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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This made me laugh,cry,and giggle and I had the best fucking time! I consumed this so quickly and it was one of my top 5 romance reads of 2024!
~5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
This was my first Marley Valentine book, and I was impressed with how emotional it was. The author did a great job tackling issues around loss and grief.
Deacon never really liked Julian because he was jealous of how perfectly he fit in with his family when he always felt like an outsider. Julian was his brother's best friend turned boyfriend. They are both struggling with grief after Deacon's brother died. They come together during the year anniversary of his death and realize they have an intense connection. Deacon has never been with a man, but he is very attracted to Julian. I loved seeing them come together and Deacon finally opening up to someone.
I will say Deacon's mother was a complete monster!
This audiobook was amazing. It was narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige and they both brought so much emotion and angst to their performances.
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
This was my first Marley Valentine book, and I was impressed with how emotional it was. The author did a great job tackling issues around loss and grief.
Deacon never really liked Julian because he was jealous of how perfectly he fit in with his family when he always felt like an outsider. Julian was his brother's best friend turned boyfriend. They are both struggling with grief after Deacon's brother died. They come together during the year anniversary of his death and realize they have an intense connection. Deacon has never been with a man, but he is very attracted to Julian. I loved seeing them come together and Deacon finally opening up to someone.
I will say Deacon's mother was a complete monster!
This audiobook was amazing. It was narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige and they both brought so much emotion and angst to their performances.
I am ruined. This book has ruined me.
I have never experienced bereavement written so well and so powerfully. It’s not something I’ve experienced myself so when I read about it in fiction, it usually rings hollow - there’s a disconnect there that I’ve never been able to breach. But this book? I felt it everywhere and it made my heart hurt. It was perfect.
The tentative friendship and blossoming relationship between Deacon and Julian was so beautiful and I couldn’t put the damn story down until I fell asleep with my kindle on my face. I have so many highlighted moments, stunning emotions, prose that cut me deeeeeep.
The scene when the mum is standing on the porch at Christmas Eve? I SCREAMED. My heart was literally pounding.
The vulnerability and strength depicted, the trust in love and moving forward? Destroyed me.
And Rhett’s letter at the end???? I was a goddamn sobbing wreck.
It’s SO hard to find stories about queer men that are written this well, this thoughtfully, this originally. It’s one of the best I’ve read so far.
In short, read this book or be a loser xo
I have never experienced bereavement written so well and so powerfully. It’s not something I’ve experienced myself so when I read about it in fiction, it usually rings hollow - there’s a disconnect there that I’ve never been able to breach. But this book? I felt it everywhere and it made my heart hurt. It was perfect.
The tentative friendship and blossoming relationship between Deacon and Julian was so beautiful and I couldn’t put the damn story down until I fell asleep with my kindle on my face. I have so many highlighted moments, stunning emotions, prose that cut me deeeeeep.
The scene when the mum is standing on the porch at Christmas Eve? I SCREAMED. My heart was literally pounding.
The vulnerability and strength depicted, the trust in love and moving forward? Destroyed me.
And Rhett’s letter at the end???? I was a goddamn sobbing wreck.
It’s SO hard to find stories about queer men that are written this well, this thoughtfully, this originally. It’s one of the best I’ve read so far.
In short, read this book or be a loser xo
2.5 stars
Listened to the audio of this one. The first ~40% of this book was very good. The themes of grief and inadequacy hit pretty hard. I loved the lead-up to the forbidden romance. How do you deal with burgeoning feelings for someone while balancing guilt over the ghost of a man whose memory you're trying to respect? Good shit.
The rest of the book doesn't live up, though. I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry between the MCs once they got together, and while there was some angst over the dead brother/boyfriend, it didn't feel nearly as impactful as I wanted it to be. There's a moment near the end with the brothers' mom that hit me pretty hard (heh), but then the author kind of just. Didn't deal with the fallout of that beyond the initial reaction and some off-page exposition.
It just went too saccharine too quickly for my liking, I guess is my point.
Listened to the audio of this one. The first ~40% of this book was very good. The themes of grief and inadequacy hit pretty hard. I loved the lead-up to the forbidden romance. How do you deal with burgeoning feelings for someone while balancing guilt over the ghost of a man whose memory you're trying to respect? Good shit.
The rest of the book doesn't live up, though. I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry between the MCs once they got together, and while there was some angst over the dead brother/boyfriend, it didn't feel nearly as impactful as I wanted it to be. There's a moment near the end with the brothers' mom that hit me pretty hard (heh), but then the author kind of just. Didn't deal with the fallout of that beyond the initial reaction and some off-page exposition.
It just went too saccharine too quickly for my liking, I guess is my point.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🌶️🌶️ - medium spice, multiple explicit scenes
Thoughts:
- The narrators were excellent. This was a toned down version of Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige was a new-to-me narrator whom I loved!
- The dynamic between Deacon and Julian was extremely complicated. They were both grieving in their own way, they’d never been close or even liked each other, but suddenly they felt connected and drawn to each other. The back and forth between them is kept my attention and tugged at my heart.
- Eventually, they worked through the awkward and became really close. The way broody Deacon became so happy was adorable 🥰
- The complicated relationship between the members of this family, including Julian, were so tricky. Lots of hurt and tip-toeing around issues. I was glad to see the big problems addressed towards the end. It also makes me very curious about how things will play out in the sequel novella 👀
The balance between angst and sweetness and drama was very well done. Grief and guilt led to connection and love. It felt like the perfect recipe of it all.
Thoughts:
- The narrators were excellent. This was a toned down version of Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige was a new-to-me narrator whom I loved!
- The dynamic between Deacon and Julian was extremely complicated. They were both grieving in their own way, they’d never been close or even liked each other, but suddenly they felt connected and drawn to each other. The back and forth between them is kept my attention and tugged at my heart.
- Eventually, they worked through the awkward and became really close. The way broody Deacon became so happy was adorable 🥰
- The complicated relationship between the members of this family, including Julian, were so tricky. Lots of hurt and tip-toeing around issues. I was glad to see the big problems addressed towards the end. It also makes me very curious about how things will play out in the sequel novella 👀
The balance between angst and sweetness and drama was very well done. Grief and guilt led to connection and love. It felt like the perfect recipe of it all.
This book did things to my insides that I may not recover from.
The sadness of the death of Rhett and the way that it effected both Julian and Deacon was heartbreaking. But how he was able to bring them back together was beautiful.
The spicy was spot on and gosh the angst was next level.
This was my 1st Marley Valentine book and it won’t be my last
The sadness of the death of Rhett and the way that it effected both Julian and Deacon was heartbreaking. But how he was able to bring them back together was beautiful.
The spicy was spot on and gosh the angst was next level.
This was my 1st Marley Valentine book and it won’t be my last
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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