ALL OF THE STARS. ALL. OF. THEM!
A huge thank you to Meg Everly and Booksirens for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I cannot stress enough how grateful I am to have been selected for the ARC team for all three of these books. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Plot
In books 1 and 2 of this trilogy we met Hailey, Arlo and Hotaru and discovered their stories. Hailey is a therapist who Arlo hired to help with his extreme aversion to touch, but ended up falling for in book one. Arlo owns a conglomerate, and his best friend of 20 years, Hota, is the numbers guy.
In book 2 we went back 20 years to when Arlo and Hota met in boarding school, learning about their relationship and the harrowing experiences they faced both individually and together.
Now, in the final book of the trilogy, we’re back to present day. Hailey and Arlo are together, but their relationship isn’t quite complete yet. Hota and Hailey should hate each other, after all, both of them being in love with the same man and both being significant parts of his life could definitely cause some tension… but they don’t. Far from it. Both see how important the other is to Arlo and his continued recovery, and have a huge respect for each other and begin to form a bond of their own. Hailey realises just how much Arlo and Hota need each other, and decides to do something about it… but will it work?
My Thoughts
This is book is about a poly trio (MMF) with MM, MF, MMF and MFM scenes, many of which include elements of kink. I know this isn’t for everyone, so I’ll get that out of the way first. For those of you who (like me) enjoy this kind of content, I cannot recommend this enough.
You all already know I LOVE these characters. They’re all a little damaged, and their growth both as individuals and together has been an absolute pleasure to read.
The story has been consistently well written, immersive and so incredibly real. This trilogy is a real journey through trauma and the ups and downs of healing. I love that it’s so real about these issues, not just ‘characters fall in love and the trauma is gone’ like so many other stories when this subject matter is tackled.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is not a wholesome PG-13 healing journey. The relationships are super cute and wholesome, yes, but the spice is SPICY and abundant. Like surface of the sun HOT. There are some heavy topics discussed, which I’d recommend checking trigger warnings for before diving into this trilogy. Overall, this was a perfect ending to a truly exceptional trilogy, one I’d highly recommend reading!
Trigger and Content Warnings
Parental abandonment (historic)
Death of parents (violent murder. Historic, discussed with some minor details)
Sexual abuse and rape of a minor (historic, discussed with some moderate detail)
Child abuse (historic, discussed with some moderate detail)
Self harm/suicide attempts (historic, referencing full story told in book 2, limited detail in this book)
Trauma recovery
Explicit sex scenes
Impact play
Bloodplay
Cumplay
Mild daddy/mommy kink
Praise kink
Degradation
**Please check trigger warnings before reading. Look after yourself, your mental health is important. You are loved and you matter**