✨Im Literary Anxious✨

Estimated Reading Time🕒 5 Minutes

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿✍🏻 Jennifer Hartmann 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁📖 478

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲:🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀:💧💧💧💧
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Interconnected Standalone
𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲: HAE
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲: Dual POV

“𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣. 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖. 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙠𝙮…𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙏𝙖𝙗𝙨. 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

TROPES

You’ll enjoy Gabe and Tabitha’s story if you’re into any of the following:

💫He falls first
💙Friends to lovers
💫Cinnamon Roll MMC
💙Trau-mance
💫Books that should come with a tissue box
💙Slow burn
💫Emotional hangovers

🚨BEFORE YOU READ🚨

Before jumping into this book keep in mind:

• This is a follow-up novel to Lotus and Still Beating. While you could technically read it as a standalone, you’ll get the best experience after the first two books.
  
  If you haven’t read Lotus yet, I’d start there — you can check out my review here 👀
  
• As with most Jennifer Hartmann novels, this is a trau-mance and deals with incredibly heavy topics. I’ll do my best to provide a comprehensive trigger warning list, but remember: your mental health comes first, second, and third 💞.
• You’re going to need tissues. Seriously, have a family-sized box of Kleenex nearby. Also, keep some water or Gatorade on hand to prevent dehydration from all the tears.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

– Kidnapping (not the good kind)
– Sexual assault and rape (on page)
– Death
– Violence
– PTSD
– Starvation & Dehydration
– Death of a loved one
– Grief & loss depiction
– Blackmail
– Captivity and confinement

I’m a glutton for self-punishment, so I continue to obsessively read Jennifer Hartman (JH) novels. The Stars Are on Our Side is yet another beautifully written story of heartbreak, growth, and the powerful role love (both romantic and platonic) plays in emotional healing.

“But here’s the thing about forever: forever is a measure of time, and time, I’ve learned, is painfully fickle.”

After reading Still Beating, I didn’t expect Tabitha’s story to hit quite as hard, knowing in advance what she and Mathew would be facing. Joke’s on me; there’s something extra heart-wrenching in experiencing their ordeal through Tabitha’s retelling, especially knowing for certain someone doesn’t make it out of that basement this time.

While this was Tab’s and Gabe’s story (and trust me, there were plenty of times I sobbed for them), Tabitha and Mathew ripped my heart out and threw it in paint thinner. Sidenote: can someone explain why I BAWLED when Mathew’s Husky made a cameo in the background of her video call with Hope? Is this normal? Am I broken?

“Love’s not a competition, and it’s not always singular. I don’t care what the books say, or what society tells us. Don’t ever feel guilty for sharing your heart. You said it like it was a bad thing, but it’s not, baby. It’s not. It’s a beautiful thing.”

While Oliver and Dean will always be in my heart, Gabe hits differently. This man is the embodiment of a cinnamon roll MMC, and I dare you to read this and not fall a little bit in love with him. Even as desperately in love, as he was with Tabitha, his main concern was helping her heal. My dude would’ve gladly bought land and built a forever home in the friend zone as long as Tab was happy and healthy 💔.

“There is beauty in knowing that, sometimes, love does prevail. Trust, though fragile, exists. Loyalty, though hard-fought, is out there. It’s funny how quickly the weather can change. But I know, deep down, that rain doesn’t last forever.”

JH did an outstanding job weaving Tabitha’s story and depicting her PTSD and triggers. I enjoyed how she told her story through interviews with Evan (plus, we got to formally meet Evan, whose story I’m now itching to read). Her journey is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and seeing her reach a point where she was ready to heal was one of the most gratifying parts of this read.

In conclusion, if sobbing is a form of therapy for you and you enjoy emotional hangovers, then this one is for you. And if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you’re in luck, because Lotus, Still Beating AND The Stars are on Our Side are all available for download. You’re welcome 😉

“That’s what love is, It’s finding that perfectly imperfect person that complements your heart, that brightens your shadows, that sees your broken, mismatched parts and wants to spend the rest of their life piecing them into place. And even if those pieces never fully fit, they love you anyway. They love you more.”