Things We Left Behind

Being completely honest, Lucian is the only reason I've kept reading this series. I find each book awfully long, bits of it quite cringe and I hate the plot that accompanies the romance.

However, Lucian always gave me Sebastian St. Vicent vibes, and here I am, two years later, and against my better judgement, reading the third book of a series I don't particularly like and that I find poorly written.

Lucian is no Sebastian, but I like him fine enough. He has a devastating story and my heart broke for him. The romance was ok, I wanted to strangle them both several times but the tension was there and I was rooting for them the whole time.

This doesn't mean I think the story makes sense, because it doesn't. I can't reconcile what happened to Lucian with his personality and the 20 years ridge with Sloane.
Simon fought for Lucian and saved him, Sloane's family kept by his side throughout his life, they went to every important event, and most importantly, they kept loving him as part of the family. They've seen each other on a weekly basis, and I don't believe Simon would have left their relationship reach this point. I just don't buy it! Lucian admits several times receiving tons of love and support from her family, he did extensive therapy.. there is just no way he would reach his 40's with this grudge, especially without understanding Sloane's reasons.

I still hate the criminal plot and I wish I could skip every bit of it. Although the romance offsets this a bit, I also found the spice on this book quite cringe.

This book solidifies that Lucy Score books are not for me. That said, this was my favorite of the series.

This book exceeded all of my very high expectations.
The teasers in the previous Knockemout books, left me needing Sloane and Lucian's story like there is no tomorrow.

This blew everything I could have imagined away.
No notes. This was flawless.

Sloane is the town's librarian, and Lucian is her grumpy neighbour. They grew up next to each other during school, and when the parents's eventually gave them the houses, they just didn't want to sell. Lucian is a non-smiling business man who works in underground dealings but manages to do it within the lines of the law (most of the time). He's sneaky and gets things done. People are scared of him, but not Sloane. She doesn't take his shit and stands up to him on more than one occasion.

We knew they were enemies, but we didn't know why. The two had an unspoken agreement to keep the why a secret, until now.

Lucian is a tough grump, but he has a soft spot for Sloane.

“Everything I do has always been for you”

Without spoilers...

He's a sneaky sneak and secretly has funded things for her, done really kind gestures that no normal person would do just to give her something.

Oh my. Where do I even begin?

My time with the Knockemout families has come to an end and it's honestly bitter sweet. While I will never be able to read these books for the first time again, I'm so happy and proud that everyone ended up with the lives that they did.

Lucian & Sloan's story was my favorite to read with Knox & Naomi as a close second (sorry Nash & Lina). The way they grew up and their back stories and just everything they've been through, I just don't even have words for. It was truly a wonderful story.

The plot was good. It even had some things I wasn't expecting. The spice was great. Chef's kiss