I knew after reading the Prologue that this story was probably going to tear me up at times while reading but I was also confident that Lily Morton would have everything work out fine in the end.

Wren is absolutely the most wonderful character. He was raised in the foster care system and bounced around from home-to-home but he’s never let it get him down. He has such a wonderful view on things. Even when sh** happens (like his “best” friend abandoning him) he doesn’t let it get him down for long.

Mateo is wealthy and totally out of Wren’s league (so says Wren) but he rescues Wren and the two of them form a friendship. Mateo sees right away that Wren has great insight for a lot of things and he enlists him to help temporarily with his business. His outlook on relationships has been colored by his father’s failed marriages and his current wicked step-mother and half-sister.

The story is set in Majorca and Venice. Lily Morton’s richly descriptive writing made me want to visit both of these places. Since that isn’t likely to happen, I will just enjoy remembering what she wrote in this book. 😊

I loved Wren and Mateo together even if I wanted the smack Mateo a few times and tell him to wake up and appreciate Wren. This is a story that is full of heart with just enough lighthearted bits mixed in with the parts that had me nearly sobbing. In the end I was sobbing happy tears.

The epilogue, set two years after the end of the story was really wonderful. Epilogues are often my favorite part of a book and I loved getting a little more time to spend with Wren and Teo and learn where life has taken them.

Reviews for Lily Morton

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Wren

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that, Owen?”

My best friend of seven years has the grace to look awkward. “I said that we’re thinking of flying to Madrid to finish the week out. Josh’s friend is having a big party, and they’re bored of Majorca.”

I sit down heavily on the chair in our room. “Yes, that’s what I thought you said.”

He paces over to the window and then turns to face me, his expression one of truculent surprise. It’s because I’m questioning him when he’s got his mind set on something. I can understand his astonishment, because I usually let him have his own way.

“You can still come with us,” he says.

I give him a wry glance. “No, I can’t, and you know it. I maxed out my credit card to come here. The flight to Madrid alone would bankrupt me.”

He gives an exasperated sigh. “You’re being so dramatic, Wren.”

I shake my head. “I’m really not. I can’t pay for whatever expensive place you’re going to stay in. I don’t think I could even afford half the plane journey. They’d have to open the hatch and dump me out over Valencia.”

“Well, I’ll pay”

“No, you won’t.” My voice is sharper than I’d like, and he flinches. I moderate my tone. “I won’t let you pay for anything for me. Your mother is convinced that I’m constantly in the process of fleecing you. She always looks surprised that I’m not twirling a handlebar moustache and giving an evil laugh. I’d hate to prove her right.”

“She doesn’t think that,” he predictably protests. “She loves you.”

I roll my eyes. Only if love means she wants to remove my intestines with a teaspoon. I let it go. After all these years, I’m still unsure whether he was born with a happy filter over his eyes or whether he got it through his upbringing, but I’ve always found it very endearing regardless.

“I can’t come,” I settle for saying again.

“But what will you do on your own?”

I’d been expecting the question, but I still flinch. We’ve been friends since our schooldays and when he went to university, I held out hope that we’d stay friends even though I couldn’t afford to go. This holiday has taught me how naïve that was. When he first mentioned us going to Majorca, I’d been thrilled. I thought it would be just the two of us and I’d have a chance to reconnect with Owen. The hotel had been very expensive, but he’d pushed for it and finally, I’d maxed out my credit card, feeling guilty that he was reining himself in and thinking it would be a memory I could hoard. My first time abroad.

However, when we got here, it was to find his friends from university waiting for us. The first night he’d enquired breathlessly whether I minded them going out with us. Of course, I’d agreed, and I’ve hardly seen him alone since. Wherever they went, he had to follow, and he dragged me along with him on outings to private beaches, expensive bars, and yachts belonging to their parents. I’d tried to break off on my own, telling him honestly that I was happy to explore and do other things while he was with his friends, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Maybe it was guilt on his part, but it’s a sure fact that my wallet would have been fuller and I’d have had a better holiday if he’d left me alone.

It’s sad to realise finally that we won’t ever reconnect now.