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Sword of the Jedi, #2
To Kingdom Come
"I remember everything?" he snarls, loud enough to make her flinch. "How you move— the way you breathe—" His words hitch on a strangled half-sob; he stares at her like a man caught in a waking dream as he skims the line of her jaw with his knuckles, stopping to touch the pad of his thumb to her bottom lip. "How your eyes met mine in the starlight," he continues through a broken, haunted rasp of a voice, "and I felt like the look on your face."
Or: What is alive must heal. What cannot heal must endure.
Or: What is alive must heal. What cannot heal must endure.
498 pages, ebook
Published June 28, 2016
5 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 7, 2018
This series should be the only in-universe Reylo fic to exist.
August 15, 2025
No le llega ni a los talones al primero pero nos da el final que nos merecíamos <3
Me gusta mucho cómo trata a los personajes, tienen mucha más profundidad que en la película misma pero al mismo tiempo siguen una coherencia con el personaje en sí es muy loco pensar que este fic salió incluso antes de que se estrenen las últimas 2 pelis.
Muy bueno el concepto de la luz, la oscuridad y el área gris, se nota mucho el viaje que nos pegó la autora en estos 20 años de Rey y las dudas que le generaba.
La alargó innecesariamente, en un punto dije bueeeeee dejame ser, pero los amo!!! aguante reylo
Me gusta mucho cómo trata a los personajes, tienen mucha más profundidad que en la película misma pero al mismo tiempo siguen una coherencia con el personaje en sí es muy loco pensar que este fic salió incluso antes de que se estrenen las últimas 2 pelis.
Muy bueno el concepto de la luz, la oscuridad y el área gris, se nota mucho el viaje que nos pegó la autora en estos 20 años de Rey y las dudas que le generaba.
La alargó innecesariamente, en un punto dije bueeeeee dejame ser, pero los amo!!! aguante reylo
February 26, 2020
This fic is personal to me
The prose is the best thing ever and the characterization of even the minor roles were spot on ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The prose is the best thing ever and the characterization of even the minor roles were spot on ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
January 17, 2025
This is the ending Ben and Rey deserved.
Kylo Ren was right about letting the past die, so that the Jedi could be reborn into something more balanced—more human. Not just light or darkness, but the space between.
This fic found that space and created a conversation around it with deeply complex characters that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
(Also, special appreciation for “cyar’ika” and Ben’s apparently Baby New Year-sized ears—and, especially, the beautiful and heartbreaking journey these two idiots traversed to find one another for good 🩶)
Kylo Ren was right about letting the past die, so that the Jedi could be reborn into something more balanced—more human. Not just light or darkness, but the space between.
This fic found that space and created a conversation around it with deeply complex characters that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
(Also, special appreciation for “cyar’ika” and Ben’s apparently Baby New Year-sized ears—and, especially, the beautiful and heartbreaking journey these two idiots traversed to find one another for good 🩶)
April 14, 2023
"I remember everything?" he snarls, loud enough to make her flinch. "How you move— the way you breathe—" His words hitch on a strangled half-sob; he stares at her like a man caught in a waking dream as he skims the line of her jaw with his knuckles, stopping to touch the pad of his thumb to her bottom lip. "How your eyes met mine in the starlight," he continues through a broken, haunted rasp of a voice, "and I felt like the look on your face."
"And I felt like the look on your face." will live rent free in my brain for the rest of my life. Thank you Diasterisms for yet another piece of absolute Reylo perfection.
September 3, 2018
This is the best fan fiction I've ever read. I am speechless by the gift of writing stories that has been bestowed upon the writer. As a great fan of the saga, this story has left me without sleep, with eyes filled with tears and heart filled with joy.
June 17, 2024
Ooooh this was hard to rate, but since I gave "Landscape with a Blur of Conquerors" 4 stars, this one has to get one less.
This sequel To "Like Young Gods" started out really strong (the scene in the storm on Jakku? 😱) but kind of gradually lost its momentum and its complexity. During the last 10 chapters or so I knew what would come to pass and just kept going out of loyalty.
My problem was that Ben's development to the dark side wasn't shown enough and that he was still too likeable to cause serious conflict for Rey. Pretty soon it is clear that he is a pitiable victim of Snoke's brainwashing who seems to not know what he is doing half the time. (Kind of like Peeta in Hunger Games after his brainwashing from Snow). I would have found it much more interesting if he would have turned bad more out of his own, selfish motivations, than out of being bullied into. He became a too passive character.
All this maybe could have been solved by giving him more POV-chapters (especially for the two years after he is abducted by Snoke).
Style-wise I thought one can tell that this is one of diasterisms earlier works, she really developed her writing skills in "Landscape ...". (All of her ff are of course still better than 95% of what is out there on AO3 ...)
Still, there were so many cool action scenes and of course lots of heartbreaking, emotional Reylo- scenes.
I only cringed at some tropes in the spicey scenes. Virginity kink and so on ... the spicey stuff in "Landscape ..." is definitively better written! (Rey has more agenda ...) I'm sorry! 😂
This sequel To "Like Young Gods" started out really strong (the scene in the storm on Jakku? 😱) but kind of gradually lost its momentum and its complexity. During the last 10 chapters or so I knew what would come to pass and just kept going out of loyalty.
My problem was that Ben's development to the dark side wasn't shown enough and that he was still too likeable to cause serious conflict for Rey. Pretty soon it is clear that he is a pitiable victim of Snoke's brainwashing who seems to not know what he is doing half the time. (Kind of like Peeta in Hunger Games after his brainwashing from Snow). I would have found it much more interesting if he would have turned bad more out of his own, selfish motivations, than out of being bullied into. He became a too passive character.
All this maybe could have been solved by giving him more POV-chapters (especially for the two years after he is abducted by Snoke).
Style-wise I thought one can tell that this is one of diasterisms earlier works, she really developed her writing skills in "Landscape ...". (All of her ff are of course still better than 95% of what is out there on AO3 ...)
Still, there were so many cool action scenes and of course lots of heartbreaking, emotional Reylo- scenes.
I only cringed at some tropes in the spicey scenes. Virginity kink and so on ... the spicey stuff in "Landscape ..." is definitively better written! (Rey has more agenda ...) I'm sorry! 😂
May 13, 2020
Hands down! the Sword of the Jedi series : Like Young Gods and its sequel To Kingdom Come are the best Reylo canon divergence story I have read and believe me, I have devoured hundreds of them in the span of three years. This is still the best so far. I have reread the series twice and they never lose their charms. The characters and their story arc are very well developed and told in multiple angles that make them feel real, alive and colorful. What makes the story really beautiful is how seamless the transition was; the way we see the world from child Rey's perspective, full of wonder and curiosity, to how she came to terms with and embraced her destiny 20+ years down the road, with her and Ben Solo's relationship being the anchor of the story. Don't get me to start talking about Ben Solo because my gushing and praises could continue to the next page. But in short, Ben Solo's character arc are so beautifully written that his story come full circle in a way that even the canon (TFA, TLJ, TROS) can't live up to. It's more than a balm to your heartbreak after TROS and when you read you will start believing this story is the real canon for how realistic and detailed the story premise is (set in Expanded Universe and before Disney tarnished the franchise). I'm not exaggerating here and you will know what I mean when you read it yourself. And be prepared to bring a lot of tissues and be content that your heart will be filled with joy!
November 30, 2018
Hands down, best fan-fiction I've ever read. The story-telling and character development are just exquisite, and the research into the world-building is painstaking. I genuinely cried at the end of this series--If you like Star Wars fanfic, I can't recommend LYG/TKC highly enough.
February 27, 2020
The New testament. Filled with life changing paragraphs. An in depth exploration of death, penance and redemption.
The author was just a channel for God to get her Holy Word to us, simple mortals. Amen.
The author was just a channel for God to get her Holy Word to us, simple mortals. Amen.
October 3, 2020
Yeahhh we're adding this as well, I mean it's basically the length of a book and as detailed as anything in the EU. A perfect, realistic rise from the depths of betrayal that gives full weight to what we owe in retribution for damages done. Genre-ruiner in its brilliance.
