Summary: Macy and Elliot become neighbours and close friends as they share their summer days reading books, laughing, talking and sharing their hardships and accomplishes. When something major happens, Macy decided to make a decision, which has then made them become strangers several years later. In order for them to find their connection again, they will need to overcome what happened all those years ago.

The cover is honestly really pretty. It seemed to grab my attention, which is why I originally decided to purchase the book in the first place.

Review: The book overall was a really good read. My two favourite characters in the book were Macy and her dad. I was a fan of Elliot at first, but as the story went on I started hating his character and to be honest felt as if Macy was better off without connecting with him. I also felt as if she didn’t have to settle for an emotionless relationship/marriage and that she could’ve been better off even being single or with someone completely different. I was definitely pissed off at the last couple of chapters when we find out what happened for it to get to the point of why Elliot and Macy stopped talking (trying not to give any spoilers).

The story was also written with alternating chapters of past and present. I normally don’t like reading those kind of books, but in the case of this story, it kind of helped me understand the situation a little more. It also made me flip flop between “oh, they’re great together, hope they get their happy ending”, “but if they were so great together.. why haven’t they spoken in years”.

This book also made me feel very heart broken for Macy. And this is not the kind of “love story” I enjoy, as by time we got to the ending, it made me realize what a jerk Elliot had become and that in my view their relationship kind of seemed toxic in a sense. As much as I found it a page turner; I truthfully don’t find myself re-reading this book.

Top 10 Quotes:

1) “I always knew that he would never fall in love again after Mom. In that way, my dad was always easy to understand. He was straightforward and quiet: he walked quietly, spoke quietly; even his anger was quiet. It was his love that was booming. His love was a roaring, vociferous bellow. And after he loved Mom with the strength of the sun, and after the cancer killed her with a gentle gasp, I figured he would be hoarse for the rest of his life and wouldn’t ever want another woman the way he’d wanted her.”

2) “In that case, I like living alone, but would rather live with you. I like sleeping alone, but would rather have you in my bed. I like having friends over for Thanksgiving, but would rather it just be the two of us, doing our first Thanksgiving as a couple, eating turkey off the bone, cuddling on the floor together.”

3) “Dad knew I couldn’t possibly think of mom more. And he wouldn’t try to help me think of her less, either. It wouldn’t help. Just like holding your breath doesn’t change your body’s need for oxygen.”

4) “I gave myself three more seconds to look at him, and it’s like another punch to the gut. He’s my person. He’s always been my person. My best friend, my confidant, probably the love of my life. And I’ve spent the last eleven years being angry and self-righteous. But at the end of the day, he tore a hole in us, and fate ripped it wide open.”

5) “Treat your body carefully. Take care of it. Don’t let anyone abuse it, and don’t abuse it yourself. Every inch of your skin I made diligently; months I slaved over you. You are my masterpiece.”

6) “Relief and anguish pulse heavily in my blood. I’ve wanted to see him every day. But also, I never wanted to see him again.”

7) “Admissions make feelings intensify simply because they are given space to breathe. Admissions lead to love, and admitting love is like tying yourself to a train track.”

8) “It’s a perfect description. I never got to fall out of love. I just had to move on.”

9) “I think of her everywhere. She is my everywhere, in every moment, and also she’s in no one moment. She misses every single one of my moments and I’m not sure who that is harder for: me surviving here without her, or her without me, existing wherever she is.”

10) “I never got to fall out of love. I just had to move on.”

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️