They say time heals all wounds.
What a load of bull. It’s been four years, and Kate’s voice still echoes in my mind.
Every. Damn. Day.
I numb her memory when it taunts me. In college, I drown her out with booze and easy lays.
I can’t do what she asked.
I can’t let her go.
Not even when Lia shows up, freaking ripping what’s left of me to shreds. Caring about someone isn’t worth the … to shreds. Caring about someone isn’t worth the deadness that follows after they’re gone. I didn’t ask for this. Didn’t ask for her.
And I sure as hell didn’t plan to miss her when she walked out of my front door. Now, if I want to keep her, I have to straighten myself out and earn her. I can’t screw this up.
Because if I do, I’ll lose more than just Lia.
I’ll lose my life…
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Love Always, Damian (Love Always Series Book 2) by D. Nichole King is a new adult, contemporary romance and the conclusion to the story that began in Love Always, Kate. It continues following Damian, now four years later in college, still grieving and self-destructive, unable to grant Kate’s final wish of letting her go.
Damian is apprehensive when Elle calls to schedule a visit because they haven’t been in contact with each other for years. He soon learns that Elle has been keeping secrets – the kind of secrets that can completely turn his world upside down. And the emotional whirlwind begins…
As much as I enjoyed the first book, I thought this one was even better! It was heart-wrenching, incredibly moving, and sweet. A hopeful story about life and love after loss. The perfect conclusion to the duet.
I thought I was ready to write this review but I started crying as soon as I pulled it up on my Kindle. Gah, I’m such a wuss. But I will get this written!!!
I’m in complete awe of people who can string words together that evoke such emotion. D. Nichole King has done that, first with Love Always, Kate and now with Love Always, Damian. I can’t recall when I’ve ever been so torn up by 2 books. My heart has taken such a beating, but I have honestly loved every minute I spent with Kate and Damian, and I don’t want to let them go.
You don’t necessarily need to read Love Always, Kate before reading Damian’s book, but why you wouldn’t is beyond me. You’ll have a deeper and better understanding of who Damian is and why he does the things he does.
Oh sweet, tortured, broken Damian.
“How the hell am I supposed to forget her? Move on? She has no freaking clue what she did to me.”
I’m not sure how any of us are supposed to move on from Kate. I know I don’t want to and I don’t know how Damian would be able to. 4 years later and he’s still as heartbroken as he was the day she died
How do you let someone go who meant the world to you? How long is long enough to grieve? Is it ever long enough? “It’s the same damn thing year after year-aching to see her smile at me just one more time. One more and I’ll be satisfied, I tell myself. I know it’s a lie because one more smile from her would never be enough.”
He doesn’t know how to let his Katie go, and let go of the guilt he feels over her death. He’s fulfilling her last wishes, but he’s still on a path to self-destruction. Until she enters his life. And then he realizes he has something to finally live for again. But nothing is ever easy for Damian. He doesn’t believe he deserves happiness, he’s doesn’t believe he has love to offer anyone.
But Damian does deserve happiness. He deserves to love and to be loved. Katie wanted him to move on with his life after her, she knew he had his whole world ahead of him and she didn’t want him to waste it holding on to her.
“We’ll take baby steps, though, in the form of five wishes. And then… Then he’ll have what he needs to let me go.”
Love Always, Damian is a story of hope, of letting go, of taking chances. It’s a story of second chances and believing in yourself enough to take those chances.
How I feel about this book really can’t be put into words. It, along with LAK, has been imprinted on my brain for a lifetime. These 2 books aren’t just books, they are experiences that are not to be missed.