The sound of a man’s body hitting the pavement five stories below shouldn’t be in a love story. We never did anything the right way—he and I.
When a book starts with a line like that, you know it’s going to be a pretty intense story! The cover of this book was the first thing that drew me in and then I read the blurb and was totally intrigued so I decided to check it out and I’m glad I did. This really was a powerful story of friendship, love, sacrifice, and survival. It dealt with some incredibly difficult and heavy topics, especially for our young hero and heroine, but there was always this undercurrent of hope that helps carry us through.
Pixie and Gaze first meet when he moves into the apartment across the alley from Pixie when they were eleven years old. Neither one had a particularly great home life so they found solace in each other and were basically inseparable from the first day. They both looked out for one another and kept each other’s secrets. Things were great for a few years until the unthinkable happens and Pixie is forced to make a decision that tears them apart. Pixie sacrificed herself to save Gaze but when their paths cross again a few years later it may be Gaze’s turn to save Pixie.
I’m not even sure how I would classify this book. It’s certainly a love story but I don’t think I’d call it a romance. And to my surprise, about half of the book takes place while Pixie and Gaze are basically still kids and the other half when they are teens but I wouldn’t exactly call it young adult. I loved seeing them when they were kids and getting to experience their bond forming but I would have preferred if more of the book happened when they were a bit older but that being said, I never thought the story dragged and that build-up to that first life-changing event seemed necessary.
This is one of those stories that drops all these little hints so you just know that something huge is on the horizon so you kind of read on eggshells waiting for the bomb to drop and wow did it ever drop! It was heartbreaking and powerful at the same time. Pixie was always a tough cookie but her true strength comes through at that moment. Which makes it so much more painful when Gaze returns to find a much different Pixie. I won’t say much more but I loved how they reconnected and everything that followed. I also loved the group of characters that are introduced about halfway through – Austin in particular. He was such a great, dynamic character! All-in-all this was a memorable story with a powerful message and I’m really glad I gave it a chance!
The Book Boyfriend Addict 