(A forbidden romance stand-alone.)

This wasn’t supposed to happen.
But it did.
This wasn’t supposed to be my life.
But it was.

I was just a typical girl, living a typical life. Nothing was out of the ordinary until tragedy threw me into a turnstile I couldn’t see my way out of. That was, until him.

I never could’ve imagined my heart falling the way it did. Hard, fast, and with unbounding beauty.

The only problem?
He was off limits.
Forbidden.

But he became my everything, and I became his, so we risked it all. It was only a matter of time until I realized that our risk came with unimaginable consequences.

My name is Camellia Hale and his is David Andrews, and this is our love story. 

As some of you may know, I have recently gone back to school which basically means that I’m not reading for pleasure much and when I am, I feel super guilty because it absolutely means that I am not doing some work that I should be doing. So, if I’m going to read, it has to be worth it. This. Book. Was. Worth. It. This story was so angsty that I put it down several times just to prolong the good moments. I was waiting the entire time for the hammer to fall, I knew it was coming, but it still crushed me. The love between Cam and David was immediate and pure and beautiful and consuming. I was rooting for them even though I knew I shouldn’t.

Not only is this an amazing story, but it also supports a great cause. Throughout the story, the chapters are separated by semi-colons in support of Project ;. Project Semicolon is an organization dedicated to the prevention of suicide. Their work is based on the foundation and belief that suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. Through raising public awareness, educating communities, and equipping every person with the right tools, we know we can save lives. A semicolon represents a sentence the author could’ve ended, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.

Thank you E.K. Blair for writing a story worth reading. Thank you for addressing an ugly reality in a beautiful way and for raising awareness for an issue that is often silent.

4 stars

-Jasmine