Love has no rules.
It’s been a year since Eden Munro last saw Tyler Bruce: her stepbrother…and secret love. Although they swore to ignore their feelings and put their family first, Eden can’t help but feel excited when Tyler invites her to join him in New York City for the summer.
But it’s not like anything is going to happen. Eden is happy with her boyfriend Dean, and she knows gorgeous, green-eyed Tyler must have moved on as well. But as they spend the long, hot summer in the city that never sleeps, it becomes obvious that those old feelings are still there…simmering beneath the surface. Will Tyler and Eden be able to resist temptation?
First things first, I buddy-read this book with Kat @Life and Other Disasters, and she already posted her review of it, and you can read it here! Secondly, this is the second book in the DIMILY trilogy, which means that there will be spoilers for the first book for sure. You can check out my review of Did I Mention I Love You? here.
I actually liked this second book better than the first. A lot of things that were a problem for me in the first one, were not on this one, and it overall just made me feel a whole lot more.
Now, this isn’t an easy story to read. Eden and Tyler are, for all intents and purpose, step-siblings. Their parents are married, and for 2 years they have been playing that part, after Eden gave up on their relationship for the sake of their family. But as soon as the book starts, it’s pretty clear that Eden is not over Tyler – you don’t count the days until you see someone that you’re over with. And as soon as she gets to NY, it’s more than obvious that Tyler is still very much in love with her.
I liked the way their story developed slowly, even though they made their feelings clear early on, it still took them time to act on it. They eventually do, because after 2 years apart it was kind of inevitable. Yes, this means that there is cheating again, but even though this time it hurt me, I liked it better. See, Dean is a great guy, he’s a great boyfriend to Eden, he’s a great best-friend to Tyler and he’s a good person, so it hurts a bit that they cheated on him. Yet, it felt more natural to me, because there isn’t a good excuse for it. Eden loves Dean, Tyler loves Dean, Dean has done nothing wrong, but it happens – as it does in real life.
As much as I love Dean, I very much ship Tyler and Eden, and I wanted them together despite the fact that she had a boyfriend… ups!
Both main characters have grown a lot since DIMILY, especially Tyler. Eden has a few stupid moments, especially with all the jealousy, but she ultimately understands she was wrong… which is funny, because she’s the one with the boyfriend. Tyler however was a total joy to read. He’s so much lighter and happy. He’s fun and friendly and he’s a great “something” to Eden. He also has a couple of bad reactions and weak moments, but I liked that the characters acted their age.
I could have done without the extensive descriptions of NY city streets, but I’ve been to the city, so I more or less know the grid and it kind of helped me visualize things when they were moving around the city, so I didn’t mind it much. And like Kat, I had a lot of reservations about Tyler’s roommate and friends, but I was so glad to be proven wrong, because they turned out to be exactly what Tyler and Eden needed.
This book made me sad and angry, and I could just have killed some people there, such as some of their friends from LA and Eden’s dad… I hope he doesn’t end well, he doesn’t deserve the people he has in his life.
This was a solid 4 stars book for me until the ending. The ending, abrupt and open, that didn’t make me feel good at all. That ending was perfect. As someone who dealt with addiction in my family, I understood Tyler’s motive’s and I felt like a proud mama for his strength to do what he did – even if it broke my heart. It takes a lot of guts.
I’m now patiently awaiting for Did I Mention I Miss You? release, because I really need to know what happens next. I need Tyler and Eden to be OK and happy, and together. I need them together.
I very much recommend this series, but be aware that it does have taboo themes and cheating, so if you’re not comfortable with it, you might want to stay clear.
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