Sometimes in life, you are blessed to come across people that will enrich your lives and make you feel full. You can take this premise and apply it to Annie Emerson’s debut duet, Thirteen Hours to You. This is the book that you never knew you needed but was everything you were waiting for.

Our main characters are Boo Radley Cooper and Meekai James Lannister. A story about two teenagers who are thirteen hours apart. Teenagers that have no knowledge of each other, yet somehow, fate works her magic and these two are pulled together and into each other’s orbit.

“Sometimes goodbyes lead to a second chance. If I see you again, it’ll mean that this goodbye was meant as a beginning, not an end. Fate, The first point of contact.”

~Meekai

Radley Cooper has had an extraordinarily horrible and sad upbringing. With the little breadcrumb trail that Annie leaves us, it is difficult not to feel for this girl and yet, salivating to know the whole story. I will say that nobody should have to go through what she went through, yet unfortunately, it happens every day in real life. **Beware of Triggers**

“His time would come. I’d make sure he paid for his sins. I’d deliver him personally. My kingdom come. My will be done. You might have me now, but I’ll destroy you later.”

~Radley

Meekai is the golden boy. He is the manwhore who is looking for his other piece. The one that when they come together just clicks into place. When Radley and Kai meet, they realize they have more in common than they thought and are slowly fixing/healing one another.

There is another subset of characters that brought a lot to the Radley/Meekai table. Gamma alone is worth every penny spent. She is utterly amazing, intuitive and everything I would like in a ‘Gamma’. Becca, Brooks, Linc and Wyatt. The incredible secondary cast that keeps things rocking and rolling. These four are on another level of family/friendship, but most of all, D-R-A-M-A!! All their drama. Bring it on because I am loving the drama that surrounds this group. I live for this!!

This book has left me speechless. It is haunting, ethereal, roaring with humor, tender, the concept of a strong family unit, learning to love/trust not only yourself but another. It leaves you questioning, ‘can love truly win in the end’? For a debut book, Thirteen Hours to You, is outstanding. There were so many times that I felt I was not only an outsider looking in, but I was truly engrained in the story and present for each scene. Annie Emerson wrote her heart out when writing this book. It will easily land on my ‘Best of 2021’ list. Now, beware, there is a second book that is coming out soon (May), but the ending of book 1 leaves you wanting more, but not with a horribly bad cliffhanger. I am just so ready now to see how this ends!!

Congratulations Ms. Emerson on a book beautifully written. If I could, I would give you 10 ⭐, but since I cannot, I will leave you 5⭐ and a BIG welcome to the ‘best of’ list! Enjoy reading this book. Radley and Meekai will suck you in and pull you along for the ride.