Before y'all gladly agree with me that walking in on the guy pounding another woman at his working place is the most romantic setting for the first encounter (for one, you can quietly and w/o any prejudice assess his performance), I feel the need to point out that, unlike many other reviewers, I truly loved everything about Tate and Charlotte's relationship. kind of, i mean take this scene away and the book is a lot more serious-ish but i think it added a good distraction away from the heavy topics. that night the two bond and strike a pact, that each year on the same day they will meet again on the rooftop to check in on each other. But my goodness, I feel like had I read the blurb or reviews it wouldn’t have been impactful so just know that the story was amazing and all encompassing. I recommend this is you’re interested in a romance with a heavy emphasis on how people deal with grief and trauma and you’re okay with the triggers.

i know this is a romance novel but it literally felt like a movie/book scene, idc if i sound stupid saying that but their first kiss was so worth the wait and slow burn. I will admit I’ve never had mental health issues or depression myself so it’s difficult for me to understand, but I have a younger sister that struggled with similar things to Kellan when we were younger, so it was much easier for me to relate to Tate than to Kellan. one valentine’s day, these two teen outcasts end up on the same rooftop with a plan to end their lives — on the verge of ending their lives, they both end up forming a bond and they make a pact to come back every year on this day and check on each other for the next four years — only, kellen breaks his promise on the fourth year leaving charlotte to deal with the consequences and left to wonder what happened.she went through so much, but there was never a moment where she wasn’t doing anything and everything to help someone🥹i can’t explain any more without spoilers, but just know that i adore her. In the midst of everything that happens from the highest highs to the lowest lows there’s always an underlying comfort of hope. Her emotional scars will never heal in the way that she wants it to and existing feels like a burden most days.

Trust me when I say this definitely didn't need to be a 700-page ass-long novel to get to its final point. struggling with balancing his job and a rebellious brother who he struggled to connect with, kellan's death affected him so much, that tate never forgave himself.Again, I expected this aspect of the story to match the same tune of the rest, but it didn't, and I'll never not be bitter about it. Numerous passages of this book are beautifully elegant, words just flow effortlessly from page to page.

Charlie, Leah, Tate and Terry were all able to overcome their trauma in a way that tied everything together in the end with a nice, pretty bow on top. Did he believe she wouldn't come to their place that year and thus decided it was his perfect cue to leave this world like a gentleman? the first part of this book was so epic that the moment when kellens death hit, in the back of my mind of course i knew it would happen but it still hurt nonetheless. Tate becomes weirdly obsessed with Charlie from the moment he stares at her as he’s fucking another woman.

When Charlie and Tate start hanging out more, the whole book is then spent just of them finishing the manuscript Kellan left, which is another stupid and bizarre part of this.