I’ve got dyspraxia so sometimes when I get too enthusiastic about what I’m reading or when I’m tired, my eyes go faster than the rest of me and I end up spoiling myself by reading the end of the page before the middle. So I’ve learned to hide the lines below the one I’m reading with my hand (like little kids). I don’t usually need to do it all the time, except maybe with mysteries, but I ended up reading almost this whole book with my hand hiding what was coming next. I got so invested in what Shaylie was feeling that I didn’t want to miss even one word. I even almost had to take a break when I was two thirds in, there were so many emotions.

The premise for this novel is a lot of people’s worst fear, a plane crash. Shaylie survives. Piper’s best friend doesn’t, and neither does her fiancée. When Shaylie and Piper first meet at a support group for survivors, then a second time by chance, they’re immediately drawn to each other but at first they don’t know whether they want to be friends helping each other to heal, or more. Bryant dealt with that beautifully.

Like other reviewers, I could have had a bit more on Shaylie’s PTSD but I get why the author would want to focus on the good that comes from the bad. As I wrote above, there were already so many feelings coming from that good, I didn’t feel like I was missing out. And though I knew there was a HEA coming, I nevertheless sometimes had doubt as to whether Shaylie and Piper would reach it. They had a lot of heavy stuff to deal with, and as meant as they were to be together, it could not be easy.

Definitely one of my favorite books so far this year.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Whew. The beginning of this. That was amazing and terrifying.

I don't think its too much of a spoiler to say that this all starts with a plane crash that one of the main characters, Shaylie, is in.

She and ten other people survive the crash, and she is rescued by a guy named Jason (his subplot was great). I was wary when he appeared, but, all of the characters were pitch perfect, from Marisa to Jason to Piper (who lost both her fiancee and Best Friend in the crash).

There is the typical romantic push and pull between Piper and Shaylie, but, what made it interesting to me was the layers in that back and forth. The facts behind the push and pull (like Shay has a secret).

That's what made it an amazingly fun ride of a novel for sure.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books. ( )