I have really gotten into the contemporary romance genre recently and not been 100% loving all the books but this one really does deserve a lot of the hype surrounding it.

There are so many aspects to this story that I loved. Getting to see life through the eyes of a chronically ill character, getting to read an inter-racial romance, following a POC protagonist as well as (my personal fave) getting to see a gorgeous romance about a curvy, plus-size gal.

Redford was just a wonderful male lead and I loved reading into his backstory and getting to know him more. Seeing his cinnamon-roll characteristics coming out was just adorable too. As not only can he be so sweet and tender, but so dirty and possessive at the same time. I love him.

He’s such a non-stereotypical love interest. And usually, we get the whole “abusive ex” backstory for the female character but I loved having that depth to Red’s character and seeing how abusive relationships work both ways and how it shaped him for so long.

The plot was well thought out and, while initially, I didn’t really like Chloe, after a while her peculiarities grew on me and I was able to enjoy her story. The only reason I rated this any less than 5 stars is because I cannot stand the “miscommunication” trope. Though it was only a tiny part of the story, handled better than I’ve seen before and I enjoyed how it played out (which was a big surprise for me), that was the only deal-clincher for me thoroughly enjoying every minute of this book.

CONTENT WARNING: Strong Sexual Content, Cursing, Illness,Chronic Illness, Medical Content, (Legal) Drug Use, Abusive Relationship, Toxic Relationship, Car Crash, Abuse, Racism, Trauma, Ableism (mentioned)