“I think I’ve been in love with her for a very long time, but couldn’t admit it to myself.”
Well, I think it’s safe to say that I’m basically in love with Lincoln Castle. Meghan Quinn is known to write some swoony heroes but Lincoln has earned himself a spot toward the top of the list! Talk about an all-around good guy – sweet, loyal, dependable, funny, and just the right amount of alpha male. If you read The Change Up then you were already familiar with Lincoln who was Maddox’s best friend and teammate but this story takes us all the way back to Lincoln’s time at Brentwood University (yes, we’re back at Brentwood!) and much of the story takes place during his junior year where he meets Indie Mayhem. Their initial pairing, just before starting their junior year, was the product of meddling moms and neither one was too keen on being set up. They were both working toward their own personal goals – Lincoln being drafted and Indie becoming a pro soccer player – so neither one was interested in a relationship. When they were paired up together in one of their classes they ended up deciding to at least become friends, which soon turned to best friends and then best friends with benefits. They were as close as two people could be but with their lives heading in entirely different directions would they ever be able to get their timing right to finally explore a real romantic relationship?
This book was a JOURNEY! Some love stories feel like a sprint, but Lincoln and Indie’s story was a marathon. There were moments where you felt like they may never get there but you had to keep pushing to see how everything turned out. I have to say that their friendship and the connection they formed was pretty epic. There was no doubt that they were each other’s person – you know, the one person you can always count on no matter what, someone who will always be there for you. They had incredible sexual chemistry, don’t get me wrong, but their bond outside the bedroom was pretty magical as well.
If you’ve ever read a Meghan Quinn book before then you know that she loves ripping out her readers’ hearts and stomping on them a bit before finally putting everything back together. This usually comes in the form of a doozy of a breakup but due to the nature of Lincoln and Indie’s relationship, there really wasn’t the traditional breakup but I have to say – what we got instead hurt so much worse! I found myself emotional on more than one occasion during the last 25% of the book as they navigated their lives apart from one another, occasionally crossing paths. The first 65-70% of the book was pretty smooth sailing and built up such an epic connection between these characters and then the last 25-30% really puts it to the test in ways I never expected. There were times it felt a little frantic because SOOO much was crammed into this part of the book (as we catch up to the present day timeline), if I had anything to gripe about in this story it would be that I wish some of this stuff was explored a little more. But that minor gripe aside, it didn’t really take away from my overall love of this story and these characters!
I wasn’t sure how I felt about going back to Brentwood (I’ve been enjoying the last few books that took place once they were adults) but it was a fun trip back AND we met some new characters that open up all sorts of new possibilities for future books – and I’m ALL for that!! In the meantime, be sure to check out Lincoln and all the other baseball hotties that Meghan Quinn has given us – you won’t be sorry!
The Book Boyfriend Addict 