I really enjoyed this story for it being the author's debut work. It was so real, raw and honest. You can definitely tell that Leigh writes from a background of psychology with the amount of heart and thought provoking content she puts into her stories. I feel like I would go into this checking the trigger warnings and not expecting a lovey dovey romance but more of a story of perseverance, and the effects of darkness on one's life. I would give it 3.5 stars rounded up!

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I adored Kathleen and Jase’s story, and thought it was absolutely beautiful. I felt a couple of the events in the book could have been explained with a bit more detail, as one event was quite extreme and there didn’t seem to be any closure on why it happened/how the perpetrators were connected to the survivor- unless I was just tired and missed that on Mama brain. I also felt the ending was a little terse and could have had a little more added to it: But otherwise I absolutely adored it. 🥰

3.5 rounded up.

While not perfect, this story surprised me.

This New Adult book follow's Kathleen as she heads to college and yearns for independence from her family. Unfortunately, she is hiding from her true feelings and falls into a familiar overbearing situation. When she heads back to the town and the people she misses, her reality is spun upside down.

It was a quick read full of raw emotion. I was intrigued by Kathleen and her journey. There are some shortcoming. I feel like there were some pacing issues, too much detail in certain spots and not enough depth in others. I feel like if the story was told in three parts it would have flowed better. The ending felt rushed and sort of chopped off. I feel this book needed to be longer.

I really did enjoy Kathleen on her journey and can see where this author could go in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Koehler Books and Leigh Shalloway for this ARC.