He told me that it isn't until you are gone from this world that people begin to mourn you and feel your absence. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. Available in audio first, a gripping, exquisitely romantic new stand-alone by New York Times best-selling author Mia Sheridan!

speaking of dickhead Travis i have two moods for this asshole because I HATE THIS DUDE BUT I ALSO WANT THIS DUDE TO HAVE A REDEMPTION ARC. As I was reading, I made small notes on my phone with Archer appreciation questions, and it’s made me realize my standards are now out of this world for how high they are. This was one of those books that I craved to read but knowing that so many other people had loved it, I reached for it with trepidation. Something traumatic happened to him when he was seven years old and left his voice box so damaged he could no longer speak. You do not have to read any other book before this and it has a complete resolved ending that beautifully wraps up this entire story.Archer can't talk but his personality filled the corners of Bree's heart and dispelled her darkness and nightmares somehow. Archer’s cousin Travis appears to have Archer’s best interests at heart, but it becomes evident early on thats not the case. Archer’s loneliness made me tear up so bad, especially when throughout the book we see Archer curious about the world, basic activities of his daily living and common knowledge in life we see Archer missed out on.

But Bree doesn’t see Archer as everyone else does—a person who can’t communicate, is heartless, and does not show emotion. But again, we're talking about a woman whose painful trauma and consequent ptsd tied to her attempted rape and father's omicide, was erased with an orgasm. After her father is murdered, a young woman falls in love with Archer, a reclusive man who is mute as the result of a childhood accident, as they both try to overcome the trauma of their past and forge a commitment to each other. Bree taught Archer there are many things in life worth looking forward to, and how living each day was worth it. I loved her new friends, especially Anne, her neighbor, and how easy she was to be approached by others.

Even though I kept annoying him I found him at times literally sneaking a peek at my book and asking questions lol. Mia Sheridan's ability to convey strong emotions and vivid imagery through her writing is absolutely captivating. I'm also mad that a recluse loner who was homeschooled, rarely interacted with people his age or otherwise, and never owned a phone, suddenly knew how to text and wrote tons of LOLs of all things. It is a lovely story, the characters are nice, the prose flowed but there was something missing to give it that little push for a four or five star review. A lot of the moments between Archer and his disability brought sadness to me and tears on other occasions.