If you’re not adept at reading through tears, you'll need to hone that skill before diving into this one. Imagine the ruinous heartbreak of a Nicholas Sparks novel but with a happily ever after. There's no question that this story is deeply emotional and profoundly beautiful, and I wish it were possible to read it for the first time all over again.
“You’ve had my always since the day we met.”
Andrea Leighton-Hughes and Jace Morgan are opposites in every way. She comes from affluence and excess, and he shares a bedroom with his two brothers in a Brooklyn walk-up. She attends galas and charity functions, and he busks for spare change in Central Park with his guitar and his musical brothers. But when they meet none of that matters. They see their future in each other's eyes despite their class and upbringing differences. They're absolutely perfect together, until fate deals them a rending blow.
AndI comes to realize that there are many kinds of love, including a bittersweet love that lasts for a short season but is held close in the heart and cherished for a lifetime. Jace learns that family may be messy and imperfect, and not always make the best choices, but blood and bonds run deep and always have your back.
“If we don’t fall, if we aren’t human, then there’s no need for grace.”
I’ve read a few other romances recently where the two main characters spend a good deal of the story apart, but none come close to holding a candle to Jace and Andi's story. It's the perfect balance of unlimited possibilities, devastating heartbreak, and an always destiny. Ready takes no prisoners of the heart in the wreckage of Jace and Andi, but she gently mends us back together by allowing us time with the reunited couple as they settle in to their forever.
My words won’t begin to do this one justice. It's a story of sweet, innocent, young love, and then one of heartbreak and betrayal. It's learning to live without the other half of your soul, only to finally, at long last, find your way back to the one who holds your heart. It's understanding that those who have passed are never really gone, and that we are often right where we’re supposed to be without even realizing it.
“No matter how long the road to get here, no matter the twists and turns, I’m yours.”
Ready has outdone herself, and 99.9% of contemporary romance, and I would give this story a million stars, if possible. It's on my list of top five reads of all time, and I’ll return to it again, knowing new insights and sagacity await me. If you read only one book this year, make it this one. These characters will live in your soul long after the last page, and your heart will never be the same.