- Definitely in my top 5 of 2023. Enjoyed the ride with this one. Definitely recommend!

Content Warnings

nawnee's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved Winter and Eve’s story. It was a slow burn for sure, but it was all worth it in the end. This story is about grief, healing, love, therapy, forgiveness, self-reflection, and the importance of family. There are so many things going on, yet they all just come together like pieces of a puzzle. I love how this black romance story, in particular, emphasized not only the love between Winter and Eve, but also between each and every one of their loved ones. A.E. Valdez has a way with words and I must say that she has outdone herself with this one.

I also love how she briefly brought Acyn and Harlow into their story which just made it that much better

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what_karla_reads's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5/5 stars
3/5 spice

The roller coaster of emotions I had reading this book still has me in a chokehold. I loved everything about this story and loved how it came together in the end.

Tropes:
Second chance romance
Billionaire MMC
Close proximity
Soulmates
Found family
Slow burn
Trauma/healing
Mental health rep
No 3rd act break up
Dual POV

Winter & Eve are true soulmates. You could see in every flashback how much they loved each other. But grief is a tricky thing. Not everyone processes grief the same or in healthy ways. I really appreciated how well the author handled this topic. Since this is the 2nd book in a series, it is not the first time the grief is mentioned, but you can see how it affects family members differently.

I also loved how the author created two loving and strong MCs that were clearly flawed. No one was unrealistically perfect. They were so relatable and real. I found myself siding with both characters and yelling at both when they were being ridiculously stubborn 😅

And OMG, the spice... even though this read as a slow burn for the MCs, the tension and chemistry were through the roof. Did someone say, "Good girl?".... yes... yes, he did 🥵

Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves second chance romance. This is filled with examples of healthy communication, boundaries, and relationships but also tackles heavy topics that can be triggering. Mental health plays a huge part in this, so please check trigger warnings before starting.

Thank you to the author for giving me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Death of parent, grief, depression, mentions addiction, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Child abuse and neglect. Explicit sexual content and language.

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