Wow, you guys… This book really surprised me. I liked Hannah’s previous series (still gotta read book 3, though!) so I felt sure I’d enjoy this book. But I loved it even more than I expected to! The depth and power of this story is just beautiful! With it being a prodigal son retelling (a prodigal daughter, in this case!) I expected there to be some serious internal struggles happening within our MC. That comes with the territory when you have a character rebel and run away from home. But Hannah took the story even deeper than I expected, leading her character through some truly dark places, emotionally and physically. It felt so raw and real to life, I couldn’t help but ache for Evangeline and for those around us in the real world that struggle with the same issues. I’ll put a brief “content note” at the end of this review in case you want to know upfront what I’m talking about.
I absolutely loved Sir Derrick ❤️ He’s so sweet, loyal, selfless, kind, brave—all the things that an amazing book hero should be! The way he stood by Evangeline, protected and cared for her, and never gave up trying to get her to come home… **sigh** I loved it so, so much!
With it being a retelling of a familiar story, you of course go into the book with a general idea of how it must end. But Hannah really threw some curveballs in there that kept things interesting! All the way to the end, I was eager to see what would happen next.
While there were a few world-building things I thought could have been done better, overall I truly loved this book. Such a profound message and a sweet love story! I can’t wait to see what Hannah does with the rest of the series!!!! 5/5 Stars
CONTENT NOTE: the character experiences deep emotional and physical trauma because of her life choices, and struggles with self harm and suicidal thoughts. I thought everything was handled very well and I didn’t have an issue with any of it, but I can see how it could be triggering for some readers.
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
