
Rating: 3.6/5 Stars
“From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, he analyses me, and his gaze brings every inch of me to life; a thousand flowers blooming inside me all at once. Maybe all I ever needed was a bit of reverence to grow.” I swear this quote alone added an entire point to the rating for me. This type of writing always amazes me. It takes a special author and mind to put words together in a way that move you so much that you reread the same line four times trying to soak it all in. This book had many of those moments for me, especially towards the end. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the main characters fall in love. The storyline really was a perfect example of what it’s honestly like. The push and pull. The lowering of highly built walls. The gradual realization that feeling safe trumps expectations. It’s such a beautiful experience in real life, and this author did a phenomenal job at capturing the realness of it all.
I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to finish this book. I would read for what felt like half an hour, only to realize I’d made it through barely ten pages. I couldn’t tell whether I was simply more prone to distraction than usual or if the writing itself didn’t flow as smoothly as I’m accustomed to. At times, the story felt weighed down by unnecessary details, and I often found myself wishing it would move forward more quickly.
When I rate a book, one of the biggest factors for me is how I feel as I approach the end. Ideally, I want to dread turning the final page. I want the characters to linger in my mind long after I’ve closed the book. With this one, I kept hoping for that feeling, but it never quite arrived.