4/7/25
Bumped it up a star because it really is a well constructed story, and the more I think about it the more I like it. I like how Charlotte is a changed character, and how open she is to loving Sutton. She really is so very sweet in this one.
4/4/25
I'm a little all over the place with how I feel about this one, guys. Sutton and Charlotte are the OGs; the reason we have our beloved Haley Cass. And their canon story, TWW, though filled with ups and downs, gives us hope. That the world can be better. That we can make it that way. That love matters and it wins.
So did we need this? I vote no, we did not.
Hear me out: I liked a lot of it. Charlotte and Sutton are still very much drawn to each other, have incredible chemistry, and they are in love whether they want to admit it or not. It's been 13 years, but the fires within them blaze bright as soon as they see each other again. And they *want.* They spend the whole novel *wanting.* And you actively want them together. They're meant to be, of course. But. [We'll get to that later.]
The characters were the same, but different. They felt like themselves, but we, the reader, had to get to know them again. Because they are different. Charlotte is no longer the cocky, confident, cool girl she was. She is a woman now, but one who has been hollowed out. The apathy radiating off of her is tragic. And Sutton is similar. Not quite hollowed out, but she has built a fortress around her heart. She isn't full of possibility anymore. It's as if life has defeated her. And maybe it had.
Their journey to be together in this is harrowing. Your emotions are drained as much as theirs are, and I felt like giving (emotionally) up quite a few times. Why did it have to be so hard?
I did love how determined Charlotte was to be with Sutton; her declarations of love to her were powerful, sincere, and heartwarming. It was so sad to see that in this universe she couldn't come to terms with her affection, and that she let her fear and doubt take away the one thing that was truly hers alone.
I had a hard time with this one because the OG canon version is so good; they are so sweet and in love and dedicated to each other and they find each other in the end. In this one, they do too, but they each had to give up huge portions of who they were as people to get there. Love shouldn't cost you so much. At least not in a storybook that I use as comfort.
So this was good, genuinely. But... I don't think I'll be rereading it, ever. In fact, I'll likely just reread Forever and a Day to kind of wipe the palate clean on this one.
It's good if you can let go of the original story and enjoy this one for what it is. Comparison is the thief of joy.
3.5/5
Pre-Read
Wait, are we gonna see A/U Emma and Regan, too? Charlotte plays a pivotal role in the reasons that those two get together! Do they not without the lesbian guru? I NEED ANSWERS!
😭😭😭 when is the audiobook coming out?!?!?! I always get these on audio! Don't make me break tradition!! 😭😭😭