What do you think?
Rate this book
Ruin My Life
REMY:
Six years ago, I made the critical mistake of falling in love
with my best friend. Even worse? He fell for me too.
But beautiful things are fleeting. The onset of my depression blinded me to the warning signs and when I needed him most, he vanished with only a cryptic note.
Now, as I finish college in the town we swore we’d escape, I’m finding myself more lost than ever. Trying to drown out the misery in my mind, I tag along to a party when the ghost of my past returns looking as haunted as me.
I can’t fall for Win Rhodes again.
I won’t survive it.
But he’s not giving me a choice.
WIN:
It should’ve been a wake-up call to move back home with my parents after failing out of college and getting discharged from rehab. But that would imply I have something to live for. Idiotically, I agree to attend a rager, either from boredom or an innate drive to sabotage my sobriety, I’m not sure. Though, all plans of nose-diving into my vices come to a screeching halt when I stumble across him.
My sunshine boy.
The very one I had to leave behind.
I think I’ve rediscovered my Make Remy Sullivan mine again.
Six years ago, I made the critical mistake of falling in love
with my best friend. Even worse? He fell for me too.
But beautiful things are fleeting. The onset of my depression blinded me to the warning signs and when I needed him most, he vanished with only a cryptic note.
Now, as I finish college in the town we swore we’d escape, I’m finding myself more lost than ever. Trying to drown out the misery in my mind, I tag along to a party when the ghost of my past returns looking as haunted as me.
I can’t fall for Win Rhodes again.
I won’t survive it.
But he’s not giving me a choice.
WIN:
It should’ve been a wake-up call to move back home with my parents after failing out of college and getting discharged from rehab. But that would imply I have something to live for. Idiotically, I agree to attend a rager, either from boredom or an innate drive to sabotage my sobriety, I’m not sure. Though, all plans of nose-diving into my vices come to a screeching halt when I stumble across him.
My sunshine boy.
The very one I had to leave behind.
I think I’ve rediscovered my Make Remy Sullivan mine again.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2025
434 people are currently reading
3301 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
April 19, 2025
Pushin' on my buttons with no hesitation / Gas me up, give me motivation (PUSH 2 START – Tyla).
Boo~ooo you STINK book! I didn’t like this and I’m kind of mad about. Miffed, even. A good indicator of when things are getting really bad is when I start monologuing like an Anime villain! You know how I like to put fitting song lyrics at the top of all my reviews like I’m trying to curate a MySpace profile (#throwback)? Yeah well, all I know is that there are probably a million other songs that I like a lot more that would also much better evoke what this book’s about more definitively, but I didn’t want to waste them on this book. I guess that’s kind of an insult to Tyla, huh? My bad, “PUSH 2 START” is a banger, I just happened to be listening to it while writing this review! Let's have a moment of silence for the song's sacrifice 😔. Anyway, the only reason I didn’t send Ruin My Life straight down to the “DNF” pile is because I wanted to finish it so I can complain about it here. Does that make me a bad person? Nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything or whatever? All I’ve got to say is that I remember when I went over to my friend’s new apartment for the first time, because he didn’t have any furniture or anything to do, we just sat there playing Settlers of Catan while eating unsalted cashews. Ahh the memories. And let’s be real, I used to think that was the most miserable experience of my life… until I encountered Ruin My Life. It Ruined my li- ...Now, I know what you’re thinking, “is this dude going to actually talk about the book or is he just going to keep doing his little Bill Burr rage comic routine?” Well, here’s the thing, when I used to write essays on books that I didn’t do the reading for, I never actually bothered with Spark Notes. Nah, I used this technique where I would read far enough into the book until I could grasp on to some kind of thin metaphor or plot point that I could harp on about for several paragraphs. Now, that’s definitely not what’s happening here with Ruin My Life (#suspicious), but it’s going to seem that way because while I did read this book, I’ve actually retained very little of it. Could someone who did the homework help me out here!? Seriously, I’m literally trying to think of the character’s names right now and I only have a vague recollection like they’ve been Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ed out of my memory banks. But like that wonderful movie, the emotions I’ve felt are still there… even if they’re mostly just boredom and hatred. I hated the writing style, I hated the setting, the side-characters, the jumping between time periods, the main characters, and you know what? I even hated the emphasis on “star-crossed” lovers because the characters were so damn corny and horny that any proper yearning was immediately undercut by Remy and Win's incessant need to fuck. I just looked up their names and even though his name is Win, we're the ones who lost har har. Ruin My Life, is that a book title or a premonition for anyone who's unlucky enough to read this har har.
Have I been too negative so far? Sorry, unfortunately negativity is all I’ve got. Though I suppose I can throw in a couple positive thoughts here and there. One saving grace about this book that I’ll give it is that it surprisingly doesn’t have a shirtless man on the cover! Not that I don’t usually enjoy the view, but I’ve noticed that all my social media sites are very much not safe for public viewing. With Tumblr especially, I’ll be scrolling and then BLAM... penis on the timeline. Again, I know what I signed up for, but every time I’m out and about, just know that the only thing I'll be scrolling is the settings app! So yeah, this book being very much about sex and yet not having a super explicit cover was a nice reprieve. I guess that’s all I’ve got. Darn. Okay, I guess I'll try talking about the story now. Um… let’s see… two guys named Remy and Win reunite at a random party after having not seen each other for six years. As these things go, Remy claims to hate Win because of what he did (#ominous), with the only problem being that now he’s tat-tat-tat-tatted up and as we all know… that’s pretty hot. How can he ignore Win now that he’s basically become the third Pokémon evolution of his old emo self? Through the unique framing device of playing with time, we see that there’s a lot of unresolved hurt and pain in their relationship that’s just waiting to boil to the surface. That’s sounds like a great set-up, doesn’t it? I mean, I thought so, but because of this book’s odd insistence on being “dark and sexy," it completely fails to hit the mark. Nothing feels real here, and there’s even a weird bit where Win is “stalking” Remy, and it’s supposed emphasize the romantic tension, but I just thought it was funny because he was super conspicuous about following him like an Assassin's Creed eavesdrop mission. As for the time jumping thing though, there’s a delicate balance to uphold, and if your book is organized in a way where it constantly cuts between past and present, then I just think that it’s important to keep the tone consistent. With Ruin My Life, we get the “past” chapters that explore themes of mental health and heartbreak, and that’s great, but then in the “present day” segments, we’re subjected to gems like this: “Seeing Remy again has reawakened my sex drive. My dick has been perpetually chubbed since encountering the stunning man he’s grown into.” And in case you’re wondering, yes, this is a real passage from the book and no, it’s not taken from Adam Levine’s leaked sexts. Look, I don’t like disparaging the writing in any book, and if there’s something to like about it then I try to cling to that shit like the last lifeboat on the Titanic, but I really can’t think of anything I enjoyed about it this time around. Besides, it’s not even like the writing was bad in the sense that it was unreadable, but rather that it was so dull and flat that I read this in a kind of daze, only for my head to snap back to the book in disbelief whenever someone would throw out a word like “chubbed.” Okay, let me just put it this way, you definitely wouldn’t find Ruin My Life on the shelves of Wan Shi Tong’s library, among all the other priceless pieces of literature.
