I’m very very conflicted on how I want to rate this book. I think I’ll revisit this after I’ve sat with the book for a while.


This book was well written. The characters were wonderfully developed. The ones you loved you loved, the ones you hated you truly hated. One of the things I didn’t like about the book is there were just so many traumatic events. At some point it felt a bit much.

This book needs a much stronger content warning. In at least half of the book there is explicit domestic abuse and violent rape.

I went into this book blind, being an avid romance reader I was therefore a little shocked by the content of the story. I normally read romance as an escape for the harsh realities of the world.

SPOILERS BELOW...
That being said I understand the author was trying to tell a story portraying why women stay in abusive relationships and how harshly society judges abused women versus their abusers, especially when the abuser is rich, famous, and a professional athlete.

I did appreciate the time the FMC was given to heal after escaping her abusive relationship, but because of the ending I would at a minimum categorize this as a thriller romance, not a romance. ( )

This book ripped my heart out. OMG I have no words.
Amazing story telling, just amazing ( )

This book made me feel so many emotions. I was furious at Caleb, sympathetic for Iris and I wish I had an August of my own. This is my first book from Kennedy Ryan so I didn't have any expectations, but consider my expectations raised very high. I will recommend this book to anyone who likes a heart wrenching story with the perfect balance of sweet and smut. ( )

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