The Truths We Burn

Hollow Boys #2

by Monty Jay, Anna Gurgul (Translator)

W najgłębszych zakątkach miasteczka Ponderosa Springs kryją się sekrety, których nigdy nie chcieliśmy ujawnić.

Krew splamiła ręce tych, którym ufaliśmy najbardziej. Niecne zamiary w końcu wychodzą na jaw. Teraz prawdy mogą zostać spopielone na oczach wszystkich.
Byłem gotowy zostać świadkiem tego, jak to miasteczko robi ze mnie złoczyńcę. Gnije na moich oczach. Wygląda jednak na to, że duchy przeszłości nie pozostają tu zakopane pod ziemią.
Na Uniwersytet Hollow Heights powraca ulubienica wszystkich, przywozi ze sobą jedynie pytania bez odpowiedzi, a także ponure wspomnienia. Jest tylko kimś, kto rozprasza moją uwagę. Nie mogę sobie na to pozwolić, gdy policja wciąż węszy.
Jest błędem, który pogrążył i spalił moją ostatnią krztynę człowieczeństwa.
Jest wstydliwym sekretem, powracającym, by zrozumieć niewyjaśnioną śmierć swojej siostry.
Ale ja wiem, że ta niewinna, zagubiona dziewczynka to tylko kamuflaż. To jedynie kolejna część jej złożonej gry.

Wszyscy jedzą jej z ręki, stali się marionetkami, a ona pociąga za sznurki.
Ale nie w moim przypadku.
Ja dokładnie wiem, kim jest. Zawsze tak było.
Pozorantką. Manipulatorką. Oszustką.

Nie pozwolę, by zniszczyła to wszystko, nad czym pracowaliśmy.
Nie pokrzyżuje naszego planu zemsty.

Zagrałem już raz w twoją grę, Sage, teraz przyszedł czas, byś to ty zagrała w moją.
I nie wyjdziesz z tego cało. Uważaj, bo się sparzysz.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Enemies To Lovers, Second Chance, College, Contemporary

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Monty Jay is a dark romance author with titles published in multiple countries. Their books are for hopeless romantics with wicked hearts looking for their next morally grey hero. They call the Appalachian mountains home, along with their two furry friends, Poe and Maeve. When they aren’t writing you can find them reading anything Stephen King, in a tattoo chair or binging a new true crime documentary. 

Reviews

[Ayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

even if you threw a monkey with rabies at me, it still wouldn’t stop me from getting to Rook Van Doren😁


3.5 ⭐️

[annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

❝You never truly realize how much you care about a person until they’re gone.❞

I totally underestimated Rook and Sage, and this book completely shattered my heart! The emotional depth, the intense angst, and the pain it depicted were absolutely phenomenal. I might just cry my heart out – I devoured this book 🥺💓

I just realized, they're kinda giving WillEmory vibes but I haven't read their book! (First michaelRika, then WillEmory and obv the third's gonna give DAMON).

❝Show me all your truths, Rook. And I’ll show you mine❞

I didn't expect to fall in love with Sage so deeply! Her backstory was utterly heartbreaking, and the hardships she endured were beyond terrible. While I liked Rook, Sage has an absolute hold on my heart – she's a queen! 💓

❝She’s a liar. A manipulative bitch. A traitor. The enemy.❞

The enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-AND-AGAIN-lovers in this book was so goddamn good! The amount of pain Rook went through when Sage broke his heart, and how they both remained in pain for a year without forgetting about each other. also THE MATCHING SOULMATE SCARS 😭

╰┈➤ Sage Donahue & Rook Van Doren:

❝I’d been here for eight months. Two hundred and forty-three days. Thirty-four weeks.❞

Sage — she's the twin sister of Rosemary Donahue (who was killed in the events in Book 1) and made an appearance at the end of Book 1 after being released from a mental facility!

❝I’d never been able to keep anything I cared about. I just want this one godforsaken thing.❞

I LOVE HER SO MUCH! 🥺 She was so broken and alone and always hid behind masks! She hurt people through her words when she was hurt as long as she kept up her pretense! She's a Queen B and Cheerleader, and damn, she was actually full of power! I seriously thought all of this would fall flat, but SHE DIDN'T DISAPPOINT.

❝I really love pain.❞

Rook — ughhh, his character was so good! Instead of all those goofy vibes I got from in book 1, there were real emotions and nothing funny about the situations he went through! The way he let anyone hurt him as long as he feels pain to atone for his sins (which he blames himself for, that aren't even his fault).

