Hell, this was an emotionally draining book. More than a love story, to me, this is a story of a young man drowning in every aspect of his life with no lifeboat or raft in sight. And the only thing that could save him, his sister's love, is something the whole world would look at with disgust. It was so sad to read about the emotions Lochlan felt and how he had to basically hide every thought and feeling. Had to be the man of the house because his deadbeat mother all but abandoned her children to go and pretend she was young again. Although Maya didn't struggle as much socially, she had her own troubles and also had to grow up way too fast. 
 The romance aspect... to be honest, much like in All The Ugly and Wonderful Things, I don't know how I feel about the couple themselves (ya know because of the whole incest thing), but I damn sure was rooting for them to be together. I knew the ending was bound to be tragic, but I still wanted them to have what their hearts wanted. At the end of the day, all they truly had was each other in the struggle to keep their family together and to keep their heads above water. They were each other's air and it was sad to see them suffocate without the love of the other. 
 Like I said, the ending was heartbreaking, made even more so by the events that led to everything crumbling down.