Author: Rachel Cotton

Synopsis:

“He was reckless. He was exciting. He was Theo.
And he was a breath of fresh air in my otherwise extremely dull life”

What if the missing person is your missing piece?

Rose has always played by the rules – now it’s time to break them.

Life’s easier when you stay away from other people. Rose Valentine knows that. But some people are impossible to ignore. Take Theo Lockhart. He’s handsome, funny and beyond intriguing. He’s a mystery; one that Rose dreams of solving.

Then one night the mystery deepens. Theo turns up on Rose’s doorstep, desperate to hide out at her house. He’s keeping secrets, and Rose has a million questions. Not least – why did he choose to run to her?

If Rose lets him in, she’ll be going against everything she holds true. It’s reckless, risky – and definitely not in the rulebook. But Theo makes Rose long to break the rules After a whirlwind week of brat-pack movies, midnight snacks and non-stop chat, where do Rose and Theo go from here?

Thank you NetGalley, the author Rachel Cotton and the publisher Ink Road for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75/5

“Breathe, Rose,” Theo whispered into my ear, and I realised that it was him I was holding on to; I was clutching him like I was drowning and he was the life jacket keeping me from sinking below the water. “Just breathe.”

Meet Theo and Rose. In the beginning of the book, Theo has gone missing and suddenly shows up at Rose’s house, asking for her help. Rose is quite surprised, as she has been nothing more than his chemistry lab partner. So why would he turn to her for help?

And that’s how the story begins. Staying spoiler free, the rest of the book follows the events and ramifications of Rose’s decision to help Theo.

Theo and I were like two ships that were used to passing each other without any interaction, but now we had crashed into one another and we were trying desperately not to sink.

This book is cute. Like really cute. Rose is wonderful and sweet and learns to come out of her shell, while Theo, who is dreamy and damaged and unpredictable, is a great foil. Their scenes are adorable and funny and charming.

Plot-wise, there’s not a ton going on. Most of the conflict stems from characters refusing to just talk to each other or share important information, which then leads to a lack of trust and hurt feelings. However, I honestly didn’t mind too much. I loved Theo and Rose so much that I still found myself enjoying this story even without much happening outside of their relationship.

If you are looking for a cute, fun and quick read, I would definitely recommend this book. However, if you are looking for something with a lot of depth and conflict, look elsewhere.

And, ultimately, I was letting him break down the walls that had taken me for ever to build up so he could worm his way into my hear, capturing it and claiming it for his own.