I think the kind of books that I end up hating the most are the ones that I could have easily loved had there been just a few differences. You know, just a tweak here and there! But as for the love story between Remy and Win, I really do believe that there could have been an interesting thing in this book if the flashback scenes between them had been a Before Sunrise type beautiful love story where it’s all adoration and infatuation, while the present day could have been all about sex and emotional detachment. I mean, I’m under no delusion that a lot of people probably wouldn’t like that, but I had a hard time getting behind their present day romance and thought that their attraction towards each other could have evolved a little more naturally rather than how abrupt it was in the actual book. It’s like how when the song of the summer (eleven years and counting!) “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk came out, Pharrell tried to argue that the song wasn’t just about finding someone at the club to have sex with, but it was about romance or whatever bullshit he was spewing. And I just thought that that was a funny thing to claim about a song where the line “We’re up all night to get some” is repeated about a several hundred times. That’s how I felt about the shoehorned romance in this book, and I probably would have liked it more if it hadn't tried to force these characters into a box that they didn’t really fit in anymore. Sure, they’re still attracted to each other, that kind of thing rarely goes away, but maybe now they’re only up all night to get some? There could have been an interesting story where they learn to love each other again, “When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter” style! Otherwise, I always find it silly whenever a story tries to promote itself on how toxic, yet alluring the main couple’s relationship is. Take Fisk and Vanessa from the Daredevil show, everybody loves them and the writers clearly try to advertise their relationship like it’s super twisted! “Oooh what a dark and evil couple, what’s keeping them together! We want to hate them, but we can’t!” and it’s always just that they’re both greedy or lustful. That’s it. Mystery solved, I guess. It's the same with the excessive gravitas given to Remy and Win's aura; just constant exposition telling us that these two are destructive for each other, but there’s something stronger keeping them coming back to the other time after time. Again, it’s greed and lust, my guy. It’s not that deep. So yeah, while this book is quickly becoming a distant memory, one thing that I do remember clearly is getting friended on here by a couple bot accounts that would message me and say something like, “Hey, be my reading coach! List books for me to read, now!” and I assumed they weren’t real people because that’s a pretty rude way to introduce yourself to someone, but it also got me thinking... thinking that directing somebody I don’t know who’s been demanding book recommendation towards Ruin My Life would actually be a pretty good deterrent for future questioning!
“I’ve reread the same slide four times and haven’t retained any of it. They’re just words on a screen; a blur of lines and symbols and letters like hieroglyphs.”
Funny, I had the same thought about this book. Zing!
Boo~ooo you STINK book! I didn’t like this and I’m kind of mad about. Miffed, even. A good indicator of when things are getting really bad is when I start monologuing like an Anime villain! You know how I like to put fitting song lyrics at the top of all my reviews like I’m trying to curate a MySpace profile (#throwback)? Yeah well, all I know is that there are probably a million other songs that I like a lot more that would also much better evoke what this book’s about more definitively, but I didn’t want to waste them on this book. I guess that’s kind of an insult to Tyla, huh? My bad, “PUSH 2 START” is a banger, I just happened to be listening to it while writing this review! Let's have a moment of silence for the song's sacrifice 😔. Anyway, the only reason I didn’t send Ruin My Life straight down to the “DNF” pile is because I wanted to finish it so I can complain about it here. Does that make me a bad person? Nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything or whatever? All I’ve got to say is that I remember when I went over to my friend’s new apartment for the first time, because he didn’t have any furniture or anything to do, we just sat there playing Settlers of Catan while eating unsalted cashews. Ahh the memories. And let’s be real, I used to think that was the most miserable experience of my life… until I encountered Ruin My Life. It Ruined my li- ...Now, I know what you’re thinking, “is this dude going to actually talk about the book or is he just going to keep doing his little Bill Burr rage comic routine?” Well, here’s the thing, when I used to write essays on books that I didn’t do the reading for, I never actually bothered with Spark Notes. Nah, I used this technique where I would read far enough into the book until I could grasp on to some kind of thin metaphor or plot point that I could harp on about for several paragraphs. Now, that’s definitely not what’s happening here with Ruin My Life (#suspicious), but it’s going to seem that way because while I did read this book, I’ve actually retained very little of it. Could someone who did the homework help me out here!? Seriously, I’m literally trying to think of the character’s names right now and I only have a vague recollection like they’ve been Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ed out of my memory banks. But like that wonderful movie, the emotions I’ve felt are still there… even if they’re mostly just boredom and hatred. I hated the writing style, I hated the setting, the side-characters, the jumping between time periods, the main characters, and you know what? I even hated the emphasis on “star-crossed” lovers because the characters were so damn corny and horny that any proper yearning was immediately undercut by Remy and Win's incessant need to fuck. I just looked up their names and even though his name is Win, we're the ones who lost har har. Ruin My Life, is that a book title or a premonition for anyone who's unlucky enough to read this har har.
Have I been too negative so far? Sorry, unfortunately negativity is all I’ve got. Though I suppose I can throw in a couple positive thoughts here and there. One saving grace about this book that I’ll give it is that it surprisingly doesn’t have a shirtless man on the cover! Not that I don’t usually enjoy the view, but I’ve noticed that all my social media sites are very much not safe for public viewing. With Tumblr especially, I’ll be scrolling and then BLAM... penis on the timeline. Again, I know what I signed up for, but every time I’m out and about, just know that the only thing I'll be scrolling is the settings app! So yeah, this book being very much about sex and yet not having a super explicit cover was a nice reprieve. I guess that’s all I’ve got. Darn. Okay, I guess I'll try talking about the story now. Um… let’s see… two guys named Remy and Win reunite at a random party after having not seen each other for six years. As these things go, Remy claims to hate Win because of what he did (#ominous), with the only problem being that now he’s tat-tat-tat-tatted up and as we all know… that’s pretty hot. How can he ignore Win now that he’s basically become the third Pokémon evolution of his old emo self? Through the unique framing device of playing with time, we see that there’s a lot of unresolved hurt and pain in their relationship that’s just waiting to boil to the surface. That’s sounds like a great set-up, doesn’t it? I mean, I thought so, but because of this book’s odd insistence on being “dark and sexy," it completely fails to hit the mark. Nothing feels real here, and there’s even a weird bit where Win is “stalking” Remy, and it’s supposed emphasize the romantic tension, but I just thought it was funny because he was super conspicuous about following him like an Assassin's Creed eavesdrop mission. As for the time jumping thing though, there’s a delicate balance to uphold, and if your book is organized in a way where it constantly cuts between past and present, then I just think that it’s important to keep the tone consistent. With Ruin My Life, we get the “past” chapters that explore themes of mental health and heartbreak, and that’s great, but then in the “present day” segments, we’re subjected to gems like this: “Seeing Remy again has reawakened my sex drive. My dick has been perpetually chubbed since encountering the stunning man he’s grown into.” And in case you’re wondering, yes, this is a real passage from the book and no, it’s not taken from Adam Levine’s leaked sexts. Look, I don’t like disparaging the writing in any book, and if there’s something to like about it then I try to cling to that shit like the last lifeboat on the Titanic, but I really can’t think of anything I enjoyed about it this time around. Besides, it’s not even like the writing was bad in the sense that it was unreadable, but rather that it was so dull and flat that I read this in a kind of daze, only for my head to snap back to the book in disbelief whenever someone would throw out a word like “chubbed.” Okay, let me just put it this way, you definitely wouldn’t find Ruin My Life on the shelves of Wan Shi Tong’s library, among all the other priceless pieces of literature.
I think the kind of books that I end up hating the most are the ones that I could have easily loved had there been just a few differences. You know, just a tweak here and there! But as for the love story between Remy and Win, I really do believe that there could have been an interesting thing in this book if the flashback scenes between them had been a Before Sunrise type beautiful love story where it’s all adoration and infatuation, while the present day could have been all about sex and emotional detachment. I mean, I’m under no delusion that a lot of people probably wouldn’t like that, but I had a hard time getting behind their present day romance and thought that their attraction towards each other could have evolved a little more naturally rather than how abrupt it was in the actual book. It’s like how when the song of the summer (eleven years and counting!) “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk came out, Pharrell tried to argue that the song wasn’t just about finding someone at the club to have sex with, but it was about romance or whatever bullshit he was spewing. And I just thought that that was a funny thing to claim about a song where the line “We’re up all night to get some” is repeated about a several hundred times. That’s how I felt about the shoehorned romance in this book, and I probably would have liked it more if it hadn't tried to force these characters into a box that they didn’t really fit in anymore. Sure, they’re still attracted to each other, that kind of thing rarely goes away, but maybe now they’re only up all night to get some? There could have been an interesting story where they learn to love each other again, “When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter” style! Otherwise, I always find it silly whenever a story tries to promote itself on how toxic, yet alluring the main couple’s relationship is. Take Fisk and Vanessa from the Daredevil show, everybody loves them and the writers clearly try to advertise their relationship like it’s super twisted! “Oooh what a dark and evil couple, what’s keeping them together! We want to hate them, but we can’t!” and it’s always just that they’re both greedy or lustful. That’s it. Mystery solved, I guess. It's the same with the excessive gravitas given to Remy and Win's aura; just constant exposition telling us that these two are destructive for each other, but there’s something stronger keeping them coming back to the other time after time. Again, it’s greed and lust, my guy. It’s not that deep. So yeah, while this book is quickly becoming a distant memory, one thing that I do remember clearly is getting friended on here by a couple bot accounts that would message me and say something like, “Hey, be my reading coach! List books for me to read, now!” and I assumed they weren’t real people because that’s a pretty rude way to introduce yourself to someone, but it also got me thinking... thinking that directing somebody I don’t know who’s been demanding book recommendation towards Ruin My Life would actually be a pretty good deterrent for future questioning!
