𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗕. 𝗮𝗻𝗱 @𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗯𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗽𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗥𝗖! 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.
I mentioned reading this story on the Episode app a few years ago, and when I dove into this book, all the feelings from reading that version came back. The happy moments, but also the pain, the drama, and the suspense. There was so much that went on, and every moment from start to finish was deliberate.
Note: I tried to write this review as spoiler-free as possible since this book isn’t published yet at the time of this writing, but soft spoiler alert just in case.
Tess always stood out to me as one of the top FMCs I’ve read. As Jax noted, she was nice and caring, but didn’t tolerate bullshit, and she was passionate about the things she cared about. I thought her goal of becoming a cop was powerful and said a lot about her character (in a good way), and it came in handy in certain cases. However, by no means was she perfect, and she did have a tendency to shut people out while denying anything was wrong.
When it came to the breakup, Jax was an idiot, and I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. But then I wanted to hold him tightly. He wasn’t perfect either, but he knew his responsibilities and tried his best to honor them. He tried his best to be a supportive partner to Tess. He doted on her and gave their relationship his all. The only thing I noticed that MAY be counted as a point against him was that he tended to let his emotions run high, but considering the circumstances, I couldn’t really blame him. When it came to Tess’s safety, he didn’t kid around.
Everything about the course of the relationship was so raw and not sugarcoated. I won’t lie and say the miscommunication wasn’t irritating, but I guess it was realistic in a situation like that. Even after the reconciliation, there was always a tinge of doubt that lingered, and of course there were the new curveballs life threw at them. But I also realized their love was stronger than any problems they had.
There were difficult, sometimes disturbing situations and the aftermaths. When it came to the events themselves, B. did not hold back. She was able to go into more detail than the Episode guidelines allowed, and it was jarring, but at the same time it enhanced my experience. About the aftermaths, they were written in a way a person in said situations would act in the real world.
B., if you ever see this, I just wanted to thank you. I’m so glad you adapted this story to novel form, and as much as I love the Episode version, it has nothing on this duet. But one thing’s the same, Tess and jaXOn (see what I did there?) have my heart.
TW: past drug addiction, near relapse, stalking, attempted assault, PTSD, drug-induced seizure