This is my first Naima Simone book, and I finished it in one sitting. It was compelling and kept me close to tears the whole time. The way Isobel is treated, over and over, made me so mad and sad for her. And while I know Darius has a good heart, it was really hard to forgive him for the push/pull he did with Isobel; always giving her a seed of hope and snatching it away.

As I said, I finished this book quickly. The writing style, flow, and plot were excellent. The characters were also great in the way they were each written perfectly for who they were supposed to be. I hated Isobel’s ex’s family, whom I’ll refer to as Darius’s family from here out since he was partially raised by them. These people were horrible! While I didn’t like any of them in any way, the emotions they got out of me showed how well-written they were.

Although Isobel and Darius knew each other before this book’s beginning, they really only knew of each other. So the blackout was a sort of meet-cute for them. I love the way they bonded and helped each other. It did bother me a bit that the references they used for movies and such were a bit dated for when this book was published and the ages of the characters so I thought it was a much older book, then remembered they were using cell phones. Other than that, the chapter of them getting to know each other without knowing each other was wonderful.

The chemistry was off the charts, Darius was wonderful with the kid, Isobel is a badass single mom, so many things to love about this book. Yet, Darius does more than one thing against Isobel that has me struggling with my overall rating of this book. It could have been perfect, but his actions were over the line in a big way at one point and I cannot forgive that and don’t know how Isobel could either.

That being said, even with the unsettling bit, I love this author’s writing style and will be reading the next in this series. She’s one of those authors I kept meaning to read and never got around to. I’m glad I did now and intend to go back and read a lot more of her work.

5 stars because this was so upsetting, weird right? I knew what was going to happen and I was still anxious about it, but dang does Naima Simone make me feel feelings. Darius should have been left on ice longer (more than 4 days, maybe like a year of groveling), but I get it. His family is just the absolute worst, and he isn't much better. I loved Isobel's strength to stand up for herself and demand more, and willingness to walk out.