“I’ve reread the same slide four times and haven’t retained any of it. They’re just words on a screen; a blur of lines and symbols and letters like hieroglyphs.”
Funny, I had the same thought about this book. Zing!
December 22, 2025
3.75 ⭐️ - rounding up because I was sobbing my heart out at one point 💔
A story of two people fighting against themselves and learning to accept they can be loved, no matter what - they aren't too broken, and sometimes second chances exist because two people are simply meant to be each other's person.
Win and Remy are best friends turned lovers. They are both battling mental health issues, alongside other things and then events unfold that cause them to break apart. 6 years later they unexpectedly cross paths and we follow the present day and slowly go back through their past to see how their relationship developed and unravel so many heartbreaking pieces of the puzzle.
Win, oh my sweet sweet baby. My heart is absolutely shattered for him. What he went through had me sick to my stomach and the tears would not stop flowing. Although I could guess what had happened, reading it and going through it brought it to life and gosh, it is absolutely horrific. His battles with addiction and feeling alone throughout the years really was just so goddamn sad, and when you learn what happened to him it just feels like a punch to the gut, repeatedly 😭
Remy is such an angel himself. Dealing with deep depressive episodes and feeling like he was a burden to others, feeling like he was too needy because his calm, his safety and his happy place was found in Win. Once he learnt the truth about Win's trauma he showed Win how loved he was. His protectiveness was everything 🥹
“The only thing you need to understand is that I love you. All of you. Even the dark parts.”
Their dynamic was also cute and fun, and I loved their banter and heated moments!
I am so happy they got their second chance and their healing. They both learnt that they simply understood each other wholeheartedly. Win showed up for Remy, he was his lifeline when he couldn't function from his depression and anxiety & Remy showed Win that he loved every single part of him - even the raw pieces.
I will admit for the first 80% of this book I was set on giving this a 3.5 star rating but the last 20% really made me want to bump it up, and I was even debating a full 4 stars. Idk, I kinda feel up and down, but genuinely that last 20% really hit hard and the ending was so lovely. I also did really love both Win and Remy a lot. There was just something about this one that I just couldn't fully connect to - it is definitely a personal thing as I cannot point out any faults I had, I think I just didn't fully connect into the writing style. I wanted to feel more towards a book that was ultimately emotional and dealing with really sensitive topics but I didn’t quite completely feel that until that last 20%. There were a handful of other things that didn’t fully gel but again I cannot fully put my finger on it.
Please check content warnings with this one. It deals with sensitive subjects but also has descriptions on really horrible events.
____________
pre-read: the question is, will this ruin my life?
A story of two people fighting against themselves and learning to accept they can be loved, no matter what - they aren't too broken, and sometimes second chances exist because two people are simply meant to be each other's person.
Win and Remy are best friends turned lovers. They are both battling mental health issues, alongside other things and then events unfold that cause them to break apart. 6 years later they unexpectedly cross paths and we follow the present day and slowly go back through their past to see how their relationship developed and unravel so many heartbreaking pieces of the puzzle.
Win, oh my sweet sweet baby. My heart is absolutely shattered for him. What he went through had me sick to my stomach and the tears would not stop flowing. Although I could guess what had happened, reading it and going through it brought it to life and gosh, it is absolutely horrific. His battles with addiction and feeling alone throughout the years really was just so goddamn sad, and when you learn what happened to him it just feels like a punch to the gut, repeatedly 😭
Remy is such an angel himself. Dealing with deep depressive episodes and feeling like he was a burden to others, feeling like he was too needy because his calm, his safety and his happy place was found in Win. Once he learnt the truth about Win's trauma he showed Win how loved he was. His protectiveness was everything 🥹
“The only thing you need to understand is that I love you. All of you. Even the dark parts.”
Their dynamic was also cute and fun, and I loved their banter and heated moments!
I am so happy they got their second chance and their healing. They both learnt that they simply understood each other wholeheartedly. Win showed up for Remy, he was his lifeline when he couldn't function from his depression and anxiety & Remy showed Win that he loved every single part of him - even the raw pieces.
I will admit for the first 80% of this book I was set on giving this a 3.5 star rating but the last 20% really made me want to bump it up, and I was even debating a full 4 stars. Idk, I kinda feel up and down, but genuinely that last 20% really hit hard and the ending was so lovely. I also did really love both Win and Remy a lot. There was just something about this one that I just couldn't fully connect to - it is definitely a personal thing as I cannot point out any faults I had, I think I just didn't fully connect into the writing style. I wanted to feel more towards a book that was ultimately emotional and dealing with really sensitive topics but I didn’t quite completely feel that until that last 20%. There were a handful of other things that didn’t fully gel but again I cannot fully put my finger on it.
Please check content warnings with this one. It deals with sensitive subjects but also has descriptions on really horrible events.
____________
pre-read: the question is, will this ruin my life?
March 31, 2025
♾️⭐️
Win + Remi 🖤 🖤
Broken boys | Second chance | Mental health rep
Soulmates reuniting after trauma tore them apart.
....
"He's leaving a blaze in his wake and I'm begging to fucking burn."
"How dare you have a smile so beautiful that I crave the sight of it constantly. How dare your laugh sound better than every one of my favorite songs. How dare you breathe and make me wish I was your oxygen. How dare you hold me like you'll never let me go. How dare you look at me like I'm worthy of your heart."
"He's the only one who calms the storm inside me. And I'm desperate for shelter."
"I'm so fucking sorry it's taken me this long to see you."
"Get it through your thick, gorgeous head: I've only ever wanted you. As you are. In any form I can have you."
"Believe me, love, I know what it's like to choke on darkness. To drown inside with a fake smile that no one seems to see through. To retreat from the world because it's exhausting pretending nothing is wrong while you're trying your hardest to keep slivers of yourself together."
"You're mine. That means your pain is too. So whenever you're ready, we'll take those demons on together, ok?"
"Thats my fucking boy. You were made for me. Only me."
"Your sass is gonna earn you a sore ass."
....
⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes and trigger warnings
Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Second chance
Broken boys
Hurt/comfort
Mental health rep
Pierced nips
Pierced peen
💦 in pants
Brought to tears during sex (happy tears)
Cat dad
Rimming
Phone sex
First times
Strict roles
Pet names (baby, sunshine)
Mine
"It's always been you"
Good boy
Violin player
TWs:
Addiction
On page gang rape by 3 people to MC
On page drugging
Drugs in exchange for sexual favors (questionable consent)
Trauma trauma trauma
Depressive episodes
Panic attacks
A cunt named Jessica who I would punch in the face if given the chance
Win + Remi 🖤 🖤
Broken boys | Second chance | Mental health rep
Soulmates reuniting after trauma tore them apart.
....
"He's leaving a blaze in his wake and I'm begging to fucking burn."
"How dare you have a smile so beautiful that I crave the sight of it constantly. How dare your laugh sound better than every one of my favorite songs. How dare you breathe and make me wish I was your oxygen. How dare you hold me like you'll never let me go. How dare you look at me like I'm worthy of your heart."
"He's the only one who calms the storm inside me. And I'm desperate for shelter."
