Evie Harper delivers angst in a way that makes you crave, desire, and yearn for the agony that will run continuously throughout your body from beginning to end!
"When pain is all you’ve ever known, how do you accept that you deserve good in your life?"
Alexa
knows two things very well and that's love and loss. All her life she has experienced both in the most beautifully aching ways. Losing her parents and brother in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, she moves in with her aunt Ash. Next door the little boy's wretched screams break her heart and she can't stop herself from following those noises that takes her to Joseph. Lexi befriends Joey which leads to a passionate love affair that no man, no amount of blood being shed, or ruthless acts could destroy. No one or nothing, but her Joey when he walks away from her leaving her heartbroken.
"My life has never been normal, safe, or even remotely what I dreamed it would be. It’s been both horrible and wonderful, both parts Joey, both parts me. I can’t let him go."
"My heart slams against my chest as it begs to be freed, to run to the one it wants."
Forced to push his mother away and take care of himself at an early age,
Joseph
is manipulated and abused. He finds comfort in the young girl next door. She offered everything freely Joey's father had forbidden in their home. Lexi became his reason for living, but even after his father's death he couldn't find peace. He wants to become a better man, for Alexa and will eliminate anyone who threatens their future. Walking away to do just that becomes the only way for Joey, even if it means breaking the woman who has always given him love.
"My father turned my affection into ugliness. My mother's fear for my safety kept her at a distance, and my fear for her sanity pushed me away. My father worked us perfectly to his advantage. He made sure I would never taste a life of freedom from the O’Connor name. Unloved and incapable of loving others, I slowly became dead inside, but my father didn't see Alexa coming. He didn’t know the impact she would have on my life. Growing up in a battlefield, Lexi gave me tenderness and love simply by holding my hand through a fence."
Alexa is fiercely loyal in every way, shape, and form. Joseph is possessive, an alpha through and through. Together these two are more than two lovers, they are family. This is a story about the lengths that people will go to for the people they love. Both characters take dangerous risks, putting not only their hearts but their lives on the line. They show us that though love can sometimes be tainted by the ugliness and harsh reality of the world, it can also be saved and will come out more beautiful than ever.
"I claim her mouth, this kiss and her heart. Forever."
"Never let go.”
From the first moment, Joey was mentioned in YLMAMD I wanted to know more about the son of Marco O'Connor. In YLMAMW I was intrigued by the relationship between him and Alexa. Their connection was sparks blazing from an open fire and I was engrossed in them, in their love, and their future.
This was the last book in the You Loved Me Series and what an ending it was! Evie Harper brings
Lexi and Joseph
's story full circle as well as Jake and Lily's and, Kayne and Emily's. YES, there is happily ever after's after the after's in their books! Not only does she put our hearts back together after a series that has caused me bloodshot eyes, but she sets up her secondary characters perfectly.
This entire series has completely taken over my life the last three days, captivating me completely. You Loved Me At My Ugliest is a heart and soul clenching novel wrapped up in an ugly world where men fight for power. This is a series with characters flawlessly written by an author that I will never let go!
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"Love can be many things, but most importantly, it’s about sacrifice, surrendering your faith to the other person, praying they love you enough so that in the end, you both get your happily ever after."
"Life gives you choices, but love, love only has one road, and it’s paved with sacrifice.”
"This world may be a dark and bitter place, but in its most precious corners, where my family lives, we make our own happily-ever-afters. We fight and die for them, because true love and real happiness are worth fighting for."