This book was heartbreaking in so many ways, but also really good. I really liked the fact that both Lily and Ryle were incredibly human.

The author didn't vilify Ryle and didn't make a martyr of Lily. This is important because making Ryle and obvious villian would just play into the trope of "why didn't she leave?". Making him a human being who was capable of gentleness and joy was important. Giving his character the depth of past traumas and hurts was important because Lily didn't fall in love with her abuser. She fell in love with a person who became her abuser. I also thought it was an interesting dynamic that Lily herself came from a home where her parents had an abusive relationship. That showcased that even if you are familiar with the dynamic and have witnessed it for years, it doesn't make it any easier to avoid or preempt.

. 

The author was really skilled at portraying the complexity of Lily's feelings. It became a little concerning at the end there when it looked like she was going to take him back but thankfully not. I really appreciated the fact that Lily confronted Ryle with how he would react if Emerson came to him about an abusive boyfriend. How she forced him to see that them staying together would risk too much and how it would jeopardize his relationship with his daughter, because how can you tell your own daughter to leave her abusive partner while you hit her mother?

I wasn't crazy about the whole, Lily was so perfect she completely changed Ryle's stance on love and relationships. It plays too much into the "I can change him" narrative,

which is particularly problematic in an abusive relationship. However I suppose that was the point, to showcase that Ryle's love for Lily verged on the obsessive and that it was unhealthy for both of them

.

I didn't give this book a five star rating because I wasn't crazy about the Ryle/Lily dynamic from the start (due to his sudden infatuation with her). The book was well written enough, the author's writing style lacked a bit of finesse (but that is simply a matter of personal taste and not necessarily a reflection of her skill). I also felt that while the key points of the book were well established they were lacking just a touch of nuance. It's not necessarily a good book (in the sense that it makes you feel good) because the characters

do all suffer quite significantly, in particular Ryle and Lily

but it ends on a hopeful note and I love the relationship that Alyssa and Lily have.