I had read a few of the Chocolate books, which were rom-coms, but this was different. It was a more series and heartfelt story of pining and longing, which I really enjoyed.
"Come home, Everett. Come home and finally do something about those wishes."
Who
Everett, a doctor, who had been part of Doctors without Boarders for the past four years in order to avoid the one woman he loved.
Cameron, the camp director, who was dealing with her own unrequited love for best friend, and now must deal with the loss of her other best friend.
What
Both Everett and Cameron had been pining for each other for most of their lives, but they never acted on these feelings, as bravery often came at the wrong moments or it was muddled by misunderstandings and things left unsaid. Prompted by and his best friend Aiden's death, Everett returns home, where he eventually works up the courage to embrace his feelings and finally share them with Cam.
Why
This story had a lot of elements, which I adored.
• Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes. How do you not smile and swoon, when you find out that the hero met the heroine when she was sitting in an infant seat, and that both have been nursing unrequited feelings for almost 20 years? That's a lot of time and a lot of history, and I think it adds a little extra something to the backstory.
• Speaking of the backstory, the first half of this book alternates between then and now. The flashbacks highlight some of the bigger missed-opportunity moments between Cam and Everett. Yes, I found myself frustrated, that they were not honest with each other, and that if they just had a conversation, they could resolve all these misunderstandings, but this is a romance novel, and conflicts creating by NOT talking are commonplace.
• The first half of the book also deals with the loss of the third friend in their group, Aiden. Both Cameron and Everett were reeling from this loss, and dealing with it in very different ways. Aiden was a huge part of their world, and now they had to figure out how to go on without him.
• I thought Sivec did a good job balancing out all the emotions. There are fun parts that made me laugh, sexy parts that made me swoon, heartbreaking parts that made me sniffle, and heartfelt parts that made me smile.
• There are parts that may come across as cheesy, and the author even has the characters acknowledge it at times, but sometimes a little cheese is good, and that was the case with this book.
• Sorry, not sorry, but I loved the box of wishes. That whole childhood tradition, and the way Sivec worked it into the story was gold for me.
• I love a good epilogue, and I got one.
"I wished for you and it was written on the stars."
Overall: This was such a sweet and at times, frustrating story, but I so enjoyed getting to see these wishes come true.
*I would like to thank the publisher for the review copy.
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