Me, my high school ex, and a five-star hotel room on reunion night. He can’t break my heart twice, right?Oliver: It took me 7 years to forget my high school boyfriend, Luke, and just one night to–You know what? Scratch that. It took me 7 years of pretending to forget Luke to convince myself that maybe going to my high school reunion was a good idea, that maybe I could show all the kids who’d … good idea, that maybe I could show all the kids who’d bullied me just how little I cared about them, and show Luke how little I’d thought about him.
Uh, news flash: it didn’t work, and it didn’t even take me a full night to realize how wrong I was. It took approximately 5 minutes of moonlit conversation in our high school parking lot (super romantic, I know) to figure that out–though I guess inviting Luke back to my hotel room, dragging him into bed, and then having a panic attack in the middle of the, uh, festivities didn’t exactly help matters.
And that would have been fine, honestly. Completely humiliating and a memory I would cringe over until my dying day, sure, but fine–if only I weren’t stuck at home, helping my father with a health crisis and dodging Luke’s calls–and my feelings about them. Luke’s a player–he always has been. I know better than to get involved with him again.
So how the hell do I get my heart to listen?
“I’m not asking for much, really. Just you. Just every little thing about you. That’s all I want.”
Luke: Oliver Luna. The guy’s haunted me since high school. Oliver’s the first person I ever fell in love with–and the last. He’s the guy who showed me what I was made of–and it turns out, what I’m made of isn’t pretty. I know I’m a jerk–which is why I don’t date. I won’t risk hurting anyone else the way that I hurt Oliver. And I’ve never forgiven myself.
I guess that’s why I decided to go to this reunion. I figured maybe, if I apologized, I’d be able to let Oliver go. Maybe I’d be able to stop thinking about him at 4 a.m., unable to sleep, googling him for the 10 millionth time. That’s how it works, right? You say you’re sorry and you get to move on?
Only, first, Oliver tells me he’s already moved on, and somehow that just makes me feel worse. Like, what the hell, heart? That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? And then, just when I think I’ll never see him again, Oliver lets his guard down, just a bit, and all I want to do is pull him into my arms and make his pain go away. Honestly, who even am I at this point?
I have no idea how to fix all the pain I’ve caused. All I know is this: I’ll die before I let Oliver walk out of my life again.
Oliver Ever After is Book 3 in the 8 Million Hearts series. While each book can be read on its own, they’re even more fun to read together. Oliver Ever After is a 135,000 word, second-chance romance full of snark, sweetness, and a healthy serving of steam. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.more
Oliver Ever After is the third book in the 8 Million Hearts series, a contemporary series with a wonderful cast of characters that I fell in love with. Oliver and Luke are high school sweethearts who need a second chance. They also need to get out of the rut they’ve found themselves in both professionally and personally. Reconnecting with each other is the catalyst they need to move forward and find love.
The audiobook was narrated by Michael Fell who did a nice job with it. Michael’s performance has been improving with each book I listen to by him. I really like his voice and found this audiobook to be enjoyable.
Moving second chance at love as high school classmates reunite despite the odds!
January 29, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Great, passionate and angst-filled romance series and this was totally gripping too, even though I think I preferred the previous because I LOVED Gray, who barely puts in a cameo appearance in this one. I really got involved in this hot second chance romance between former high school classmates Oliver and Luke. For all his isolation and bullying back in high school, Oliver seems the more secure and well-adjusted of the two. Luke is a bit of a basket case and his attitude and actions really frustrated me at times. But I guess that’s because the author did such a phenomenal job of drawing me into their story! Would I have had the same insecurities and made the same (frequently bad) choices that Luke did? I don’t know and that’s what makes it an incredibly thought-provoking read.
We get alternating points of view between the two MCs, but also frequent flashbacks to their traumatic senior year in high school when things initially came together for them and abruptly smashed apart. I did not find the switch of times hard to follow, but I sometimes had to backtrack a bit on the dialogue to figure out who was saying what. And I found all of the half thoughts and stops and starts as one of the MCs can’t get his thoughts out a bit distracting at times, but realistic, I suppose.
In brief, a truly gripping and worthwhile reading experience! 🙂
I received a complimentary advance copy of this book from the author; this is my voluntary and honest review.
I love this series!! The characters are wonderful and Spencer’s writing grabs you right from the start. It’s believable, characters have real problems and it never gets boring. I recommend this whole series highly!!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. Luke and Oliver go way back – unfortunately due to, call it immaturity, they lost each other out of sight untill their Highschool reunion. Slowly they are fighting their way back together. Lots of hurdles have to get crossed and some insecurities need to get worked out. A very heartwarming story of two growing-up guys and their daily struggles.
I absolutely love this series! And this is another excellent addition to it. I’ve been looking forward to Luke’s story, because the buttoned up suit and tie type intrigues me. This did not disappoint. A great second chance romance.
At first the flashbacks weren’t doing it for me, I thought they were getting in the way. But as I got further in, I was desperate to know what happened back then. They kept skirting around saying it, and I need to know!!! Oliver was a great character, I almost feel he’s bordering on a demi-sexual, which I loved!
The only real complaint I have was the repetitive problems from not talking, misunderstanding, etc. It just happened to much for my taste. But not enough for me not to love this book.
The cameos were great, Tyler and Grey are still my favorites. Now to start hoping we get Nick’s book next!!! Highly recommend this whole series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy.