“You were not responsible for making me worse. But I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a fact that you were responsible for making me better.”
What a beautiful ending to Tristan & Danika’s story!!
If you love second chance romance, this is a must-read series! In this final instalment of the Tristan & Danika trilogy, R.K. Lilley truly brought this love story full circle. From the first time I met Tristan and Danika’s characters in the Up In The Air trilogy, I’ve loved them and been intrigued by their story. What could have happened to make two people who so clearly loved each other become so estranged? And, would they ever find their way back to each other after hitting rock bottom? … In this trilogy, all our questions were answered as we were taken through the highs and lows of Tristan and Danika’s tumultuous, heart wrenching, and passionate relationship.
“I’m Tristan. I am an alcoholic and a drug addict. I’m here because using cost me the love of my life.”
I won’t go into too much detail about the plot but there is some of it that isn’t a secret because, when we saw Tristan and Danika in the Up In The Air books, we knew that they spent years apart. In the first book of this series, we saw the love and passion that brought them together, in the second book, we found out the cause of their tragic separation, and in this last book, we discovered what took place during those six years apart and what finally happened to bring them back together.
“I longed to have her in my life. In any capacity. I’d literally take anything. I wouldn’t be happy with less than everything, but I’d take what I could get.”
Taking us year by year throughout their separation, we got to see how they coped, how they dealt with the pain, what they felt, what they did, and where their hearts still lay. I loved how, despite all the bad that happened to them, and despite everything that came between them (even if those things were sometimes their own actions), neither of them every truly stopped loving the other.
“How can you still love her so much?…”
“Because that’s how love works. It doesn’t die, even when you don’t feed it. That’s just the way it is… Loving her has become a part of who I am.”
Even though their separation was painful, I also understood it and I loved how they never truly lost their connection… and when the healing finally began, I just couldn’t stop smiling.
“Whatever you need me to be, I’ll be that. Whatever you want me to do, however we need to make this work, we will do it.”
Everything was realistically paced — never rushed — and throughout it all were these undercurrents of the kind of passion that only comes from true once-in-a-life time love tempered with the reluctance that only comes after immense heartbreak. Their was not an easy path and my heart went out to them as they slowly rebuilt everything that had been broken. They were both fighting their respective battles and it was both painful and heartwarming to see Tristan work so hard to regain Danika’s trust and to see her want to trust him but be understandably wary of putting her heart out on the line again.
“Love doesn’t let you walk away clean. Love is messy…. Love takes a fucking piece of you before it’s done.”
At the end of the day though, despite all the pain and heartache, there was no doubt that they really were perfect for each other and seeing them happy just had me smiling for pages on end. I loved their teasing, their banter, their games and private jokes, their passion, their love… everything.
Tristan and Danika were just one of those couple who you knew were meant to be together. I was proud of them honestly. I’d seen them at their best and at their worst, I’d seen them both mature and heal and finally find their way back together. I was wiping happy tears by the end. It really was a beautiful, heart-melting end to their story.
“Oh sweetheart. You haven’t been paying attention…. I am the guy who has been in love with you for over six fucking years. I am the guy who has thought about you every day. I miss you every day. What happened — what we lost together — breaks my heart, but it doesn’t change anything.”
I think that second chance romances are some of the most powerful ones because not only do you have an epic love but you also have the first hand knowledge of what it’s like to have lost that love… so when it’s found again, you can’t help but treasure it.
I absolutely adore RK Lilley’s writing. I’ve loved every single book I’ve read from her. Her characters and their stories just draw you in and you can’t help but feel invested in their lives. She’s one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend all her books for anyone who loves hot, passionate, addictive romance.
4.5+ stars
*******************************
TRISTAN & DANIKA SERIES READING ORDER
#1 — BAD THINGS
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review
#2 — ROCK BOTTOM
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review
#3 — LOVELY TRIGGER
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review
*******************************
TIMELINE CLARIFICATION
The Tristan & Danika trilogy is a spin-off of the Up In The Air trilogy (in which we first met Tristan and Danika as side characters). Both trilogies can be read on their own though and you don’t need to read them both to understand the stories. However, their timelines are interconnected.
The first 2 books of this trilogy, Bad Things and Rock Bottom, take place 5 years before In Flight (the first book in the Up In The Air trilogy). Then, chronologically, come the three books of the Up In The Air trilogy…. and then finally comes Lovely Trigger (the last book in the Tristan & Danika trilogy).
So chronologically, this would be the order of the books:
- Bad Things (Tristan & Danika #1)
- Rock Bottom (Tristan & Danika #2) – starts right after Bad Things
- In Flight (Up In The Air #1) – starts 5 years after the end of Rock Bottom
- Mile High (Up In The Air #2)
- Grounded (Up In The Air #3)
- Lovely Trigger (Tristan & Danika #3) – starts 6 years after the end of Rock Bottom
The suggested reading order is to read all 3 Up In The Air books, and then the Tristan & Danika trilogy but you can read them each separately too as they do each tell complete stories.
Eisya says
Great review! Tristan & Danika make a great couple. I prefer them to others because the hardships that they’ve gone through show that they’re meant to be together.
Aestas says
Thank you!
Johanna says
Hi!
I just read your review and liked it so much. It just speaks all the things I adored from this series. I was surprised,mthough that you gave it a 4.5* review. That’s not a bad review of course! But I was just wondering what held you back from giving it 5*
Thanks for your reply!
Aestas says
I actually gave it 4.5+ (which means that on sites like Amazon or Goodreads where I have to mark either 4 or 5 stars, I will mark it 5 for sure). The reason I didn’t actually give it 5 on here though is a reflection of my emotions. I’m a very emotional reader and a 5 star rating usually pulls slightly stronger emotions from me (usually makes me cry or something like that). But 4.5+ is still an very, very high rating 🙂 I hope that helps answer your question!
Johanna says
Understood! Thank you 🙂