5 Stars
WOW. Just wow. I mean, I absolutely adore those books that take you on this emotional journey and completely change your life while you are reading those words on the page and Killer perfectly fits this bill. I was reading this novel and just finding out the battle that the characters continually go through absolutely gutted me at times as I was faced with this daunting and very real world in which these characters are randomly thrown in and completely destroyed by. I felt so many different emotion from pain to love to happiness to devastation while reading this book, that I was a complete emotional wreck for a day or two. This book isn't a one time read, it's an experience which stays with you even after the final page is finished."It's chaos and love. Arguments and hugs. Boo-boos and sweet kisses. It's absolute perfection."
One of my favorite parts of this book is the way the author takes a traditional fighter romance and completely twists it into something that is both beautiful and haunting. The school shooting paired with the boxing is this match which I think many wouldn't know to combine yet it completely fits this novel and the characters. Usually, there is a story behind the fighting and this one was so devastating that it sets itself apart from the usual fighter romance which is currently on the market.
One thing which completely broke my heart and yet made me fall in love with this novel was the characters. The characters! Britton Reaves a girl who survives the impossible and spends years learning how to recover from an event which has had lasting effects on both her physical and mental well-being. the pure strength shown through Britton's character was a big draw for me within this novel as there wasn't really any self-pity but instead, determination to survive and get past the trauma perseveres over any other emotion.
Then there was Killer... or should I say, Keaton? Killer becomes the person which protects Keaton from feeling any emotions which could cause him more pain. In this case, Keaton completely reinvents not only his lifestyle but his own personal beliefs in order to try and get over his own demons resulting from the shooting and this really troubles him when he starts to fall for Britton. The first introduction to the character Keaton completely changes when Killer is revealed back into the novel as a completely different person and a different outlook on life which is definitely darker and more controlled than the young teenager affected by the shooting.
"All I know is when I lean forward and press my mouth to his, everything in my world becomes right. For the first time in ten years, I'm exactly where I belong."
Overall, this novel took me on an emotional journey that had me completely immersed in a world filled with both love and pain. I loved the characters, the story line and the authors writing style throughout the novel! Looking for something emotionally touching? Then add this book to your TBR pile right away and enjoy this story as much as me.
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Ten years ago, their lives shattered to pieces...
And he's the KILLER that has to live with it.
Two people. One incident. Interwoven between two damaged souls in ways they don't understand.
***
"The fact I feel anything should let me know I’m headed in the wrong direction, headed down a path of darkness, destruction, and failure. A path that will dig out memories so painful I’ve created an entire persona to avoid dealing with them. Yet I know—I’m going down that path headfirst no questions asked, no matter the outcome.
I might be a monster, but I’m a selfish one."—Keller Keating
"When his strength envelops me, every wrong becomes right, every anxiety melts away, every doubt disappears. I feel calm, safe, whole. The spark of life that’s been missing inside burns bright, lighting me up like a solar flare, sizzling white-hot through my veins. Keller brings me out of the darkness and into the light."—Britton Reeves
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