"I'm so fucking sorry it's taken me this long to see you."
"Get it through your thick, gorgeous head: I've only ever wanted you. As you are. In any form I can have you."
"Believe me, love, I know what it's like to choke on darkness. To drown inside with a fake smile that no one seems to see through. To retreat from the world because it's exhausting pretending nothing is wrong while you're trying your hardest to keep slivers of yourself together."
"You're mine. That means your pain is too. So whenever you're ready, we'll take those demons on together, ok?"
"Thats my fucking boy. You were made for me. Only me."
"Your sass is gonna earn you a sore ass."
....
⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes and trigger warnings
Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Second chance
Broken boys
Hurt/comfort
Mental health rep
Pierced nips
Pierced peen
💦 in pants
Brought to tears during sex (happy tears)
Cat dad
Rimming
Phone sex
First times
Strict roles
Pet names (baby, sunshine)
Mine
"It's always been you"
Good boy
Violin player
TWs:
Addiction
On page gang rape by 3 people to MC
On page drugging
Drugs in exchange for sexual favors (questionable consent)
Trauma trauma trauma
Depressive episodes
Panic attacks
A cunt named Jessica who I would punch in the face if given the chance
April 15, 2025
The characters in here started out having distinct voices but as more time passes they seem to speak with one narrative voice. So as they’re talking to each other it sometimes didn’t even feel like a conversation between two people.
I found the first half of the book to be so much better than the second half. The momentum came to a standstill and I just don’t think the second half is as riveting. Remy is so set on not getting back with Win in the present timeline due to the events of the past timeline but then they’re back together in no time in the present. It’s so out of character for the Remy we’ve come to know. This aspect again speaks to the way both Remy and Win become too similar in voice and in actions. I found that happening frequently where the characterization of Remy and Win don’t match up with their actions. It left me feeling distant from the book because why should I feel connected to these characters if they just feel like a compilation of (inconsistent) ideas / tropes instead of people?? There’s also such a lack of chemistry in the present timeline.
Additionally, the development of present timeline Remy and Win felt so rushed. I feel like the past timeline was much better written. In my opinion the book we start with is compelling, I just don’t feel the same way about the book we end with unfortunately! ☹️😔☹️😔
I found the first half of the book to be so much better than the second half. The momentum came to a standstill and I just don’t think the second half is as riveting. Remy is so set on not getting back with Win in the present timeline due to the events of the past timeline but then they’re back together in no time in the present. It’s so out of character for the Remy we’ve come to know. This aspect again speaks to the way both Remy and Win become too similar in voice and in actions. I found that happening frequently where the characterization of Remy and Win don’t match up with their actions. It left me feeling distant from the book because why should I feel connected to these characters if they just feel like a compilation of (inconsistent) ideas / tropes instead of people?? There’s also such a lack of chemistry in the present timeline.
Additionally, the development of present timeline Remy and Win felt so rushed. I feel like the past timeline was much better written. In my opinion the book we start with is compelling, I just don’t feel the same way about the book we end with unfortunately! ☹️😔☹️😔
June 4, 2025
Heads up for a long review incoming, I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
Sigh. I had good expectations for this one, sadly it wasn't quite for me. I saw many high ratings which is why my hopes went up, I guess I'm on the minority this time. I'm glad people connected with the story though. There were many elements that didn't work for me, and a few others that did.
The story is about Remy, whom in present time is at a reunion with his best friend. He isn't doing well -having a history of depression- and his day turns worse when he meets the person he resents the most but whom he loved once: Win. Win isn't exactly doing better, but recently recovering from his addiction. Once the surprise wears out, Win starts a plan to have Remy back. Things won't be so easy though, especially when Win's past comes to haunt him again.
The premise sounds really great. I went into this expecting a healing journey type of story, or mental health rep type. However, the blurb feels misleading to me now because what I got instead was a creepy psycho caveman love interest (don't get me wrong, this isn't a problem for me per se because I like unhinged LIs, but the execution, narrative and character construction matter a lot, here it missed the mark imo) and stalking during the first 30% taken lightly and as fun and quirky, as a motive to make Remy and Win "bicker" about boundaries, and Win repeating over and over he won't leave him alone.
So, there was no indication before I started reading from my perspective that sounded similar to the behaviour Win showed. Speaking as someone who likes books with dark/heavy themes and even unhealthy dynamics, I prefer when such themes are treated as they actually are in a serious matter instead of trying to make it look like something silly and funny. If that isn't treated seriously, then it makes it hard for me to take the rest of the story like that, nothing would feel beliavable to me.
My second issue are the characters. I hated Win in the first half. Again, this isn't a problem in itself because I don't think a dislikeable MC equals a bad book and I like a few annoying characters myself, but the narrative tried hard to absolve him of that and show him as a "guy who stalks his ex boyfriend because he loves him and wants him back but he's silly and non threatening". I also had a problem with Remy because all it took is for Win to imply he'll stop the stalking and suddenly Remy is ok with him immediately, and I didn't believe it. The characterization didn't make sense.
The jealousy element wasn't even fun, it was annoying, I couldn't believe the Remy that was shown to us during the first 30% was letting it pass when there hand't even been a heartfelt conversation between them, no explanation or apology before they start getting closer again willingly from both sides. Again, I like jealousy in books no matter how intense or unhealthy it becomes, but here I only found it exhausting because the characters didn't work together or individually for me.
Win's actions didn't make sense to me, he was very inconsistent. During the first chapters he tries to run away after seeing Remy again, but after they interact, suddenly he acts like an obsessive stalker, crossing Remy's boundaries multiple times despite Remy telling him to stop. It's even shown in the book that he knows that his presence makes Remy spiral into depressive episodes but "he still can't leave him alone". Am I supossed to believe Win is a good person and that he cares for Remy during that first half as the books paints it? I don't.
Speaking about the dynamic, my third issue is that I felt no chemistry between the MCs. Both thinking with their dicks, having constant boners and admiring each other on every single interaction doesn't equal to chemistry, it felt corny how they couldn't really act like adults and were always thirsting over the other. I just wanted something meaningful, but this book seemed fixed on the hot moments. This also missed a good groveling subplot, because the one we got wasn't enough for me.
Another thing I found strange was that Andrea, Remy's best friend, wasn't only served as the person who pushes Remy towards Win agaisnt his will but the book wanted me ro believe she was a good friend. She's suppossed to know how badly Remy had it after Win left, but she kept lecturing Remy that he should give Win another chance because he might be sorry. There was also a scene where Remy tells her that he feels dumb because he invited "his psycho-stalker ex boyfriend to his house and cuddled with him", and she responded with "It's not that bad". This is what I mean by saying that the book took Win's behaviour at the beginning too lightly which makes me not take anything seriously. I think the author was trying to be funny, but there are different moments where that could've worked better.
Onto the technical aspects, other issue was that the writting style drove me crazy, I don't like it when authors write Sentences. Like. This. to give emphasis but it ends up feeling cheesy for me. I also had a problem with the book's structure, the chapters were too short and there are too many of them because an scene is cut multiple times to get the perspective from both MCs. I get what the author was trying to do, but I rather read one whole scene from one POV instead of it changing everytime, it was too distracting and didn't let me connect with the story.
Onto my next problem, I noticed that most of the times that both MCs finally had a meaningful interaction, it turns sexual. Not a fan of that if there's not really a reason, I felt that the book tried to include hot stuff just for the sake of doing it. The "my sunshine" petname didn't work for me either.
Here is where I start listing some of the positive things, because I don't feel this is the worst book ever. There were nice ideas, it's the execution that didn't work for me. So the book is divided in two. While I disliked the first part, the second was surprisingly alright. Unfortunately, because I had such a bad taste in my mouth after part 1, I couldnt really enjoy the journey in the second half. It felt like two separate books to me.
Some others nice things I got from this book were:
-Comentary about depression at the beginning and the build up during the first couple of chapters. The set up was nice, it was thrilling and got me invested right away. It kind of fell apart for me later when Win's started doing his obsessive thing, but other than that, it had a good start.
