4.5 stars ❤️
“Stupid girl,” he breathed. “Don't you know I'll break you?”
“Yes,” she whispered back. “But maybe breaking me will help you fix yourself.”
I’ve been known to love this author, but my favorite books of hers haven’t been in this series. I enjoy them- a lot- but I tend to love her edgier work. That’s what made this one such a win- it was unexpectedly good, especially considering I knew the MCs from the previous books and didn’t feel anything strongly for either of them. Turns out that’s what made the story so good- I didn’t know what to expect, and what I got was probably the best book in the whole series.
“This is humiliating! Jesus, I almost fucked the wrong brother!”
“Well, really, that depends on how you look at it.”
“What?”
“Afterwards, you'd definitely know you'd fucked the right brother."
Tori has been in love with Liam Edenhoff for this entire series. It should've been pathetic, but it wasn't, mostly because nobody really knew. Still, I didn't really understand her, probably because I'm the type of person that goes after what I want. Anyways, Liam eventually falls in love with someone else (see book three) and Tori does what most women in their twenties would do: she gets extremely wasted and makes a bad decision. That's when she mistakes Liam for his twin brother Landon... at least at first. Liam and Landon, while identical, are night and day. Liam is friendly and boisterous; Landon is snippy and serious. It's not just their personality that makes Landon the "dark" twin, though. He's a drug addict who's constantly making mistakes, which means that this story would've been very easy to mess up. Turns out the author either did her research or has loved an addict, because it was very realistic and appropriately heartbreaking. Addicts are a lot more than people who do drugs; they have a specific personality, and Landon fit that to a T. Up until this book, I had seen Tori as vapid but also a very good friend. Turns out she's more than she lets on: she is very understanding and helpful, as well as a fantastic listener, but she doesn't take shit from anyone, either. She wasn't afraid to grow as a person, but she was strong enough to withstand Hurricane Landon... most of the time.
“I'm an asshole,” he said bluntly. “You knew that when you came on this trip. Did you think having sex would change that?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I don't think anything will change you. I think you're a lost cause, Landon Edenhoff. And it's a shame, because maybe once upon a time, you had a chance to be a good guy. A great guy. Goddamn amazing. But you ruined it, and maybe it's time you grow up and stop blaming other people. You ruined yourself.”
There were too many fantastic quotes to isolate just a few, so I'll probably share them on GR. This was a great story, but it definitely wasn't all rainbows and puppies. The sex was hot and rough, not unlike Landon himself. It would've been easy to see Landon and Tori as just the two remaining characters in the book that didn't have anyone- which is what I thought at first- but the author did a great job of highlighting why they are perfect for each other. This isn't a love story so much as it is a journey, but it's memorable and beautiful in it's own way.
“I'm always gonna be an asshole,” he warned her. “But for you ... for you, I'll try to be a good guy.”