Backdated temporarily 😉
“You’ve always belonged to her.”
This is a mid-series update because I’m reading the whole trilogy in one fell swoop but I just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update on where I am and what I’m reading so… here goes.
This is spoiler free.
It’s taken me over a year to psych myself up to reading this series.
I’ll be honest, it scared the crap out of me.
I love emotional stories — they are my favorite kind — but this one, ho boy!! I knew that one certain part of it would devastate me. So many readers told me that they ugly cried and I was sure I would too. But did I want to put myself through that??
Well, I had to work myself up to it… but I always knew that YES, I did!
I’ve always known the “big spoiler” from the end of the first book and I am so glad I did because honestly if I had dove in without knowing, I might have been to angry to process my emotions. But for me, knowing it allowed me time to come to terms with it, mull it over in my mind, and decide if this was a story I really wanted to read.
And again, the answer was yes.
A few days ago, the author released a series bundle that included all three main novels and also the prequel so I quietly decided to start it. I didn’t announce it though because I wasn’t sure how I’d handle this kind of story… Well, I’ve now been reading it for 2 days and I’m half way through the series (meaning I’ve read the prequel, the first book, and about half of the second one)… I’ve gone back and forth in my emotions about it not because it wasn’t good but simply because this is such an unconventional romance… I’ve felt love, loss, confusion, anger, betrayal, elation, relief… pretty much everything.
The blurb actually calls it an atypical romance and that is so accurate! The things we’ve come to expect from the romance books we read each day do not happen here. Yes, there is a romance — and intense, soul deep connection between the two people in love, but the story and the way things play out is anything but normal. But somehow, it just works.
Last night, I reached “that point” in the story where the big spoiler happened (ps – it’s not cheating) and I sobbed. Guys, I haven’t ugly cried this much since The Bronze Horseman. I was a wreck. I literally couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see the page through my tears, I was just overwhelmed with the emotions it drew out of me. My poor husband came running into the room and freaked when he saw me. I pretty much just sat there sobbing in his arms for what felt like forever.
At this point, I wasn’t sure I could go on but this story kept drawing me in. It was painful, heart breaking, devastating even but also beautiful. Very real. Raw. Not white-picket-fence-perfect to be sure… but I am feeling this journey so strongly and I can’t wait to see the healing process.
Again, I already know the general direction story is going in at this point (with a story like this one, I just can’t go in blind. I just can’t. Don’t judge me.) so I’m really looking forward to seeing the way it comes together in the second half of the series.
So yeah, that’s where I am now. I’m sitting here with red-rimmed eyes and a hole in my chest but I can’t stop reading this story…. Oh, and another thing to mention is that the writing is just wonderful! Really beautiful!! It was actually a big part of what drew me to the story. I started it but just wasn’t sure if I was “ready” for this story yet but was enjoying the writing so much that I didn’t want to stop.
This story is really “different” and I’m having a hard time finding anything to compare it to for you guys… I think the closest I can come to in terms of ‘feeling’ is the Love Me With Lies trilogy and Present Perfect. It’s obviously not at all the same story but it’s been evoking some similar emotions in me.
I’m going to keep reading tonight and then write a big series review when I’m done but I just wanted to post this for now as a bit of a mid-way update…. And also, I’ve linked up the series below in case you want to check it out.
PS — bring tissues.
PPS — many of the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads have HUGE spoilers in them so if you don’t want to know anything going in, be very careful what you read. When I write my final review, it will be spoiler free BUT, I’m going to include a “hidden” section that explains the story with spoilers so that those of you who (like me) want to know what you’re getting into in advance will have that choice.
PPPS — want to see what other readers are saying? Check out this thread on my Facebook page.
❤ CLICK HERE to BUY the SERIES SALE BUNDLE ❤
This includes the entire series — the prequel, 3 main novels, and 2 short stories.
I strongly recommend reading the prequel first — it might not seem like it at the time, but as you read the story, you’ll see what a huge impact those events had on their lives.
PS — the Kindle edition is actually on sale for $7.99, instead of the $8.99 shown in the poster 🙂