-Some of the sex scenes (that didn't feel forced into the narrative) were nicely done. I liked that, while considering Win's trauma, he is depicted a bit differently from the "expected" victim. He actually craves for sex and wants it with the person he loves the most. His recovery is shown as a progression, and I liked that it's reiterated that both aren't exactly healed, but they want to keep trying together.
-Some of the comforting moments were good, I liked how Remy slowly realized what happened to Win, and how he was there for him. The ending also felt nice, a hard earned HEA is cool.
I want to end this review by mentioning that I am totally on board with MCs not being perfect, with MCs being bad people, with MCs making mistakes and not turning a book into a story where every character is morally correct. I actually despise that thinking because it's very reductive. This wasn't a case where I wanted both MCs to be perfect, or that I hate books where morally wrong things happen, I said earlier I like heavy themes/dynamics in fiction. But I just didn't expect some of that here, and the toxic dynamic in question didn't even deliver on that, it just felt too unserious during the first half, it had a massive effect on my enjoyment for the second and my feelings about the story and relationship.
Despite that, I don't think this is a bad book because overall it had good intentions and some good points. With a better execution, I would've loved this. I don't want to discourage people from reading it though, since I rather leave the opportunity up to anyone. I didn't expect to find something good out of it after the first half, but I did, and that shows this had potential.
-This was an ARC review.
Tags: (might miss some of them)
-POV: first person
-Content warnings:
-Elements:
-Kinks:
-Sexual act(s):
-Dynamic:
Sigh. I had good expectations for this one, sadly it wasn't quite for me. I saw many high ratings which is why my hopes went up, I guess I'm on the minority this time. I'm glad people connected with the story though. There were many elements that didn't work for me, and a few others that did.
The story is about Remy, whom in present time is at a reunion with his best friend. He isn't doing well -having a history of depression- and his day turns worse when he meets the person he resents the most but whom he loved once: Win. Win isn't exactly doing better, but recently recovering from his addiction. Once the surprise wears out, Win starts a plan to have Remy back. Things won't be so easy though, especially when Win's past comes to haunt him again.
The premise sounds really great. I went into this expecting a healing journey type of story, or mental health rep type. However, the blurb feels misleading to me now because what I got instead was a creepy psycho caveman love interest (don't get me wrong, this isn't a problem for me per se because I like unhinged LIs, but the execution, narrative and character construction matter a lot, here it missed the mark imo) and stalking during the first 30% taken lightly and as fun and quirky, as a motive to make Remy and Win "bicker" about boundaries, and Win repeating over and over he won't leave him alone.
So, there was no indication before I started reading from my perspective that sounded similar to the behaviour Win showed. Speaking as someone who likes books with dark/heavy themes and even unhealthy dynamics, I prefer when such themes are treated as they actually are in a serious matter instead of trying to make it look like something silly and funny. If that isn't treated seriously, then it makes it hard for me to take the rest of the story like that, nothing would feel beliavable to me.
My second issue are the characters. I hated Win in the first half. Again, this isn't a problem in itself because I don't think a dislikeable MC equals a bad book and I like a few annoying characters myself, but the narrative tried hard to absolve him of that and show him as a "guy who stalks his ex boyfriend because he loves him and wants him back but he's silly and non threatening". I also had a problem with Remy because all it took is for Win to imply he'll stop the stalking and suddenly Remy is ok with him immediately, and I didn't believe it. The characterization didn't make sense.
The jealousy element wasn't even fun, it was annoying, I couldn't believe the Remy that was shown to us during the first 30% was letting it pass when there hand't even been a heartfelt conversation between them, no explanation or apology before they start getting closer again willingly from both sides. Again, I like jealousy in books no matter how intense or unhealthy it becomes, but here I only found it exhausting because the characters didn't work together or individually for me.
Win's actions didn't make sense to me, he was very inconsistent. During the first chapters he tries to run away after seeing Remy again, but after they interact, suddenly he acts like an obsessive stalker, crossing Remy's boundaries multiple times despite Remy telling him to stop. It's even shown in the book that he knows that his presence makes Remy spiral into depressive episodes but "he still can't leave him alone". Am I supossed to believe Win is a good person and that he cares for Remy during that first half as the books paints it? I don't.
Speaking about the dynamic, my third issue is that I felt no chemistry between the MCs. Both thinking with their dicks, having constant boners and admiring each other on every single interaction doesn't equal to chemistry, it felt corny how they couldn't really act like adults and were always thirsting over the other. I just wanted something meaningful, but this book seemed fixed on the hot moments. This also missed a good groveling subplot, because the one we got wasn't enough for me.
Another thing I found strange was that Andrea, Remy's best friend, wasn't only served as the person who pushes Remy towards Win agaisnt his will but the book wanted me ro believe she was a good friend. She's suppossed to know how badly Remy had it after Win left, but she kept lecturing Remy that he should give Win another chance because he might be sorry. There was also a scene where Remy tells her that he feels dumb because he invited "his psycho-stalker ex boyfriend to his house and cuddled with him", and she responded with "It's not that bad". This is what I mean by saying that the book took Win's behaviour at the beginning too lightly which makes me not take anything seriously. I think the author was trying to be funny, but there are different moments where that could've worked better.
Onto the technical aspects, other issue was that the writting style drove me crazy, I don't like it when authors write Sentences. Like. This. to give emphasis but it ends up feeling cheesy for me. I also had a problem with the book's structure, the chapters were too short and there are too many of them because an scene is cut multiple times to get the perspective from both MCs. I get what the author was trying to do, but I rather read one whole scene from one POV instead of it changing everytime, it was too distracting and didn't let me connect with the story.
Onto my next problem, I noticed that most of the times that both MCs finally had a meaningful interaction, it turns sexual. Not a fan of that if there's not really a reason, I felt that the book tried to include hot stuff just for the sake of doing it. The "my sunshine" petname didn't work for me either.
Here is where I start listing some of the positive things, because I don't feel this is the worst book ever. There were nice ideas, it's the execution that didn't work for me. So the book is divided in two. While I disliked the first part, the second was surprisingly alright. Unfortunately, because I had such a bad taste in my mouth after part 1, I couldnt really enjoy the journey in the second half. It felt like two separate books to me.
Some others nice things I got from this book were:
-Comentary about depression at the beginning and the build up during the first couple of chapters. The set up was nice, it was thrilling and got me invested right away. It kind of fell apart for me later when Win's started doing his obsessive thing, but other than that, it had a good start.
-Some of the sex scenes (that didn't feel forced into the narrative) were nicely done. I liked that, while considering Win's trauma, he is depicted a bit differently from the "expected" victim. He actually craves for sex and wants it with the person he loves the most. His recovery is shown as a progression, and I liked that it's reiterated that both aren't exactly healed, but they want to keep trying together.
-Some of the comforting moments were good, I liked how Remy slowly realized what happened to Win, and how he was there for him. The ending also felt nice, a hard earned HEA is cool.
I want to end this review by mentioning that I am totally on board with MCs not being perfect, with MCs being bad people, with MCs making mistakes and not turning a book into a story where every character is morally correct. I actually despise that thinking because it's very reductive. This wasn't a case where I wanted both MCs to be perfect, or that I hate books where morally wrong things happen, I said earlier I like heavy themes/dynamics in fiction. But I just didn't expect some of that here, and the toxic dynamic in question didn't even deliver on that, it just felt too unserious during the first half, it had a massive effect on my enjoyment for the second and my feelings about the story and relationship.
Despite that, I don't think this is a bad book because overall it had good intentions and some good points. With a better execution, I would've loved this. I don't want to discourage people from reading it though, since I rather leave the opportunity up to anyone. I didn't expect to find something good out of it after the first half, but I did, and that shows this had potential.
-This was an ARC review.
Tags: (might miss some of them)
-POV: first person
-Content warnings:
-Elements:
-Kinks:
-Sexual act(s):
-Dynamic:
June 30, 2025
4.5**** stars
🥺🥺🥺❤️
Such a beautiful, heartbreaking second-chance love story Remy and Win share.
