Natalie's Reviews > Something Good

Will & Sammy
Rating: 3.5⭐

- Friends-to-Lovers
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Hurt/Comfort
- First Times
- Second Chance
- Opposites Attract

This was a journey to go on with these men as they went from children to teens to adults. There are two major time jumps in this book, so be prepared for those. They show up between age 11 to 18 and then again from age 18 to 28. The book is also split into two parts based on these time jumps. I will admit that I slugged through the Part 1 of this book. Not sure if it was because of all the teenage angst and anger or that I knew what was coming at the end of Part 1. Either way, I blasted through Part 2 because I knew they were coming back together. I just wish you got to see more of them together as adults and finally reuniting and getting their HEA. I felt a bit cheated by time I was done, which is why I can't rank it higher. Sammy and Will were always inevitable and I wanted to bask in their happiness but just didn't get to unfortunately.

Sammy is a sweet soul in a horrible situation and he had to take on the weight of the world at 18, while keeping it together for his little brother Jimmy. He has a need to protect others and put them first before his own needs. When Will moved, he lost his bright light in the dark storm that was his life and when he didn't continue to write after the first letter, like he promised, Sammy became angry and bitter. Will coming back for the summer before going to college just brought all his jumbled feelings back out and he was very unkind to Will. Will finds a way to get through Sammy's defenses and they spend time together over the summer creating special memories they will never forget. As Sammy's life continues to crumble, he feels like the best option is to breakup with Will and give him the best chance at a great life. Yeah, teenage stupidity there because he ended up hurting Will so deeply.

“If I was the darkest of nights, you were the brightest of days.”

Will spirals after he leaves just kind of loses himself for a while. He cuts off communication with Sammy and even distances himself from his mom and his friend Jason. Ten years later, Will is getting a divorce from his cheating husband and moving back to Nebraska. He's spent 10 years avoiding the place because of Sammy and his heartache. It was sad to see that he settled for so long because of how broken he was over how Sammy let him go and didn't fight for them. His bright light has dimmed now and he's picking up the pieces of his life to create a new one. Fate throws these two back into each other’s lives whether they like it or not. There's a lot of hurt that needs to be healed, conversations to be had, patience, and love fully given. The couple stumbles a little but they work it out together and find their way to finally being together, forever this time.

“I loved you, Sammy. I was so in love with you that it was like a living, breathing thing. How could you ever think I’d be better off without the other half of my heart?”

“No. It feels like I was always meant to be yours. Like it was inevitable that one way or another, I’d always come back here. Back to you.”

I loved Sammy's brother Jimmy and hope he finds the happiness he deserves as well. It looks like Jason and Zach's story is next up in this series, which should be an interesting one because Jason thought he was ace but finds out he's actually demi.

Trigger Warnings:
parental neglect, parental abandonment, divorce, anxiety (on page panic attack - side character) descriptions of anxiety symptoms (main character)

I received a free copy of this book via GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Verse: No
HEA: Yes
POV: Dual
Breakup: Yes, in the middle