Even better in audio
5 stars

I read and adored this book before trying the audiobook and even though I wasn’t sure it was possible, I enjoyed the story even more in audio.

To get the important details out the way first, this is not a standalone novel. It’s the middle story in a trilogy chronicling Bay and Dare’s romance / love story. If you haven’t read the first in the trilogy, The Art of Falling for You, you will not understand what’s going on in this story. And this story does not end with a HEA. That will come in the third and final book of the set, The Hate of Loving You.

In this book, Tim Paige and Emma Wilder reprise their roles of Dare and Bay that they took on in the first book in the series, The Art of Falling For You. As with the first book, they both excel at the voices and really give life to our star-crossed lovers.

I loved Bay and really felt for her in this story. She was cute, kick-ass and determined but very real with her emotions. She made the realisation that she was being selfish and was honest about how she couldn’t stop her feelings for Dare - and how their relationship ultimately wasn’t healthy. It might not have been evident from the start, but when Bay started allowing her feelings to resurface, it was clear that she adored Dare with everything she had and it made my heart fit to burst.

Emma Wilder has a raspy quality to her voice that was perfect for Bay’s songstress vibe. Further more, she really brought the emotion to this performance. I found myself really feeling every little thing that Bay did and when the ending came, I was crying like a baby. It was awesome.

What I liked about this story was how we get to watch Bay and Dare grow both as people and as a couple. Dare especially learns a lot about himself and he wore his feelings for Bay on his sleeve. My own heart broke for him as much as his beat for Bay. He was so desperate to right his wrongs - and took Bay’s previous parting words that he would never be loveable, to heart. He was trying so hard to be a better man but it was so obvious to us - and Bay - that he still had so many issues. I wanted to scream at him to stop his destructive behaviour but I also wanted him to learn. Gah!

Tim Paige as Dare was excellent. He’s got a manly voice but still quite youthful. I believed him 100%. He was very emotive and also did an excellent job of portraying the female voice of Bay during conversations that sounded realistic and didn’t pull you out of the story. He even managed to differentiate between different females and kept those voices consistent throughout the narration. Extra points for that.

Despite the fact we know it’s not going to end well just yet - Dare and Bay were so obviously perfect for each other. They just worked. Both were able to just be themselves around the other and I loved that the spark hadn’t died after 4 years of being apart. I still laughed with them and cried with them and screamed at them to get their stuff together and figure things out. Frankly, even when they were being idiots, I still love the pair.

Even knowing the outcome of this story - and the whole trilogy - I was surprised to still feel the delicious angst that is synonymous with Maya Hughes’ writing. She still managed to suck me in and mess with my head and emotions so much that I had to pull back every once in a while and remind myself it will all work out okay.

I love the way that listening to an audiobook having read the ebook previously, you pick up on so much more detail and really get the emotion from the characters that the author likely intended. I find myself falling in love with these characters as the themselves fall in love. Sadly, that also means that when they break, I break too. I can’t wait to listen to the final book in this trilogy but on its own this truly is 5 star audio romance. ( )

STOP - if you did not read Book 1, The Art of Falling for You, you MUST read that first. This is a trilogy, in order, no skipping stuff.

Okay, you read it? Let's move on.

Maya Hughes wrecked me.
WRECKED. ME.

This is one of the most emotionally involved trilogies I have ever read. It is engaging, steamy, wishful, and heartbreaking. As a reader in book 1, you are happily wishing these opposites attract and stick. In book 2, you are hopeful that fate has them finding each other and stick. I know Maya is going to provide us a HEA and have it stick in book 3. But wow, my heart is a mess after book 2.

Both main characters are dealing with demons of their pasts that molded their childhood, impacted relationships and formed these young adults. But is just 'growing up' enough? Is it marking off the calendar of life enough to be the person you need to be to truly take care of the heart gifted to you?

Book 2 answers that. Is time the answer to have our star-crossed lovers stick? Or has fate crossed their paths for a brief, explosive moment to their final destination?

READ this book. Be prepared for your emotions to be all over the place. And wait for stars to cross again for Dare and Bay. ( )

Such angst-filled deliciousness
5 stars

Up front, right off the bat, this is not a standalone novel. It’s the middle book in a trilogy chronicling Bay and Dare’s romance / love story. If you haven’t read the first in the trilogy, The Art of Falling for You, you will not understand what’s going on in this story. And this story does not end with a HEA. That will (hopefully) be in the third and final book of the set, The Hate of Loving You.

Okay, now that the public service announcements are out of the way - onto the book review, which will likely contain spoilers if you haven’t read the first book.

We start off 4 years from the close of the last book and the explosive break up of Dare and Bay and the revelation that seriously knocked me for six. Bay is spending summer looking after the university halls of residence when Dare appears for training camp as part of the pro-football team he’s drafted to after college. As you can imagine, after the way things ended, Bay is less than pleased to see him.

Although this is the story of Dare and Bay, as this is the middle book in the trilogy, I always kept in the back of my mind that this was more of two paths intersecting rather than coming together. It felt like Bay’s path was on the way up while Dare was having a more difficult time.

I really liked Bay, even if she was a little harsher towards Dare than I would be under the same circumstances. She was cute, kick-ass and determined - and I loved her. The way she used her hang-ups to spend more time with Dare, then realised what she was doing and started looking out for him - it was both realistic and made my heart happy. It might not have been evident from the start, but when Bay started allowing her feelings to resurface, it was clear that she adored Dare with everything she had.

Dare on the other hand was 100% all in from the get go. He wore his heart on his sleeve and my own heart broke for him as much as his beat for Bay. He was so desperate to right his wrongs - and took Bay’s previous parting words that he would never be loveable, to heart. He was trying so hard to be a better man but it was so obvious to us readers - and Bay - that he still had so many issues. I wanted to scream at him to stop his destructive behaviour but I also wanted him to learn. The end almost killed me. *Sad angst-ridden sighs.*

Despite the fact we know it’s not going to end well just yet - Dare and Bay were so obviously perfect for each other. They just worked. Both were able to just be themselves around the other and I loved that the spark hadn’t died after 4 years of being apart. I still laughed with them and cried with them and screamed at them to get their stuff together and figure things out. Frankly, even when they were being idiots, I still love the pair.

Throughout the book I had a nervous energy that wasn’t entirely pleasant for me. I didn’t know how this part of the story was going to end and there were so many houses of cards in this book that I was waiting to fall, that I was both desperate to continue reading and didn’t want to read another word. I’m so absorbed in this world and this story, dammit!

I adore Maya Hughes and her writing. She manages to suck me in and mess with my head and emotions in a way that is so painfully delicious and always has me desperate for more. She’s one of the very (very) few authors whose books I would actually read if they have a cliffhanger - in fact, this is probably the first time I’ve intentionally read one! I actually detest them! The fact that I even read one let alone gave it 5 stars probably tells you all you need to know.

I cannot wait until the final instalment of this trilogy hits my kindle and yet I’m also terrified. The angst is almost too much to bear but it’s so addictive that I just can’t help myself. 5 stars. ( )