⇢ Please heed TWs!
🥺🥺🥺❤️
My silence is a scream to be heard.
My solitude is a plea for company.
My self-destruction is a cry for help.
So why isn’t anyone listening?
****
“But then I thought of you. Of how much I fucking missed you and how badly I wanted to be with you. You stopped me, Remy. I couldn’t—couldn’t leave without seeing you one more time.”
Soundless sobs drown out the rest. Remy cradles the back of my head, rocking us slowly. “Shh, you’re not alone anymore, love. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” he chokes. “I’m yours. Always have been, always will be.”
Such a beautiful, heartbreaking second-chance love story Remy and Win share.
⇢ Please heed TWs!
![Profile Image for ❀ Alex ❀ [Hiatus] .](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1724819109i%2F127505214._UX200_CR0%2C35%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
April 20, 2025
Rating: ♾️/5
I feel like the more I like a book, the less I have things to say about it, because no matter what I say, it just won't do justice to how amazing this book is.
Win and Remy are absolute couple goals. Their love for each other and their bond just melted my heart. They're definitely one of my favorite couples, for sure. I also love how possessive Win is... and borderline delusional. 🤣🤣
The book also addresses some really tough subject matter, and there are some things that happen on-page that might trigger some people, but I really have to give the author credit for portraying the brutality of it all. And reading it, quite honestly, broke me.
I can't find a single flaw in this book. And if there is one, I don't care. It's perfect and everyone needs to read it. Just make sure to check the trigger warnings first.
I feel like the more I like a book, the less I have things to say about it, because no matter what I say, it just won't do justice to how amazing this book is.
Win and Remy are absolute couple goals. Their love for each other and their bond just melted my heart. They're definitely one of my favorite couples, for sure. I also love how possessive Win is... and borderline delusional. 🤣🤣
The book also addresses some really tough subject matter, and there are some things that happen on-page that might trigger some people, but I really have to give the author credit for portraying the brutality of it all. And reading it, quite honestly, broke me.
I can't find a single flaw in this book. And if there is one, I don't care. It's perfect and everyone needs to read it. Just make sure to check the trigger warnings first.
June 13, 2025
4.25/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶️
What to expect:
- Friends to lovers
- Second chance
- Hurt/comfort
- "It's always been you"
- Mental health struggles & addiction
- Bullying
Wow. I went into this one fairly blind but it came highly recommended by my friend Mia. 🩷
I absolutely loved Win & Remy. Their story broke my heart and put it back together in the best way!
I will say definitely go into it knowing the trigger warnings because this did fck me up a bit.. a few times. :( I don't have triggers, but it was hard to read some of the things one of the main characters went through. Truly heartbreaking.
I'm not really sure what was lacking, just that something was. It was dual timeline and I think sometimes I got the characters mixed up but that may just be a me thing. Either way, I still really loved this one and it's probably a 4.25-4.5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶️
What to expect:
- Friends to lovers
- Second chance
- Hurt/comfort
- "It's always been you"
- Mental health struggles & addiction
- Bullying
Wow. I went into this one fairly blind but it came highly recommended by my friend Mia. 🩷
I absolutely loved Win & Remy. Their story broke my heart and put it back together in the best way!
I will say definitely go into it knowing the trigger warnings because this did fck me up a bit.. a few times. :( I don't have triggers, but it was hard to read some of the things one of the main characters went through. Truly heartbreaking.
I'm not really sure what was lacking, just that something was. It was dual timeline and I think sometimes I got the characters mixed up but that may just be a me thing. Either way, I still really loved this one and it's probably a 4.25-4.5 ⭐️
February 23, 2025
I think i need a breather first and then come back here... (deep breaths)... OOOMMGGG!!! The angst and agony in this book??! Long story short, i found this book from a teaser post on tiktok and when the author said "SO MUCH ANGST" i thought mehhh, it'll prolly be the same amount as every single book that's out there. But man, was i wrong.
So, we've got our pure, sunshine boy Remy who meets the new kid Win at high school and is like 'He's gonna ruin someone's life' (yeah, sweetie, yours). They befriend each other, fall for each other but their inner demons make them part ways for six years until Win returns to the town and they meet again. These two broken souls broke me to the core and then i healed with them. And that whole journey was tragically beautiful. The last ten chapters made me bawl my eyes out, there was so much tears and snot. Oh god, i absolutely adore them. The way she portrayed Remy and Win's broken souls, their agony, the sensitive topics of depression and PTSD will surely make you feel what the characters went through. And then you'll heal with them as they let themselves open and be understood by each other.
“I’ve learned there’s always a balance in this world. Music can’t exist without silence. Light can’t exist without darkness. I realize now that finding my way back to you was inevitable. You are my music. You are my light. Your soul balances mine. With you, I’m a peace. I’m seen. I’m understood. And I’m loved. And I want more than anything to spend the rest of my existence with you.”
Tysm to the author for ARC
So, we've got our pure, sunshine boy Remy who meets the new kid Win at high school and is like 'He's gonna ruin someone's life' (yeah, sweetie, yours). They befriend each other, fall for each other but their inner demons make them part ways for six years until Win returns to the town and they meet again. These two broken souls broke me to the core and then i healed with them. And that whole journey was tragically beautiful. The last ten chapters made me bawl my eyes out, there was so much tears and snot. Oh god, i absolutely adore them. The way she portrayed Remy and Win's broken souls, their agony, the sensitive topics of depression and PTSD will surely make you feel what the characters went through. And then you'll heal with them as they let themselves open and be understood by each other.
“I’ve learned there’s always a balance in this world. Music can’t exist without silence. Light can’t exist without darkness. I realize now that finding my way back to you was inevitable. You are my music. You are my light. Your soul balances mine. With you, I’m a peace. I’m seen. I’m understood. And I’m loved. And I want more than anything to spend the rest of my existence with you.”
Tysm to the author for ARC
March 7, 2025
Devoured in one sitting. I could not get enough of these babes. I was giggling and kicking my feet throughout their story, but also tearing up from their beautiful love story. This book is the epitome of right person, wrong time.
Remi & Wren were made for each other, the way their relationship slowly blossomed into more. It was heart wrenching when finding out why Remi left. After everything they both have been through they both let their walls down and just live. It was a little harder for Wren, but he still loved fiercely.
I loved the dual timeline so we could witness the two of them fall in love for the first time and witness them rediscover their love for each other when Remi came back.
Their story was beautiful, and I love Julia’s writing and story telling. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for the second book in this series which she set up perfectly!
Remi & Wren were made for each other, the way their relationship slowly blossomed into more. It was heart wrenching when finding out why Remi left. After everything they both have been through they both let their walls down and just live. It was a little harder for Wren, but he still loved fiercely.
I loved the dual timeline so we could witness the two of them fall in love for the first time and witness them rediscover their love for each other when Remi came back.
Their story was beautiful, and I love Julia’s writing and story telling. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for the second book in this series which she set up perfectly!
