|★★★★★|
So I stumbled upon a Hoover book a couple years back but lately I can’t seem to get enough of her! Plus this book is so aesthetically pleasing.
Synopsis(Goodreads):
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
Review:
The story had a slow build up, it’s split into two parts. Lily had a homeless friend when she was little who witnessed her father abusing her mother. In all honesty I couldn’t read most of her letters to Ellen even though they laid the foundation of Lily and Atlas’ relationship. As the story goes on and so does time, Lily is a very independant and strong lead female. Allysa is the best friend that Lily needs and that complements and plays Lily’s confident. Ryle is someone you fall in love with right away, he is very charismatic and say’s all the right things. He’s attitude towards Lily is very endearing right from the first meeting on the rooftop. Atlas is very mysterious, he’s always in the shadows of Lily’s life, he is always there with her when he’s not. He’s on her fridge, in her boxes, every memory to her past and now just across town at the best restaurant in Boston.
This story is very deep and emotional, it tugs on the heartstrings right from the first sentence. You can’t help but feel Lily’s triumphs and falls. You are pulled through her relationships with her and feel a man put you on top of the world while tearing you down at the same time. Lily’s conflicts between comparing Ryle and her father, the final couple chapters when she has her baby and makes her decision about her relationship with Ryle. They fell hard and fast, they burned bright, you can’t help but sympathize for the lost ship.
I found myself longing for more interaction between Atlas and Lily, hopefully maybe a sequel? The time she spent at his house and how easily she got along with his friends from the restaurant he owns. He was always so protective and endearing towards her. Lily and Ryle’s story hit certain parts deep in you but you don’t realize how deep Atlas and Lily hit you till you read the last chapter.
This story will hit you hard, and you will want more but at the same time not because you hope the characters have finally found peace. There are no words for Colleen this time except amazing!
bookh3aven 