November 3, 2021
A+, excellent, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The Sword of the Jedi series is the ideal blend of the EU and new-canon sequel era, and perfect for fans who like both. Better than canon, I absolutely loved this series.
January 29, 2022
What is alive must heal. What cannot heal, we must endure.
But in the end, all things heal.
-
This is a reminder to myself, words I want to remember and live by after reading this story. Brilliant and amazingly-written.
But in the end, all things heal.
-
This is a reminder to myself, words I want to remember and live by after reading this story. Brilliant and amazingly-written.
February 26, 2020
LIT RALLY CRYING.
February 27, 2020
this is the best fan fiction series of all time. OF ALL TIME
April 9, 2020
Cok cok cok güzeldi 😭😭😭😍😍😍
Ben Solo nun bekledigim potansiyeli bu degildi ama olsun çok çok güzeldi 💜
Ben Solo nun bekledigim potansiyeli bu degildi ama olsun çok çok güzeldi 💜
May 4, 2020
Awesome
September 10, 2021
Incredible. If you like Star Wars, just go read it!!!
Diasterisms posted it for free on AO3.
Diasterisms posted it for free on AO3.
September 27, 2021
An incredible conclusion to the Sword of the Jedi series, I was only disappointed that it wasn't longer (because I wanted more, Thea's pacing was perfect)
October 16, 2022
Absolutely incredible. Random moments will pop into my head years later and I’ll need to read again.
April 19, 2023
10/10, should be canon. I find it stunning that this was written all (or at least majority) before The Last Jedi came out. Thea is brilliant.
November 5, 2023
A little too much perspective switching for my tastes, but I love their relationship so much in this fic. They are to die for
January 9, 2024
I enjoyed this but probably not quite as much as the first in the series. A lot less Rey & Ben banter much more fighting & action scenes. You can definitely tell the writer knows her Star Wars lore it was pretty impressive. I enjoyed the ending & it was nice to see Ben & Rey get the HEA ending they deserved.
September 27, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
first read 03/11/24
second re read 29/09/25
rey and ben deserve everything. rey was the anchor of light for kylo and her love was what sustained their relationship. this was a slow slow burn with so much angst, misunderstanding and yearning.
“𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏," 𝑩𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒖𝒑 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉.”
“𝑾𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒄𝒚𝒂𝒓'𝒊𝒌𝒂?" 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏. "𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒆𝒅?”
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄. 𝑬𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏. 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆?”
“𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈”
“𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕, 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔. "𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖," 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒔, 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕. "𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆... 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆. 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒔." 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇. "𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.”
first read 03/11/24
second re read 29/09/25
rey and ben deserve everything. rey was the anchor of light for kylo and her love was what sustained their relationship. this was a slow slow burn with so much angst, misunderstanding and yearning.
“𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏," 𝑩𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒖𝒑 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉.”
“𝑾𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒄𝒚𝒂𝒓'𝒊𝒌𝒂?" 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏. "𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒆𝒅?”
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄. 𝑬𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏. 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆?”
“𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈”
“𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕, 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔. "𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖," 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒔, 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕. "𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆... 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆. 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒔." 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇. "𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.”
January 28, 2025
so first half of this was 6 stars and then moved down to 5 but I still LOVED LOVED LOVED this
July 20, 2023
1st reread: As much as I adore LWABOC... This is the story I never want to leave. Words cannot describe how deeply I love this story and Thea's writing. Ugh. I will never recover from how much I love this book. 😭 I've never printed and bound a book before, but best believe when I figure out how to do it, this is the first one I'm doing.
Thea is the queen of writing palpable angst with a killer storyline. Excuse me while I go devour every single thing she's ever written.
My only complaint is that I wanted it to be 30 chapters longer. Not for any reason other than I just wanted to live in the story for a while longer.
Thea is the queen of writing palpable angst with a killer storyline. Excuse me while I go devour every single thing she's ever written.
My only complaint is that I wanted it to be 30 chapters longer. Not for any reason other than I just wanted to live in the story for a while longer.
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