❝You’ve always had me, Rook. Always.❞

The way he pined for Sage and was so completely obsessed with her, and even though she crushed him badly and his trust, he was still torn between believing her because he just couldn't resist her. 😭

❝My pyromania is the drug and the cure.❞

He was obsessed with fire and is seriously AN ARSONIST! He burned each and everything, including but not limited to THE LEFT SIDE OF SAGE'S SHITTY EX-FIANCE! (update: I'm dying because Rook's daughter is gonna fall in love with shitty fiancée's son 😭)

❝I shove the left side of his face straight onto my exhaust, plastering him to the side of steaming hot metal. My body buzzes with pleasure when I feel him try to pull away and hear him start to yell in despair.❞

╰┈➤ RATINGS:

The Lies We Steal - 3 stars
The Truths We Burn – 5 stars
The Blood We Crave pt 1 - 4 stars
The Blood We Crave pt 2 - 3.75 stars
The Oath We Give - 3 stars

[Yana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ I MEAN WOW, what an upgrade from book 1. I love me a good tortured soul man, and Rook did not disappoint

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has no business being so good. Gobbled up every single page in a singular day and left not a crumb behind. This book was a drastic improvement from the first one and makes me so excited to continue the series. Rook and Sage literally own a piece of my heart that I will never get back. The angst, the longing, the tension GAHHHHHH I can’t get over it!! I am OBSESSED with them. Second chance romance PERFECTION!! The past and present timelines were done perfectly in this. Their story HURTS, they go through it and their pain brought me to tears more than once, but the payoff is so worth it. The spice… scrumptious, Rooks mouth… I can’t stop giggling, I love this possessive man. I love how the plot developed I couldn’t put this book down there was a visceral need for me to keep going until I finished. The found family and friendship is everything. Theres just something about a found family of 4 hot psychopaths that does it for every single time. Monty jays writing is so heartbreakingly beautiful I want to inject her words into my veins!!

[manas (NEW YEAR) · Rating 3 out of 5]

these boys speak like founding fathers.

[lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

to think just the other day i was complaining about how much i hated second chance romances... then this book came along.

“i’ll always be there. always. no matter what happens, you will always have me.”
“because you decided to keep me?”
“because you were the only one worthy of keeping.”

the dynamic between these two!!! god!!! rooksage my precious people 💝💝 they’re truly opposites and they crashed and burned but fuck i adored them together. they were such a perfect match for each other. bad boy x ice queen hits so different. this was such an angsty mess but i was here for it.

“no tears for boys. we are too pretty for that.”

sage donahue my beloved. they could never make me hate you. prickly ice queens who’re putting on a facade when they’re actually the softest inside have a very special place in my heart. i admired her so much. the way she snips at people, the way she threatens them, the way she’s so fucking brave and loyal to the ones she cares about!!!! i could go on but i’ll stop here or i never will.

“can i keep you?”

rook van doren. nine inches and a piercing and all, i could take you 😋 (jk my man is LOYAL ok)
the way he felt like he didn’t deserve to be happy :( the way he felt he was unworthy of sage :( my baby. pyromaniacs deserve love too!

also the fucked up sibling relationship between rose and sage 😭 my kryptonite. the way sage tried protecting rose in her own way while being a bitch to her face? the way they cuddled in bed reassuring each other? we only caught glimpses of it but I’M A GONER.

the sex scenes weren’t my favorite in the present because it felt needlessly cruel to me (especially one particular hate-sex scene @ around 65%) but i’m also very sensitive so ymmv 😭 i do even otherwise dislike name-calling during sex (“slut”, “whore”, etc.) unless it’s discussed and agreed upon from before so. yeah. i did eat up every single crumb of their relationship development though and i loved how rook was tormented by sage even while “hating” her.

anyways. brb crying over the matching soulmate scars they shared 🥹🥹 (over the fact that rook scarred himself to be hers 😭)

[ames · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would let rook van doren call me his whore (wait, what?)

[ivy · Rating 2 out of 5]

actually finished this days ago but forgot to update due to finals! RTC. 2.75

⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹

ᝰ ⋆ ── preread ✶
continuing the series with sage and rook 🤭 already started and this is super entertaining so far! hopefully it stays this way 🫶🏻

🍡˖𖧷 continuing this series with my best friend marti i love you angel 🌸

[Iqra · Rating 3 out of 5]

ೃ⁀➷ 3.5 stars *ੈ✩‧₊˚

-

Alexa play until I bleed out by The Weeknd

-

This was sm better than the first for sure.

Rook my baby he’s so precious and deserves the world 😩 the way he felt too much and didn’t know how to handle any of it made me wanna cry for him sb

I liked sage the moment we saw her in the last book (even if it was for like point two seconds) and i was right to bc she was the heart of this book. What she went thru had me shaking w unshed tears omfds 😭❤️‍🩹

Silas was such a wild card in here wtf I wasn’t expecting to love him this much but I do and i cannot get over hm he loves Rosie it’s so heartbreaking 😭😭😭😭😭

The first part has me in a chokehold I loveeeed it, there was all the angst and tension with the soft tender moments but we got to the middle of the book and lost that which kinda ruined the momentum of their story (yes ik that was the whole point but it doesn’t mean I have to like it ugh)

And then there were all those analogies that were handed out like sweets (more like forcefully shoved into ur face) every other line. It was too much. I couldn’t escape or ignore it so it had me skimming full chapters. I understand why the author included them and the significance of them, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not my preferred writing style and kept taking me out of the story.

Also there were some vvv questionable moments in this book where I was like why is this actually happening lmao (the branding kink Iykyk)

Nevertheless, im willing to push thru for Silas and I’m def excited for thatcherlyra shjdhfjd that last chapter was so juicy 👹👹

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
This is the second time I wrote this review bc gr decided to shut down halfway thru my first one 😭🔫

𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
Jennifer’s body - Chris grey, plvtinum, Dutch Melrose
Feel something - Chris brown
Ride - Chris grey

[sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 inches AND pierced

[vanessa ⋆.☕︎ [health issues]]

I will put this on hold cause what the hell is going one?


─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

⋆.˚🤍⋆ So here I am, diving headfirst into the second book, hoping it’s at least better, or at the very least, less cringy and a bit more logical (it's dark romance after all so I don't think anything would be logical in any mean but yeah... you got me). Rook already seems a little more bearable than Alistair, so let’s just hope he actually lives up to that.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

somehow even better during my reread 😭😭😭
______________________________________________

IS THIS A ROMANCE NOVEL OR POETRY???? Dude, I'm in love.

I am legit obsessed with this series. OB-FUCKING-SESSED. I can't get enough. It's perfection. I loved this so much and I love how Monty Jay wrote this as a second chance into two acts. SOOO FREAKING GOOD.

Rook was the one hollow boy I wasn't really drawn to but holy shit, I love him. Rook + Sage had such an emotional story. Both of them are so broken and my heart broke for both of their stories. But they are perfect for each other. Pretty poison + fire god ❤️‍🔥

A few of my internal reactions
12% He just called her pretty poison, omg.
30% the bathroom scene HOLY HELL 🥵
34% scars + soulmates STOPPP 😭😭😭
78% THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER OMG 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Highlights:
"This is mine. Her truths. Her quirks. They're mine. She is mine. Unable to love or not."

"I don't need it to go anywhere. I know how to handle the bitch in you."

"Can I keep you?" 🥹🥹🥹

"He is my fire god, and I live to burn for him."

- Dark Academia
- Second Chance
- Hate to love.. back to hate
- Mean Girl x Bad Boy
- Revenge Plot
- Touch Her & Die
- Broken Characters

[EmBibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I loved it! This was the book I was probably the least excited for, I always tend to get attracted to and excited for the psychotic character’s book more, however this ended up being my favorite! The enemies-to lovers-to enemies-to lovers again plot line was so good! I mean it was so freakin frustrating and they made me wanna scream out loud, but they were so good.

There are only two people who can look the pits of hell in the eyes and not flinch. 
Those in Hell and those who already made their way out.

Sage and Rook gave me emotions, angst, sweetness, tension, and freakin chemistry. I just loved how their story developed. Rook was all goofy and unserious in the previous book, but here he was so real. The way he felt too deep too much, I hurt for him. The way he was torn between believing her or not after she broke his trust was so agonizing. Sage on the other hand was, simply said, such a Queen!

“What happened to you?” I ask accidentally, meaning to say it in my head. 
“Enough to know better.”

I don’t know why, but the scene where he burned himself in order to have a matching scar with her because she believed that matching scars makes people soulmates, will forever be living in my head. The book was overflowed with analogues tho which was kinda too much. Other than that, this was so good and it got me hooked.

#1 The lies we steal ~ 3.25 stars

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟 ROOKSAGE >>>>

[Brittany (Brit.tea.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALL THE STARS 🖤🥺🖤

[Alya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean men with a tortured soul -- nothing speaks to me more than characters with depth... This book had no business being this good!!💜

[mikayla ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To the Sage Donahue’s of the world. Don’t you dare apologize for becoming what you had to in order to survive. You forged yourself from the flames. Bow to no one.”

4 ⭐️ a second chance romance with bite - sharp, emotional, and beautifully destructive. this book ruined me. rook and sage’s story was so much more than i expected. it follows two deeply, heart-wrenchingly broken people falling in love whilst trying to make peace with wounds that may never fully heal. it’s messy, painful, and so damn angsty.

rook van doran shattered every expectation i had of him. the emotional complexity and depth of this man are unprecedented. i’d let this man set me on fire, and more. sage donahue was a damn queen. ferocious, fragile, and unforgettable. she’s easily my favourite fmc in this series so far - layered, damaged, yet still startlingly relatable. she’s an absolute powerhouse. rook and sage were perfectly matched: two beautifully ruined souls who found something close to peace in each other.

i adore monty jay’s writing. she has a truly distinctive style and a flair for the dramatic. it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but she delivers the emotional depth and angst this series demands with equal parts vulnerability and strength. the prose is vivid and descriptive - you feel the chaos, the ache, and the unraveling. it’s heart-shredding and addictive. absolutely worth the read.

“Show me anarchy, show me something violent. Show me all your truths, Rook. And I’ll show you mine.”

“Despite what everyone said, what they will continue to say, despite the anarchy he raises, Rook Van Doren is what truly living feels like. This substantial, nebulous force that could never be watered down or put out. The fire which never goes out.”

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚'THE TRUTHS WE BURN'📚 is the second full length interconnected stand-alone book in Monty Jay's 'Hollow Boys' series.

MY REVIEW AND OTHERS: can also be found on my blog:
➽ KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

Sage Donahue she the keeper of all secrets, so many secrets that could destroy the very foundation of this township. Daily she hides behind a mask of perfection never revealing her true self to the outside world, fake smile, fake happiness, they say she's heartless and a man eater, she's smothered under huge expectations of her parents and strives to fulfil them in order to protect her twin sister Rose, but at what cost?



Rook Van Doren, is what nightmares are made up of, an unpredictable pyromaniac with blood on his hands without an ounce of remorse. Who thrives in the darkness and lives on pain, most call him the Antichrist. Him and his band of brothers are feared by all.

These aren't the boys you bring home to mommy and daddy.
They are fun to look at,
but under no circumstances do you touch.

When their paths cross they both go up in flames, drawn to each other even when they shouldn't be, they are as different as chalk and cheese, but they do say opposites attract and in this case that is the truth. He sees all the masks she hides behind.

After inhaling and loving the previous book, this was one I was highly anticipating! And like the first book, this was demolished in no time at all. I loved jumping back in this fictional crazy world the author has created, more lies uncovered, bore blood on their hands, more insight into this township and the monsters that reside in it.

* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *

                  

[giulsxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

➼ 4★

“Show me all your truths, Rook. And I’ll show you mine.”

read this if you like:
⤷ second chance
⤷ enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers
⤷ found family
⤷ past/present timelines

”There are only two people who can look the pits of hell in the eyes and not flinch. Those in Hell and those who already made their way out.”

woah. what an upgrade from book 1!
i absolutely enjoyed this book. the second chance romance was PERFECT—done so fucking well i have no words to explain how much i enjoyed it. the enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers was perfection. you can clearly see two versions of rook & sage—one before rosie’s death, and one after. i loved rooksage, loved the chemistry, the tension, the spicy scenes, the pain, the heartbreak… i LOVE them. truly.
also, the metaphor of lilith and lucifer was chefs kiss!

“Dying is easy. Can you burn for me?”

⁀➴ rook van doren’s obsession with fire was so hot, you have no idea. his tortured soul and troubled past were the icing on the cake because we love a tortured man!! rook is unhinged and dark, but also very fragile. he feels the need to take the blame for anything, especially if it involves his loved ones. he’s the one i’d call if i had to bury a body, and that pretty much sums him up as a person.

