4.75 *Real* Stars 
 I really had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. What I did know was that I was in a major book slump and that I needed something outside my normal NA romance genre to get me out of it. 
 I love YA, and I really love an in-depth, life altering YA that enlightens me even in my 30's. We'll get to that in a minute. But first let's talk about Mallory. 
 Now I usually like my heroines to be ball busters. They don't take shit from no one and speak their minds. Mallory is the complete opposite of this. Her life experiences has taught it to stay still, be quite, become invisible. 
 Reading about Mallory and Rider's childhood was heartbreaking. Living the way they did, you grow up pretty quick, but at the same time are still the broken child clutching their rag doll. 
 Armentrout laid down a lot of groundwork on getting to know Mallory and Rider. When Mallory was with Rider, it was the only time her worries disintegrated. He was her solace. But we start to see the sacrifices that he made for Mallory, not just in their past, but in their present. 
 Rider. The perfect YA hero that ever was. Literally, he was Mallory's hero. He saved her and sacrificed himself many times over. Never with question, never with doubt. Always on instinct. And then when fate steps in to bring them together it was like they had been separated, but never really apart. 
 The connection between these two was awe inspiring. What they had seen, lived through is unimaginable in my mind. It shows you that life is full of second chances, but only if you see them for yourself. To realize how lucky you are even though you yourself have been through hell is not something that automatically happens. You have to look for it even when someone can tell you over and over again or lay it in front of you on a silver platter. 
 This is one of the best YA life lesson novels that I have read. It has taught me that you can be in charge of your own destiny. We are who we are not by one experience or one person, but by them collectively. 
 I loved witnessing Mallory evolve into this strong willed young woman that stood up for herself and others. To see her challenge what others expected from her. Armentrout blew my mind away in the last 100 pages. How she twists and turns the way you see things only for it to turn out the complete opposite way was done perfectly. Fantastic. Beautiful.