Rating: 5.0 stars

To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about this book, which I don’t believe is necessarily a bad thing. My first reaction after getting done reading it, was that I hated it. Just plain hated it. But after some downtime and soul searching I realized why. It was because, that was how Ms. Hawkins wrote it. It was intended to be frustratingly emotional, angsty and heart wrenching. In order to write these characters with so much grit there needed passion to be involved. Passion for the characters, passion for the words the author wrote and a passionate response from the reader themselves.

I love the idea/concept of Lake and Manning together. They just seem to fit. I just couldn’t wait for these two to get their act together.  I really did dislike Tiffany and her obnoxious behavior (carryover from Something in the Way, book 1). However, she wasn’t the only one. Manning needed to up his game and seemed to fall short. It was difficult to read about these two, because just when you thought it was finally time for them to get together, something else would happen. To say they had many factors against them is an understatement.

When I think about why it hit me so hard, it’s because of the many things these guys went through. It is so easy as the reader (an outsider) to see what they’re doing and what could be done to correct it, yet can’t seem to get it right. In that aspect, Ms. Hawkins did a fabulous job to not give us a cookie cutter romance. I would love to see more of their future together as well as updates on Tiffany, mom and dad, etc. This series tore me apart and ripped me open, but I was finally able to piece myself together at the end.

With all that being said, I am SO going to miss Lake and Manning. They had a quintessential angsty love story that hits you hard. Kudos Ms. Hawkins for writing a stellar ending to this series. Despite everything I have said, I, truly, LOVED this book (series) and am sad to see Lake and Manning go.