March 9, 2025
♾️ STARS!⭐️
3🌶️
OMG! Y’all, This Book Is Now Engraved In My Mind Body And Soul. This Is 100% One Of My Favorite Books This Year And One Of My New Favorite Books Of All Time. Remy And Win And LITERAL Soulmates And Are So Meant To Ve Together Forever. Also This Is My Favorite Second Chance Romances Book Ever, It Was Done PERFECTLY! I Loved Both Remy And Win And There Relationship Is One Of A Lifetime One And It Was So Beautiful To See These Two Grow Together. They Are One Of My New Favorite Couples EVER! And Win Is One If My New Favorite Broken Boys Ever, Ge Deserves The WHOLE Entire World And So Much More UGH! I Love Him To Bits. Remy Is SO Book Boyfriend Material And He Is DEFINITELY My Nee Favorite Book Boyfriend Ever Because I Want Someone Like Him In My Life And I Won’t Have Any Regrets. I Also Live Andrea In This Book She Us Such An Amazing Side Character And She Really Bright This Book. Also THE NICKNAME! Sir Remington And Prince Winston And Pooh Bear And Winnie Like Winnie The Pooh, UGH Obsessed! Those Nicknames Are Now Some Of My New Favorites Ever And Nothing Will Compare. So All In All, READ THIS MASTERPIECE! I Promise You You’re Gonna Absolutely Adore It Like Me And ADORE These Boys So Much Like I Do Cause These Boys Deserve SO Much And They Now Have Ingrained In My Soul And Heart Forever. Julia, I Love You Girl, I Absolutely Love You For This Book And You Are Literally The Sweetest Person Ever And I Cannot Wait To Read More Of Your Book. I’m Definitely Rereading This Book For The Rest Of My Life💕🫶
3🌶️
OMG! Y’all, This Book Is Now Engraved In My Mind Body And Soul. This Is 100% One Of My Favorite Books This Year And One Of My New Favorite Books Of All Time. Remy And Win And LITERAL Soulmates And Are So Meant To Ve Together Forever. Also This Is My Favorite Second Chance Romances Book Ever, It Was Done PERFECTLY! I Loved Both Remy And Win And There Relationship Is One Of A Lifetime One And It Was So Beautiful To See These Two Grow Together. They Are One Of My New Favorite Couples EVER! And Win Is One If My New Favorite Broken Boys Ever, Ge Deserves The WHOLE Entire World And So Much More UGH! I Love Him To Bits. Remy Is SO Book Boyfriend Material And He Is DEFINITELY My Nee Favorite Book Boyfriend Ever Because I Want Someone Like Him In My Life And I Won’t Have Any Regrets. I Also Live Andrea In This Book She Us Such An Amazing Side Character And She Really Bright This Book. Also THE NICKNAME! Sir Remington And Prince Winston And Pooh Bear And Winnie Like Winnie The Pooh, UGH Obsessed! Those Nicknames Are Now Some Of My New Favorites Ever And Nothing Will Compare. So All In All, READ THIS MASTERPIECE! I Promise You You’re Gonna Absolutely Adore It Like Me And ADORE These Boys So Much Like I Do Cause These Boys Deserve SO Much And They Now Have Ingrained In My Soul And Heart Forever. Julia, I Love You Girl, I Absolutely Love You For This Book And You Are Literally The Sweetest Person Ever And I Cannot Wait To Read More Of Your Book. I’m Definitely Rereading This Book For The Rest Of My Life💕🫶
February 20, 2025
this book gave me life. this tackled some very hard subjects but did it so beautifully. i dragged this out for so long because i simply didn’t want to finish it, i will never recover.
these broken boys will have my heart forever. 🖤
these broken boys will have my heart forever. 🖤
September 24, 2025
so heavy and so beautiful. that's all i have to say.
May 29, 2025
not to shit on a sensitive topic but pretty sure I've read some variation of this at least fifteen times before.
Read
July 17, 2025dnf 25%
really didn't get into it. I don't know what it was but I struggled. so for my well-being I'll dnf this one 😅
really didn't get into it. I don't know what it was but I struggled. so for my well-being I'll dnf this one 😅
June 27, 2025
Omg…THIS BOOK!!
Win and Remy completely captured my heart! These two men who are battling their own demons and darkness find the light and safety in each other…this book broke my heart, made me laugh, made me cry, and reminded me that EVERYONE deserves love…no matter the circumstances.
Oh and it had the PERFECT amount of spice!!🔥
This book does cover DARK topics so please make sure to check your content warnings before you read.
Win and Remy completely captured my heart! These two men who are battling their own demons and darkness find the light and safety in each other…this book broke my heart, made me laugh, made me cry, and reminded me that EVERYONE deserves love…no matter the circumstances.
Oh and it had the PERFECT amount of spice!!🔥
This book does cover DARK topics so please make sure to check your content warnings before you read.
March 30, 2025
Ugh, it's hurting me to only give this 3 stars. I thought for sure this would be an easy 5 star read for me. I absolutely loved all the angst and the actual meat of the story. My issue was more with the writing unfortunately. I felt like the dialogue in some parts was really unnatural. My biggest issue was with the characters themselves...I was never able to get a clear idea of them in my head. It kinda seemed like descriptions of who they were kept switching around. I'm not sure how to explain it, and maybe it was just me. This wasn't bad at all, and maybe I'll try a reread in a few months.
March 23, 2025
You know that sound—“Your Gonna Suffer, but you’ll be happy about it”? Yeah. That’s this book in written form.
We get two main characters who don’t fit neatly into any stereotype—both flawed, both raw, both impossible not to love. And every chapter? It drags you deeper into their past and present, layering heartbreak upon heartbreak until you feel it in your bones.
There are some soul-crushing moments in this book. The kind that sit heavy in your chest, where you know something is coming, but you still aren’t prepared.
It’s been over a week since I finished, and this book still owns a piece of my heart. Easily one of my top reads of 2025.
📖 “Believe me, love, I know what it’s like to choke on darkness. To drown inside with a fake smile that no one seems to see through…” (← Tell me that didn’t wreck you.)
This is a book that makes you feel—the messy, painful, and beautiful kind—this is a book that once you read it-it stays with you!
We get two main characters who don’t fit neatly into any stereotype—both flawed, both raw, both impossible not to love. And every chapter? It drags you deeper into their past and present, layering heartbreak upon heartbreak until you feel it in your bones.
There are some soul-crushing moments in this book. The kind that sit heavy in your chest, where you know something is coming, but you still aren’t prepared.
It’s been over a week since I finished, and this book still owns a piece of my heart. Easily one of my top reads of 2025.
📖 “Believe me, love, I know what it’s like to choke on darkness. To drown inside with a fake smile that no one seems to see through…” (← Tell me that didn’t wreck you.)
This is a book that makes you feel—the messy, painful, and beautiful kind—this is a book that once you read it-it stays with you!
May 19, 2025
This book did in fact ruin my life, but in the best way possible. This was an amazing second chance MM dark romance, that’s going to stick with me forever.
The healing that was done in this book was incredible and it brought tears to my eyes learning about The trauma of one of the main characters in this book. Definitely check your trigger warnings as there are a lot of darker themes happening in here.
Win and Remy are absolutely perfect for each other the mental health rep in here was done so well and realistically you just want to give the characters a hug and you gotta love them. This book is gonna make you laugh. It’s gonna make you cry. It’s gonna make you rage and then it’s gonna make you melt for their love story. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The healing that was done in this book was incredible and it brought tears to my eyes learning about The trauma of one of the main characters in this book. Definitely check your trigger warnings as there are a lot of darker themes happening in here.
Win and Remy are absolutely perfect for each other the mental health rep in here was done so well and realistically you just want to give the characters a hug and you gotta love them. This book is gonna make you laugh. It’s gonna make you cry. It’s gonna make you rage and then it’s gonna make you melt for their love story. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 21, 2025
4.75 ⭐️
I seriously love Win & Remy so much. I was giggling, swooning and healing alongside these characters. Such a great MM romance 🫶🏻
I seriously love Win & Remy so much. I was giggling, swooning and healing alongside these characters. Such a great MM romance 🫶🏻
April 8, 2025
This started out a bit slow for me. I wanted to feel the angst, but I didn't right off the bat. If I had to guess, it's due to the frequent flashbacks.
When Win came back into Remy's life six years after he abandoned him, he had a lot to make up for. Or did he? Remy was justified in his pain and distrust, but Win survived hell to come back to the only sunshine he'd ever known.
I love how protective Remy became after his walls crumbled. Win deserved someone on his side, and Remy stepped up when Win needed him most.
When Win came back into Remy's life six years after he abandoned him, he had a lot to make up for. Or did he? Remy was justified in his pain and distrust, but Win survived hell to come back to the only sunshine he'd ever known.
I love how protective Remy became after his walls crumbled. Win deserved someone on his side, and Remy stepped up when Win needed him most.
