It took me a little while to warm up to Mick, as he is a bit slow on the uptake. (This story only works because all but the epilogue's his point of view.) But I cried a lot toward the end. Archie is so freakin' sweet. :)

It's minus a star for a few reasons, and they're all tied together.

I have a growing trope pet peeve: why is it always TEN years? Why not six, or nine, or eleven? Or for this story, a much more reasonable four or five since they're never separated by distance. I suspect the author fell into the decade trope, which is just lazy. Had she avoided that, she would've avoided the rest: Archie is aware of mortality given his job, and should never have been that patient, and Mick isn't stupid. He would've responded before the year (again, too long a time) wasted with the narcissistic* boyfriend. There isn't enough supporting evidence for Mick's tolerance of terrible people who claim to like him. "Orphan" carries little weight on its own; the author relies on us to add weight to it; also lazy.

For a story I enjoyed this much, I have a lot to complain about, and they are structural, important elements that, seen to, would've been great. The end could have used more power, but romances often end rather sloppily, so I'll just throw that one out generally. Stick those landings. Make it sing. I'd be hunting for more by this author if I'd gotten that.

*I don't use that label lightly. I've met a Narcissist. They are difficult and quickly impossible to live with, and you can't fix them. That's not how mental problems work. Any improvement has to come from inside, but this type often can't see what needs work. Look up the list of traits. Mick's ex is a simple version, too simple to be representative. Just close enough that he creeped me out. ( )

DNF around @60% I don't even know, I stopped several times.

Gabe and Dylan fans (Rule Breaker), you guys need to read this, if only because of them. They were the highlight of this book.

So I have a big dilemma. Lately I'm not enjoying contemporary books as much as I would like. I'm bored, that's why I didn't finish it.

But I wanna give 1 star for the way how the ex-boyfriend was treated. And I realize, it's probably me and not the book. I know the ex has to be the bad guy in this story, but couldn't it have been done in a non-degrading way? Mick was with the guy for a whole year, and he only realized after Patrick cheated on him, that he does not even like him. After he caught him with another guy (calmly observed it), he went home, to break up with him officially. He outright called him stupid and selfish, superficial and materialistic...

You’re frequently unkind, obsessed with surface appearances, and have a brain that’s emptier than the Sahara Desert.”

“You’re also messier and more careless with possessions than a small toddler and just as fond of destruction.”

“You’re an idiot. You should read more than your weekly copy of Hello.”

...and those things might be true (albeit unrealistic, I think this character was a bit overdone), but why the hell was he with him in the first place, if he thought those things about him. I get it, it's better to be with someone, than alone. But... anyway..... he might've deserved to be kicked out, but I just didn't like the things that were said about him.

I also realize that it should've been funny, humor a la Lily Morton, but.. ugh! No!

Read this book as part of the 2019 Members' Choice Awards Challenge.
Categories: Best Free Story

I'll repeat what I said in my updates: it feels as though this book and Rule Breaker weren't written by the same person.
The characters were like caricatures of real people, way over the top, and kind of superficial. We're told a lot of things, but shown none. Maybe the space used to demonize and humiliate the ex could have been used for giving us a better feel for the MC's relationship. :/ ( )