*I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review*
"You know my name, but not my story...here goes"
Let me start off by saying...Holy crap on a cracker this book is amazing!!!! You think you know the story, but you have no idea.
This time it's Willow's turn. She has lived her life as Cree's little sister, Annie's aunt, Milly and Lacey's buddy, Greyson's girlfriend and now Tripp's sister but...Who is Willow?
After a horrible situation/breakup with Greyson, Willow feels as if she will never be the same again. It's like she was no longer herself.
"I cry for the door slammed shut in my heart and cry for all the what ifs. And some nights I even cry for the Willow who actually lived and didn't simply survive."~Willow
After talking with her best girls, Milly and Lacey, she decides that she needs to try and move on with her life and be the "bad a** self" she always has been. What she wasn't expecting to walk into her life was a certain man named Miles.
"My eyes are absolutely in love with him. He's a walking advertisement straight from the wrong side of the tracks. I mean, his face is that of a Greek god, but his look and dress scream bad boy-the type of bad boy you want to ride off in to the sunset. To Hell with that, he's the kind you want to ride all night."
With Miles renting the apartment at The Shop, he and Willow were bound to cross paths. Fate had a better plan. She kept running into McDreamboat everywhere. And he couldn't get enough of his Crazy Girl.
They became quick friends and enjoyed being around each other. They found that being with each other was better than being apart. Willow was also finding it harder to hide her past. She thought if she told Miles everything, he wouldn't want to be around her anymore. His stay seemed to be temporary anyway.
"Why try to be something you're not? You really want to waste your life being a fake. Just be you."~Miles
"I love being with you and you're not broken, Willow. You're perfect. You never have to be something else with me." ~Miles
SWOON!! Miles puts the 'charm' in charming, I tell you! He is just what Willow needs to get herself out of the funk she's in.
"Truth be told, I have wanted a chance with him from the first day I met him."
Our pasts are sometimes a hard thing to get over. Willow is moving forward, slow but steady. But she's not the only one with secrets and a life she wants to keep hidden.
Miles left California for a reason and he knows that eventually his past will collide with his future.
"I can't loose her. I can't. I've never had anything in my life worth fighting for until Willow."
"All know is that we both need a different kind of love, and we're so f**king close to finding it together."~Miles
"I love you grande, Wils."
"I choose you forever, Miles."
But will love really prevail? Can pasts really be forgiven? Is family the answer to everything? Who will be by your side when your whole world is crashing down?
"What kind of sick world do we live in? We have two options, lay down and die, or fight back and build a life."
"It was my mistake that saved my life. It was my mistake that set me free. And it was my mistake that led me straight into the arms of my future."
AHHHH! This story had my heart hurting and racing at the same time! HJ Bellus has a way of telling a story in a way that is so relatabe. You want to be friends with these characters. You want to hold them and comfort them. Willow and Miles are just amazing people and I envy their strength. They are adorable with each other, as well! Between the TMNT sheets, Hunter Hayes references, crapping pants(hehe), that notebook and those darn fortune cookies, I couldn't get enough!
You also revisit with the whole My Way Crew and meet some new people that are just as wonderful:)
"You've always known my name and now you know my story."
Forever, Willow
This is a different type of love story. In some ways, a TRUE love story. Love is hard! It's not always hearts and flowers. Sometimes it's pain and heart break.