It's so adorable!
We follow around two main characters, Jonah and Dylan, who really dislike each other.

The author made the characters feel so really with so many layers and complexity to them. They're not as one-dimensional as others perceive them to be, and for a time, they look at each very superficially. But that's what it's about.

Both of them are under the burden of their own personal burdens and traumas and responsibilities but somehow despite making mistakes and hurting each other, they are able to get past all that and fall in love.
Both of them are going through very tough situations caused by absent parents and bad financial situations, forced to take on responsibilities that they are not meant for, such as earning and full time caring for 3 younger siblings.

Jonah has nobody to depend on, and that has conditioned him to never even ask for help or rely on someone in the first place. He's not comfortable with somebody lending him a hand, and gets defensive. And this is one of the dysfunctional habits that he learns to overcome throughout the journey of the book.

Dylan often struggles with anxiety and panic attacks because of an estranged relationship and a violent attack he witnessed when he was a child.

The true impact of the book lied in their individual character development journeys.
I also loved seeing the interactions between their families and their daily life.
The Spanish endearments, the banter, the DENIAL uff… absolute perfection.

I always say make sure to point it out when I find it in romance books- YA or adult- are that the best kind of Romance books are stories where the characters are just as compelling as individuals as their relationship.
I think the author created two amazing characters whom we got to look deeply into their vulnerabilities, flaws and personalities. I got so attached to them by the end of it.

It was fun, engaging that also makes you feel. It is also one of those books that along the line, teaches you empathy.

The writing is also perfect because it matches the tone of the story. I find that I'm losing my preference for books where the tone of the dialogue or descriptions is a little young? If you see my blog or Instagram, you'd notice that I mostly read fantasy, and the last few months I have been mainly adult fantasy. So I've gotten more comfortable reading more description-heavy stories.

“Jonah’s hanging on by a thread,” Dylan says, speaking over me. “He spends his week working to provide for his sisters. His dad is an alcoholic
and isn’t around to help manage anything, so he’s basically raising his sisters by himself.”

“I can do it!” I half yell, half sob. My shirt sags and my body itches from rainwater, but I don’t care. The things I’m feeling within me are far worse, far more painful. “I have the resolve! It’s all I’ve ever had! I have me! I take care of them! I protect them! It’s my job to stay in control, and nobody can take that away from me!”

It’s a great balance between these highly emotional, and impactful moments vs moments like these:

“Piss,” he says. “Shit. Balls. Fuck.”
With that heartfelt message, he swivels and stomps back down to the snow-slicked driveway.

And in this story the writing felt very age appropriate. More in the upper YA range. It matches the seriousness of some of the themes it deals with.

And one of my favorite kinds of descriptions in the story were the food descriptions. Dylan’s Brazilian culture is an important part of his personality.

To conclude: I highly, highly recommend picking this one up.

Darker by Four by June CL Tan

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced