“Listen now and don’t ever forget it, you are everything.” ... “I can’t go one more second without touching you.”
An easy reading romance with unrequited love, longing and spice. Don’t go into this expecting a strong or realistic plot, just enjoy it for what it is!
I’m not sure how to review this except to say that it’s not exactly good, I cringed quite a bit, but I’ll still be reading it again… I am trash for the second chance & forbidden love tropes.
“I guess I like you on your knees for me.”
… I had been for years, and she didn’t have a clue.
🎧 Connor Crais was perfect as Ryder, and may have influenced how much I enjoyed this audiobook because his voice was just so sexy.
🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ (3/5)
Nice and spicy… loved the praise kink! And I never knew that a pierced d*ck would be so hot. 🤭 Also, there's a 'mirror scene'...
“I keep trying to stay away from you, don’t think I know how to do it anymore. Don’t think I can.”
“I’ve wanted you to touch me since I understood what desire meant.”
When Dakota’s house is broken into, the one person she knows she can call in the middle of the night is her brother’s best friend Ryder (who she’s been in love with since forever). For reasons I can’t remember, she must then stay at Ryder’s house even though her mum, brother and best friend all live in the same town. So yeah, that’s a bit forced but okay.
The “off limits” atmosphere is there and I was so ready for the brother’s best friend angle, but that mostly felt like an explanation for how they met and why Ryder was always at Dakota’s house when they were kids. In the current time, they’re actually the ones that are best friends and they both want and love each other so much but are convinced they can’t be together, for reasons that come out through the story.
I’m not sure how they think they were keeping their feelings a secret when they’re flirting all the time and so obviously into each other.
It’s predictable that of course they’ll get together, but once they start confessing feelings and fooling around I was still so excited and screaming for them to kiss already.
The “I want you but I’m not good enough for you” angst was a vibe and Ryder kind of needed to chill, but I was also eating that right up. I did like Ryder, he was protective, loyal (low key obsessed with Dakota) and had the while bad boy thing going for him.
Dakota was okay, but overly sweet (he even calls her “cookie” 🙄) and a bit two dimensional. She’s also a single mother and the way Ryder loves her son is adorable.
I think this was accidental, but there was a magical realism element that I liked where both main characters experience a physical shift in gravity in reaction to the other’s presence and will know that they’ve entered the room without turning.
You can expect over the top cringy sweetness, especially at the end. The storyline is a bit weak, but overall okay, and there were plenty of moments where I just wanted to shake the characters for their ridiculous timing or not seeing what’s in front of them.
Nothing much happens outside of conversations for a lot of the book, they’re going to work and hanging out at Ryders house but somehow it still feels rushed? I would have liked to see them interact with friends together more and maybe some “secret relationship” outings or something?
The descriptions do get a bit repetitive too (“gun metal eyes”, “he’s midnight”) and some phrases made me want to shrivel up inside (“dip it in every girl he meets”, “dick hunting” 🤢).
Multiple POV
Flashbacks
Second chance
Childhood Friends to Lovers
Off-Limits / Forbidden Romance
Forced Proximity
Single Mother
Protective MMC
Praise Kink
Pierced MMC