The hardest hits aren’t always on the field. She doesn’t remember the best and worst day of her life. Eva Papageorgiou has no memory of the brutal attack she suffered at the hands of her would-be rapist—the last few days of her life wiped away completely. But the scars she bares hint at the trauma she endured.She feels powerless and alone, no longer able to trust her own mind. The only certainty … alone, no longer able to trust her own mind. The only certainty in her life is that everything is different. Until a friend reveals a secret, filling the holes of her memory.
Now Eva is determined to reclaim her life and her control over it.
The day he dreamed of was the one that cost him everything.
Rob Falls is stuck in a perpetual nightmare, unable to move past the horrific event that changed his and Eva’s lives forever. While friends and family urge him to overcome the tragedy, he withdraws, consumed with guilt and regret no one else—not even Eva—understands.
He may never earn the redemption he longs for, but he vows to help her feel safe once again.
Now Rob will do whatever he can to protect the girl he loves from anyone who might hurt her—even himself.
Eva longs to remember.
Rob wishes he could forget.
Even after everything that has come between them, they’re still drawn together.
Can two damaged souls build a future even as the secrets of the past carve new scars?
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I struggled writing this review even put it off for longer than I should’ve. Why? I had mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to shake Evie and Rob–tell them to talk to each other, stop being idiots, oh, and quit acting like…well, the teens they are. But we don’t communicate in real life either so why would stubborn characters do the same? I need to commend Cuic for the complexity of the characters even the side characters–Mike, Tina, and Alex are well-defined and have their own complexities.
I’ve been anxiously waiting for this book since I finished First and Goal. I’m going to try to write this review without revealing the cliffhanger from First and Goal or without giving spoilers.
Evie is struggling to move forward with her life after the tragedy. She desperately wants to remember. Rob hopes she never does. He’s just as traumatized by the events as she is…moreso
since he remembers and feels guilty for not getting to her sooner. There’s an emotional void between them that they need to overcome.
A lot darker than book one. Rob and Evie continue to refuse to be honest with each other and their communications issues are now worse than ever, since they’re dealing with the trauma of a physical assault on top of it all.
Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3930143824.
This is the 2nd book in this amazing series and continues straight on from where #1 ended. Eva has no memory of her brutal attack, while Rob wishes he could forget it. When a friend reveals the secret to Eva, she is determined to get her life back on track, while Rob will do anything to protect her and keep her safe. This is a well written tale which is an emotional roller coaster throughout, and I was totally captivated throughout this addictive and riveting tale. I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I highly recommend.
Rob can’t un-see what he found along the trail that day, it’s etched in his brain, and there is no way that he wants Eva to have to relive it. After suffering a concussion she has forgotten everything that happened that day, and doesn’t understand why she is lying in a hospital bed covered in wounds.
But her family and therapist think for her healing it is necessary for her to learn about that day. It’s a day no one wants to relive, but the only way to move on from it is to face it head on and deal with the fallout it causes… even if it breaks them in the process!
Once again we rejoin Eva and Rob amongst the pages of their heart-wrenching story. These two just found a little happiness and finally decided to give their romance a try, but tragedy struck and took it all away. Now Rob is barely able to face her and can’t rid his mind of the constant reminders of that day. And she has no idea what happened to her, but once she learns there is no way she will look at her life the same way. It seems impossible for them to move past this tragedy and rediscover what they lost.
My heart broke for these two, what they endured was horrifying and painful beyond belief. Watching them struggle to find some sort of normalcy and attempt to move past all of the emotional damage was tough to digest at times, but I will continue to hold out hope that happier times are ahead. This one isn’t for the feint hearted, it’s words will break your heart, and leave you unsettled. There is no way you will walk away from it unscathed. Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
Addicted! I’m completely addicted to this series! Kata Cuic has me completely hooked! I cannot get enough of Eva and Rob.
Second Down starts off where First & Goal ends. Everyone is at the hospital waiting for Eva to wake up and Rob is completely out of it. My heart feels the same pain in the beginning of this book as it did at the end of First & Goal. It was a raw, gritty pain that comes from the heart.
The struggles in Second Down are much different than the struggles these two had in book one. Eva is struggling with the assault and the loss of her memories. Rob is also dealing with his feelings towards the assault and her loss of memories. While yes they are struggling with the same things each of their struggles are different. Rob wasn’t the one assaulted, Eva was. Rob is dealing with his feeling about this and being the one who found her. He watched part of her assault happen.
Being in high school and dealing with the things they are is not easy. Their issues are real and the things they do are real. Rob and Eva have a ton of miscommunication but I think that’s part of real life. Sometimes we just don’t know how to communicated what we feel. I know when I was in high school I did a terrible job at communicating some of the things I was feeling. So while as adults we look at it and think why don’t you just do this. As seventeen year old kids we didn’t do that.
Second Down is raw, gritty and addicting. Rob and Eva’s story is messy and broken. Love isn’t a fairytale and we all live happily ever after, it’s a struggle and a fight. If you want your happy ending you have to fight like hell for it.
5 stars for Cuic and Second Down!
A great second book in this series. Rob… dream boyfriend, so sweet and selfless… Evie, so strong and determined. I absolutely love their connection and feel so much for them, their pain, chemistry, and most importantly their hope. Even though this book touches on a sensitive subject matter, you feel their pain and in turn become inspired.
Short review. 3.5. Second book in the Moving the Chains series.
This book picks where the first one last off, what Rob and Eva go through in this book is so sad and heartbreaking. Both Eva and Rob are struggling to move past what they went through, Eva unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it can’t remember the horrible event that nearly cost her her life while Rob will never be able to forget what happen. Even though Eva doesn’t remember the way she handles what happen you can tell she needs help and that her coping mechanisms is doing her more harm than good that someday it will break her. Rob does get help but his guilt over not being able to prevent what happened to Eva is preventing him from recovering.
I think Rob and Eva need to see a therapist together and separately in order to really heal from what happen until they do that their relationship will always be strain.