Sweet. Unexpected. Endearing
Lauren is a college student with aspirations of being a doctor. She has a twin sister and comes from an affluent family that runs in the most illustrious and prestigious circles. Kain is a college student with aspirations of being a lawyer. He has 4 older sisters and hails from a family that can afford him the most expensive private schools for the best education and anything a 20-year-old could ever desire. Taking those things at face value, Kain and Lauren make perfect sense. They're both smart, young, black kids with soaring aspirations. They both come from families that have money, demand power, and elicit respect. But Lauren's father is a Miami state attorney, who earns his money, power, and respect from upholding and enforcing the law and Kain's father is an infamous kingpin who earns his money, power, and respect from the streets. A reality that plants Lauren and Kain firmly on opposite sides of the tracks...especially considering the fact that Lauren's dad is trying to throw Kains dad
under a prison
and Kain's dad is trying to throw Lauren's dad
six feet under.
But you know what they say about opposites!
I'm not going to lie...when I read the synopsis for this book, my immediate thought was how in the world is Millie going to set these two up to be together in a way that feels organic—in a way that doesn't seem far fetched or forced. But baaaby! Millie told me to shut my ass up in the very first 20 pages of the book because not only did the impetus for Kain and Lauren meeting and falling for one another feel authentic, it immediately endears them to you.
Everything about this book is endearing actually. Kain and Lauren's relationship and interactions with one another. Lauren's relationship with her best friend Lux. Kain's relationships with his friends and their loyalty for one another. The protectiveness of Kain's sisters for him—even the over-the-top extraness of his youngest sister Cierra. And so much more.
Even with everything that was going on in the story, with Lauren's life being in danger throughout the duration of the book, there was still a ton of fun and levity infused into the story. I was always stressed about the danger that Lauren was in and that she and Kain would get caught, but the stress was suppressed time and again by the love they clearly had for one another, by the enjoyment I had in watching them get to know eachother, and by the fact that—unlike a lot of other books that feature characters of the same age, with these characters and in this book—I didn't have to deal with any angsty BS! Oh my God was that refreshing.
And then...
SHIT
HIT
THE
FAN...
Despite the grittiness of the storyline and the very young age of the characters (relative to mine), I was cheesing like a Cheshire cat through the entire book. There were multiple times while reading that I stopped and said to myself "This 20-year-old boy really has me in here swooning!"
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. I feel a little bad because I'm rushing through this review so I can get started on book two...but I think that's enough of an endorsement for the book in and of itself. So if the synopsis or my review hasn't got you sold, let the convicing point be the fact that I can barely write a full review for this book because I'm too anxious to get started on the next in the trilogy.