”I had been an angel once, when I was a kid, before I was cast out of his good graces and left to burn.”

⁀➴ sage donahue is the definition of strength. my girl is so resilient! however, i must admit, between the two of them, rook is my favorite simply because sage took many decision i didn’t agree with at the moment. but i know, after having finished the book, that those decisions were necessary for the sake of the story. i can’t dislike her for that. i can only admire her strength.

”I’m Sage Donahue. Rich bitch was pumped straight into my umbilical cord in the womb. I’m the cheer captain and everyone’s favorite sweetheart. Man-eater. Heartless.”

both characters give you real emotions, because they both feel a lot—sage is just better at hiding her feelings, but they’re relatable in many ways.
the found family was everything honestly. sage’s friendship with briar and lyra, and rook’s with the boys, so cute!!! especially rook and silas—the way rook takes care of silas, he’s protective of him. i wanted to give them a hug.

100% recommended, i’ll definitely continue the series!
onto the next💋

♡ to my girl ri ♡
tysm for reading this with me, i feel like this was what we needed after the disappointment of book 1. can’t wait to read the rest of the series with you! i have so much fun with our buddyreads, and i love the fact that our br tbr is getting longer and longer! ilysm ♡

Separately, we are just kids born with tragedy leaking from our split veins. Together, we are utter chaos.

“No tears for boys. We are too pretty for that.”

The snake luring Eve into the Garden of Eden for a taste of the forbidden fruit. I just can’t tell if Rook is the snake or the fruit—maybe both.

Rook Van Doren is what truly living feels like.

But love—God, what a hold to have over someone. That is a true downfall.

Death had snuck into our lives and severed the bond between us. One second I was a twin, and the next, I wasn’t. No one prepares you for that. For what it feels like when the other half of your soul dies. When the person you came into this world with leaves before you do. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like there’s a phone constantly dialing inside my chest with no one to pick up the other line.

He is my Lucifer, and it’s time for me to show him I could be his Lilith.

[Bailee Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

"He is my Lucifer, and it's time for me to show him I could be his Lilith."

There's just something about an interconnected series following unhinged men.

ROOK VAN DOREN THE MAN THAT YOU ARE. You're telling me this man listened to her tell a story about how soulmates have marks on the same spots on their bodies, and proceeded to burn himself in the same spot where her birthmark is??? You're TELLING ME this man gifted her a necklace that was melted down from something that belonged to her abuser??? THIS IS MY FAVORITE BRAND OF CRAZY. I love him. And, Sage?? She is one of my favorite types of FMC's. Strong on her own, but made better by those who surround her. She was a force all on her own.

This book is significantly better than book one in this series, and if that's any indication of how the series is going to continue, I'm ready for it.

[ᥫ᭡. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

"Silas has a scar on his pinky finger in the exact same place her birthmark is. Soul marks. That's what she calls them."
So he takes a cigarette and burns a scar on his shoulder because she has a birthmark there 🥲

You guys weren’t lying when you said the second book is so much better than the first.

Can’t wait to read the next book I’ve been wanting to read Lyra and Thatchers story since the first book 😩

Reading this book I just know Silas story is going to be a sad one

[hailey🥀🦢✮˖°. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

rook van doren🤭😮‍💨❤️ that’s it. that’s the review.

[gavie (busy with nursing school)]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: The first book left me feeling like??? 💀 but everyone says this one’s way better. Manifesting a better read with this one😭🤍🙏🏼

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

ೃ⁀➷

The only real place I'd felt anything close to happy was when I was near her."

What can I say? I am truly a sucker for characters who are scarred souls. The angst that RookSage deliver is crazy likeeee they are for sure going to be my number one couple in this series. The way they ultimately felt safe amongst each other and can be each other peace🥹. But I knew Rook was a good man when he burned himself to have matching scars with Sage because he believe they are soulmates. Because THAT IS TRUE ROMANCE! Anyway, I am excitedddd to begin Thatcherlyra because Psychoxstalker is giving insanity but funnn.

[Jahni · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cried, i laughed, i was pissed but i loved this book sm that it hurts to be done with it.

i had high expectations when starting this book and thank the lord it came out the way i wanted it to — perfection.

rooksage are my babies i stg. the history between them was everything, their feelings for each other was THERE. i want to experience with someone what they experienced lmao

though idgaf about about rook bringing up the fact he’s the devil.. save that shit

he’s pierced btw.

[Jess After Dark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anddddd this is why we don’t judge a series solely on the first book because OMGGGG I LOVED THIS ONE 😍 rook was absolute perfection and the relationship he and sage had was everything I want to see from a dark romance couple. The plot was great and the spice was spicing without being overbearing. Highly recommend. The audiobook was chefs kiss for being a dual narration too!

[a. · Rating 2 out of 5]

done with this series 🥴. we get it blud, you’re a pyroluciferrulerofhell blah blah blah.

[becs ౨ৎ⋆.˚ (semi-ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really should’ve just wrote this review before continuing the rest of the series as everything would’ve been fresh in my mind but here we are 😞

rook van doren and sage donahue are a perfect match. i love how they both helped each other. sage helped this broken boy who thought he deserved to be in pain, suffering for incidents that were out of his control. she loved him and while it wasn’t an easy path, she helps him slowly come to terms with the fact that he deserves to be happy and loved. rook just feels so much and doesn’t know what to do with it 💔 he’s such a sweetheart, he cares so much and i love that about him. a guy who just wants to keep the people he cares about.

sage donahue, my sweet girl 🥲 i love her so much! my heart ached for her throughout the whole book. this poor girl who just wanted to live her life had to put on a mask around everyone, hiding all her dreams and everything she went through. she’s able to let that mask fall around rook and it’s just the sweetest thing ever, he would watch her act out the plays, watch movies with her, and let her ramble about her passions. everything she did was to survive and to protect the people around her, you can never make me hate her. i hate everyone who used poor rose against sage ): they both deserved better. it’s so heartbreaking how she gave up rook to keep rose safe and ended up losing them both. i can’t even imagine what kind of grief one would feel losing their other half, the person they came into this world with. knowing that there was so much left unsaid 💔

in a perfect world the boys would’ve found out about frank and easton threatening sage with rose and taken action. they all would’ve been alive, happy, and safe (lol the series wouldn’t exist if rose was alive but let me dream). the donahue twins deserved so much better than fuckass frank 🫩

ALSO ???? this book tore my heart apart. getting silasrose in the past, scenes where she was alive and they were in love… i’m never able to survive them. the present with sage coming back and silas seeing her ruined me. he was suffering so much seeing the twin of his dead ex, i couldn’t breathe 💔 that scene with silas at her grave… absolutely devastating. i don’t think i’ll ever touch the dead ex trope again, the way this author made me attached to silasrose is insane. you could honestly feel all the pain he was going through, how much it was tormenting him knowing she’s no longer here. the guilt of not walking her home that night eating him up when it truly wasn’t his fault. i don’t even want to talk about the “Baby, I missed you so much.” scene 💔 silas deserves every bit of happiness :( the psychotic break scene also destroyed me, i don’t wanna talk about that letter he left for rook…

ultimately, a really painful but good read! typos and grammatical errors were still present and honestly the repetition of some themes were bothersome but as i mentioned in my review for book 1, i can brush it aside if the couple reels me in. i will say, alistair and briar are far more enjoyable as a couple in this book, as side characters they’re so cute 🙂‍↕️🫶🏽

[megan ◡̈ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i am so sorry but this one was painfully boring to me. it wasnt bad per say but lord did it drag 😭

the only three things i cared about while listening:
1) silas, obviously
2) rook is pierced
3) thatcher aka ponderosa springs very own patrick bateman’s chapter at the end

but at the end of the day, rook van doren…. would

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

*audiobook

1.5 stars.

well, at least with this book, there's a little chemistry present with our couple... unlike the 1st book in this series...

and here the author didn't take advantage of the good chemistry to expand further on their connection. This author's writing is so disjointed...

i am still not vibing with the writing, just like the first book.

Bad pacing... too fast in some parts... too slow in some others, just like the first book.

The world-building is fickle at best, just like the first book.

I couldn't connect with these 2 main characters, and there's a lot of telling instead of showing, just like the first book.

As for the series, I don't think i will be finishing the rest of the series, because the only way I will read Silas's book is if Rose comes back to life somehow lol, cause i HATE dead girlfriend/wife trope and i will not be able to connect with the fmc in his book because i just listened to 2 books where all he did was pine and grieve over his dead girlfriend.

And as for Thatcher's book, while i looove the stalker trope, i ONLY like it when the mmc is the stalker and obsessed one, so that's gonna be a no for me on that one too cause according to the reviews the fmc is the stalker. Not my thing.