Jerry Cooke
5⭐️ - A beautiful and affirming journey of healing and found family!
Win and Sarah have been friends their entire life, which was inevitable given that they were raised together after both their mothers became pregnant at the same time in their last years of high-school and so moved in together - making them sisters in every way the counts. Sarah has been with Caleb since she was fifteen and with them now married and living a well-to-do life, it's hard for Win not to feel like a third-week and an underachiever by comparison. She's also dealt with varying levels of self-consciousness over the years due to a lifelong limb-difference (a shortening of her hand), something her toxic ex- definitely made worse.
When Win attends Sarah's annual halloween party in her dependable pirate costume (because when you've to a shorter hand, a hook looks incredibly convincing) and finds herself called out for being a duplicate pirate by the tall and handsome Bo, whose prosthetic makes for a wonderful peg leg. Feeling an undeniable connection and attraction - and feeling understood thanks to their shared experiences - it's pretty hard to resist ducking out of the party and hooking up. When, six weeks later, Win's period is nowhere to be seen, it becomes clear that their lives are about to change in a way neither of them could have anticipated.
This was a wonderful book, filled with all of Bonam-Young's trademark tender and authentic exploration of the topics. With her experience of the same limb-difference that she's written Win with, as well as her experience of pregnancy, there's a potent about of truth and honesty in this story and it shines through. That first-hand experience makes the book feel like something special and with the same kind and wholesome relationships as in her other books, this is a truly affirming and sweet story to read. There's also so much relatability, having experienced much of the same narcissistic emotional manipulation from an ex- that can make it really hard to open yourself to love again.
I loved Win and Bo together so much, and loved Sarah and Win's pseudo-sisterhood and ride-or-die connection just as much. They're truly the best characters and I'm so glad I can read more about them in Out-of-the-Woods.
Originally posted at www.tiktok.com.
5⭐️ - A beautiful and affirming journey of healing and found family!
Win and Sarah have been friends their entire life, which was inevitable given that they were raised together after both their mothers became pregnant at the same time in their last years of high-school and so moved in together - making them sisters in every way the counts. Sarah has been with Caleb since she was fifteen and with them now married and living a well-to-do life, it's hard for Win not to feel like a third-week and an underachiever by comparison. She's also dealt with varying levels of self-consciousness over the years due to a lifelong limb-difference (a shortening of her hand), something her toxic ex- definitely made worse.
When Win attends Sarah's annual halloween party in her dependable pirate costume (because when you've to a shorter hand, a hook looks incredibly convincing) and finds herself called out for being a duplicate pirate by the tall and handsome Bo, whose prosthetic makes for a wonderful peg leg. Feeling an undeniable connection and attraction - and feeling understood thanks to their shared experiences - it's pretty hard to resist ducking out of the party and hooking up. When, six weeks later, Win's period is nowhere to be seen, it becomes clear that their lives are about to change in a way neither of them could have anticipated.
This was a wonderful book, filled with all of Bonam-Young's trademark tender and authentic exploration of the topics. With her experience of the same limb-difference that she's written Win with, as well as her experience of pregnancy, there's a potent about of truth and honesty in this story and it shines through. That first-hand experience makes the book feel like something special and with the same kind and wholesome relationships as in her other books, this is a truly affirming and sweet story to read. There's also so much relatability, having experienced much of the same narcissistic emotional manipulation from an ex- that can make it really hard to open yourself to love again.
I loved Win and Bo together so much, and loved Sarah and Win's pseudo-sisterhood and ride-or-die connection just as much. They're truly the best characters and I'm so glad I can read more about them in Out-of-the-Woods.
Originally posted at www.tiktok.com.