March 10, 2025
4,5 ⭐️
OMG!!! This book was so GOOD. Win and Remy’s story fkn DESTROYED ME in the best way. And then they made my heart whole again. I love them. LOVE. I will never not think about them. Both these guys deserves the world. Win’s story truly messed up my head for a bit. ❤️🩹
Win and Remy are soulmates but their happy ending is really hard earned because of the cruelness of this world and their own struggles. I have never rooted on two people the way I did root for these guys 🥺.
This book had everything. The ANGST, the pain, the hurt and the comfort, the spice, tension, the laughs and the fucking LOVE. Ugh. I really appreciated the dual timelines because it gave the story so much more depth. And the mental health rep. in this book was beautifully (and painfully) written.
🖊️🖊️🖊️
”We’re magnets, drawing each other in, flipping and repelling, then slamming back together again”
”We’re gonna keep healing together, ok?” I whisper, grasping his face. “You and me? We’re gonna be ok because we’ve got each other. Always.”
“And forever.”
OMG!!! This book was so GOOD. Win and Remy’s story fkn DESTROYED ME in the best way. And then they made my heart whole again. I love them. LOVE. I will never not think about them. Both these guys deserves the world. Win’s story truly messed up my head for a bit. ❤️🩹
Win and Remy are soulmates but their happy ending is really hard earned because of the cruelness of this world and their own struggles. I have never rooted on two people the way I did root for these guys 🥺.
This book had everything. The ANGST, the pain, the hurt and the comfort, the spice, tension, the laughs and the fucking LOVE. Ugh. I really appreciated the dual timelines because it gave the story so much more depth. And the mental health rep. in this book was beautifully (and painfully) written.
🖊️🖊️🖊️
”We’re magnets, drawing each other in, flipping and repelling, then slamming back together again”
”We’re gonna keep healing together, ok?” I whisper, grasping his face. “You and me? We’re gonna be ok because we’ve got each other. Always.”
“And forever.”
March 19, 2025
I can confirm that the only life that is ruined after finishing this book is mine❤️🩹
"[...] But he's the only one who calms the storm inside me.
And I'm desperate for shelter."
"[...] But he's the only one who calms the storm inside me.
And I'm desperate for shelter."
March 17, 2025
4/5 stars!
There's no exaggeration when I tell y'all I smiled and giggled and laughed and sulked and cried and hurt with these two. Sunshine and Starlight are to die for!!!! ♥♥♥
I really enjoyed reading this, i have no idea when the time flew out the window, but I couldn't stop reading.
There's no exaggeration when I tell y'all I smiled and giggled and laughed and sulked and cried and hurt with these two. Sunshine and Starlight are to die for!!!! ♥♥♥
I really enjoyed reading this, i have no idea when the time flew out the window, but I couldn't stop reading.
March 6, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
The angst! The drama! The trauma! The romance.
I love a good angsty Romance mixed with second chance. There is a good amount of mental health representation in this book which I think Julia wrote very beautifully and respectfully. A lot of people deal with the stuff that is talked about in this book daily. I like when you can find a book that is relatable on a mental health level.
The romance was so cute. I love how tortured and misunderstood Win is but Remy had some of the best lines in this book. I was pulling quotes for content and every one of my favorite quotes was written in Remy’s POV!!
There are some TWs in this book so be careful. I was heartbroken at some of the scenes. The anger is real The depression is felt. The emotions are felt in such a visual way that it seems like it’s coming from a personal space from the author.
Honestly, I love Julia so much. I have never read a book that I have not loved by her.
If you were looking for an angsty, second chance, dual POV, dual timeline, with trauma and depression, but make it MM romance this is the perfect book for you. I don’t want to give too much away on the plot because there is so much shock value in here that a spoiler would take away from that.
🌶️🌶️🌶️
The angst! The drama! The trauma! The romance.
I love a good angsty Romance mixed with second chance. There is a good amount of mental health representation in this book which I think Julia wrote very beautifully and respectfully. A lot of people deal with the stuff that is talked about in this book daily. I like when you can find a book that is relatable on a mental health level.
The romance was so cute. I love how tortured and misunderstood Win is but Remy had some of the best lines in this book. I was pulling quotes for content and every one of my favorite quotes was written in Remy’s POV!!
There are some TWs in this book so be careful. I was heartbroken at some of the scenes. The anger is real The depression is felt. The emotions are felt in such a visual way that it seems like it’s coming from a personal space from the author.
Honestly, I love Julia so much. I have never read a book that I have not loved by her.
If you were looking for an angsty, second chance, dual POV, dual timeline, with trauma and depression, but make it MM romance this is the perfect book for you. I don’t want to give too much away on the plot because there is so much shock value in here that a spoiler would take away from that.
March 18, 2025
LOVED this book it was painful but it all wrapped up so beautifully in my opinion PLZ CHECK TW but otherwise I so recommend if you need an angsty read!!
September 18, 2025
This was a good read, however many times the writing got in the way of immersion into the story for me. The banter between Remy and Win is fun, spicy and cute but I wish this type of energy in the writing style was kept only for those moments, because I can't take it seriously while we're into a very sad scene, or the characters are crying. It took me out of it.
I also found some inconsistencies, I think Remy just jumped from how he was in the first half of the book to being a completely different character as the story progressed. I wish he kept his attitude, some of it, his whole personality. While that was happening the whole story started revolving around Win. Which I guess it's fine, but it was not convincing for me. Not the messed up bits, but the whole, we go through this together. And Remy what, we just forgot him ?
A solid 2.5 star.
I also found some inconsistencies, I think Remy just jumped from how he was in the first half of the book to being a completely different character as the story progressed. I wish he kept his attitude, some of it, his whole personality. While that was happening the whole story started revolving around Win. Which I guess it's fine, but it was not convincing for me. Not the messed up bits, but the whole, we go through this together. And Remy what, we just forgot him ?
A solid 2.5 star.
March 21, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This book had me hooked from page 1, which honestly shocked me. This was my first MM romance and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but it honestly didn’t bother me in writing. I was also iffy on if I’d enjoy a past to present timeline and I’ve learned that it has grown on me the more I read!
Remy… a sarcastic, loving, grumpy man that got left behind for years to come. He’s such a charm though, you grow to love him and really understand his character. I felt like I was bickering with them the entire book.
Win… woah has this man been put through the wringer, he has handled things I’d never want to think about. I can’t imagine being his parents and finding out the things he was put through as a teenager, and not even knowing the things he went through a new adult. He also lost his father in the worst spot of his life, but it may have saved his life.
The love the main characters has is so so raw. They overcome so much by the end of the book and it’s beautiful. There is some heavy subjects in this book, so check your trigger warnings but I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that enjoys spice & anxiety acknowledgment. (Warning: bring tissues🤧)
This book had me hooked from page 1, which honestly shocked me. This was my first MM romance and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but it honestly didn’t bother me in writing. I was also iffy on if I’d enjoy a past to present timeline and I’ve learned that it has grown on me the more I read!
Remy… a sarcastic, loving, grumpy man that got left behind for years to come. He’s such a charm though, you grow to love him and really understand his character. I felt like I was bickering with them the entire book.
Win… woah has this man been put through the wringer, he has handled things I’d never want to think about. I can’t imagine being his parents and finding out the things he was put through as a teenager, and not even knowing the things he went through a new adult. He also lost his father in the worst spot of his life, but it may have saved his life.
The love the main characters has is so so raw. They overcome so much by the end of the book and it’s beautiful. There is some heavy subjects in this book, so check your trigger warnings but I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that enjoys spice & anxiety acknowledgment. (Warning: bring tissues🤧)
March 5, 2025
This book was everything. I was smiling at the banter and Remy’s grumpiness and tearing up when Win’s story was revealed. Their story broke my heart but stitched it back together in the end. The mental health representation was so on point and validating. I’m so incredibly honored to have been given the opportunity to read this prior to the release date. I’ll be thinking of Remy and Win for a long time to come. I’m sure that this book will be one of my top 5 reads of 2025.
Please check the CW’s prior to reading because this one was dark but deliciously sweet.
Please check the CW’s prior to reading because this one was dark but deliciously sweet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews