I quit dance when I was around 6. I wasn't all that flexible, and I really prefer having bad posture.

I liked this book that heavily featured it far better. I felt like I was in that theater, even when I really didn't want to be. It was an emotional, engrossing read...but it was not perfect. First, a good bit of it really felt bildungsroman-esque, if that's a thing. Because mostly, it was Erik's story. Sure, sure. There was a bit about love in there (ok, a lot) and those points when you knew it was going to come crashing down because the beginning was full of bliss. I was fully invested in his character, so I was just fine with that. And I don't know if I'm partially deducted a star because I liked how it starts, where it goes, and not where it ends up--or if because of some of the sections definitely sagged and detracted for me as a reader from the overall effect of the story. And while I did enjoy the narrative style, I do think the choice of presentation played in my dissatisfaction because we see Daisy through Erik, but we don't really get to know her motivations. We just know how he sees her. Maybe that's enough most of the time, but in this book with a betrayal so heavy and a separation so long, I think that choice really mattered to me.

I'll spoiler some of this, so those who want to walk in blind:
Part of my issue with this is the way the 'second chance' is delivered. it's so heavily front-end that I could've finished this book at 30% and lived my best life. Instead I was wrung out, rooting for Erik while simultaneously cutting out the idea of Daisy myself. And while it's clear they can pick up right near where they left off, I want to see their adult relationship stripped of the puppy love sexathon of college. I just do.

Speaking of, his marriage to Melanie was lovely, sweet, and brief. Why was it there? So his big realization comes after his divorce and it sends him on the journey back? I'm ok with that, but we see so much of the relationship that I felt a little raw from it. The problems in their marriage were just sort of catalogued and shelved on top of each other, so while I investing in him moving on, being present in their marriage was awkward. I just didn't love the way this whole piece was executed.

I did like pieces of the psychoanalyzing. However, it was so therapy heavy toward the end, with even Daisy and Erik talking about their experience when they meet up again, I felt a little battered by it all. It was just an astounding amount of therapy talk.

Finally, while I believe that, in the end, a largely perfect man in actions (even if he's generally just along for the ride) has grown through his experience in his lifetime, he winds up back in the same place with the same friends who have the same scars. I get that he and Daisy are soulmates, but the fact that they never move on then end up moving on finally by doing so together (or heavily implied so), felt like his easy way out. He had two years of moving on and not really having friends and goes back to an emotionally intense time and relationships with the same people. Is it real or nostalgia.



So here's where I say, I don't know where this book sits. When you don't root for the major romance, but you do root for the character and are happy if he's happy? That's the shelf it's on. Unfortunately, I was oddly uninvested in the love of his life. I may have been shipping him and Will. Undoubtedly beautifully written, complex and engaging.

So that's a lot of negative for a really fantastic book, honestly. Man, I'm just in that place at the moment. 3.75

Oh, and big kudos for not using a simplistic view of an alpha male. They don't need to be controlling, rough assholes....they can just be leaders. ( )

Probably the most dramatic and passionate romance I've ever read although the intense level of tragedy, heartache, and eroticism was almost numbing. What kept the story feeling genuine was the characters' struggle to rebuild their lives and love after a violent trauma. ( )

Healing of a Wounded Soul!

An intimate story between friends, but focuses on the relationship of Erik and Daisy. I thought the story was well written, and very intense. The characters had great chemistry and brings thought to life's reflections, such as what it means to be who we are and how we got there. Fate isn't always set in stone. I really enjoyed the story, and it's a remarkable love story, that is unique, and unpredictable. Highly recommended. ( )