Five years. One month. And three days after the bonfire from hell I made my best mistakes.SAINTPost college bliss was actually hell.I wasn’t using my degree.I was so lonely I looked for his face in crowded places.I didn’t have anything figured out, let alone my feelings. I was stuck between two tall, dangerous, and handsome men – times two. One showed me how to survive trauma, proved things … survive trauma, proved things aren’t what they appear, and no matter how much I didn’t fall head over heels he was always there for me.
The other taught me how live.
But I taught myself how to love.
No one was going to be able to take away my growth, my bravery, or my comfort again. Oliver or not – I was standing on my own.
SINNER
I couldn’t wait to leave Amherst, to only return a few years later as a professor at my Alma Mater.
The barn fire from hell acted like a bomb, detonating and throwing us all different directions.
Lawyer.
Pro baseball player.
Book store manager.
Artist.
Soon to be wife.
We were all struggling to find our way back to each other while juggling life, love, sex, hardship.
I’m sober, a dad, but something was missing – Layla.
She kicked started my heart when we first met in college, lighting it on fire and branding her name until she run away when things got messy. My son, Arsen, stoked the fire in her absence.
She was always mine and it was time to prove it.
Third time is a charm.
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The Best Mistakes is about Layla transforming from innocent, naive, and saint into a confident sinner whose strength came from her flaws.
Layla graduated from Amherst and moved to Boston. Although she graduated with a stellar G.P.A. she hadn’t yet landed herself a job. She did learn to embrace who she was by not hiding behind her past mistakes. While
Layla still pines for Oliver she continues moving forward with with heart tethered to the guy whose love is unbreakable.
I couldn’t wait for Layla to get Hunter out of her system. Her forgiving nature had her torn between two men. One who owned her heart while the other controlled her body.
Elena tried my patience once again with this push n’ pull, the love triangle, and the time away. Five freakin’ years have gone by since Layla graduated from Amherst. You’d think this girl would have figured out her feelings by now. Nope. Her life’s in limbo waiting for opportunity to happen. She’s just as confused as before regarding her feelings for Oliver.
After the big reveal in The Best Moments Layla stayed with Oliver another year until he graduated from Amherst. The remaining two years she focused on herself and school.
You might think Layla’s character is confident, but she will always retain a little insecurity when it comes to loving Oliver. Sure Layla forgave Oliver for his mistakes, but Jade has secrets that are hard for Layla to compete with.
The prologue shook me. While it gives the reader the reprieve and strength to move forward into another chapter of their lives it gives you that breath of fresh air to accept what has transpired.
With the final roadblock declaring their unconditional love Elena chopped up my my heart and put it in a blender. Oliver and Layla conquered life’s challenges having their love tested on levels most couples shouldn’t have to face.
Sinners weren’t just those committing immortal acts or breaking the law; they were survivors and they were bound by sins. They were a close knit family of sinners. Elena gave us the best years, the best moments, and the best mistakes with Layla and Oliver as the main dish. With each book she introduced a few new characters as side dishes. Don’t worry the journey isn’t over yet we still have the best chance with Hunter. Elena tied up a lot of loose ends in The Best Mistakes. Each character was addressed with ample storyline. A few had some chapters dedicated to them.
Oliver remained true to his untraditional, unconventional, and unbreakable ways. He showed tremendous growth and willpower in the five years he spent away.
This is book 3 in the Amherst Sinners Trilogy and the conclusion to Layla and Oliver’s story. The story takes place 5 years after the ending of book 2 and boy have things changed.
The Best Mistakes was played out in a natural and raw way. It was frustrating, it will break your heart, make you smile, laugh and cry for these beautiful souls. You might get angry and want to scream at them at times then want to hold them and never let go. All the angst, drama and inner turmoil is showcased brilliantly. It’ll capitvate you and you will not want to stop reading. I liked that it was gritty and all the events that happened in the 5 year gap seemed realistic and not to please the audience. Real life isnt perfect and this story helps showcase that.
Watching Layla and Oliver grow as individuals was truly special.
Ollie’s interactions with Arsen will melt your heart while Ollie’s interactions with his father will break apart your soul as well as heal it
Layla is trying to live a life that she feels she is happy in when really she feels lost and like she is missing a piece of her heart. We get to see her character grow some more while dealing with some difficult and tough decisions she has to make
We get a large chunk of all the various sinners and side characters we’ve grown to love or hate depending on how you look at it, as well as a new addition. I love when author’s integrate the stories of side characters with the main couples to help with the flow of the book and get us excited for potential spin off stories which I’d gladly read
The ending was so beautiful and alot sweeter than i was expecting and im very grateful for that. What a perfect way to end this story, and those epilogues with all the characters was a great touch.
And I even ended up liking Hunter which wasnt something i though was possible.
Yesssss!!!! I have been waiting for the conclusion but also dreading it cuz I don’t want it to end! And as usual I still need more, especially after those epilogues!!
Gah I don’t even know what to say other than I loved every single thing about this book! Love and hate that it is 5 years after book 2. But I get it and it works. Love seeing where all the Sinners ended up.
I loved how Ollie and Layla got back together but found themselves with their time apart. I don’t want to give away anything but it was written so good!! I hope she keeps adding to this series cuz I need more haha
“ Sometimes love hurts, before it feels good, to let us know how far we can bend before we break, because love breaks us all in different ways. The broken pieces get put back together differently when it’s at the hands of the ones we love. They keep all our best parts, without changing the picture, of who they fell in love with in the first place.”
“You and I, we aren’t ever going to stop being scared. It’s what keeps this real: that fear of losing it. I wanna be scared with you forever.”
This book was everything I wanted it to be for book 3 of this series ! I was scared to start it after the ending of book two , because this series has been a crazy ride !
This book brought some angst still but also a lot of hope and growth for the sinners and love and not quite happily ever after a yet but enough the epilogues give us hints to where the stories light go from here all the other sinners have so much to say I can’t imagine it would stop here right ….!?
As for this book – Ollie and Layla .. gosh I love Ollie he’s so broke yet he tried so hard !! And Layla has been up and down but finally accepting of herself and learning to break through the fear .
This story has been such a great read !! Yes there are some inconsistencies throughout (that could be adjusted with some careful editing ) but look past those and it’s an awesome story and deserves a high rating !
Can’t wait to see where the sinners take us next !!
What can I say?! I enjoyed getting Layla & Ollie’s HEA, but I feel like I still need more! Once you read these books you feel like you are part of the sinners and need to know everything. Can’t wait to see what else Elena comes up with in the Amherst world
Overall 4.5 stars!
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a time jump (5 years) going into the story, especially with the way book two ended, but I was in love and got sucked in with whole story.
5 years have passed and Layla has moved to Boston, away from Oliver. They are no longer together, however, she aches for him but couldn’t commit to love him with everything going on in his life – Jade and recently discovered son. Over the past few years, whenever she is near Oliver, she’s ran away, not willing to get her heart broken further with listening to whatever he has to say.
Oliver has had enough of Layla fleeing and sets out to win her back. When he really sees her for the first time, she’s with Hunter, looking too intimate for his liking and possessive and jealous Oliver comes forward ready to fight.
Their reconciliation wasn’t easy, there was angst and frustrations and at times Layla annoyed me with her inner debates and doubts and I disliked how she treated Hunter, although, I am not his biggest fan! But her growth from book one to now was noticeable, no longer shy and she was proud of who she was. Oliver though was the standout character for me, I loved who he became, he was smart, caring and throw being a hot dad into it made me love him more.
What I really liked was that no matter how much time had passed the ‘Sinners’ were all still very much part of each other’s lives, maybe not as close, but they definitely had a bond that couldn’t be broken and I loved all the little relationships they had with each other.
Throughout the book, we get little POV’s from the side characters that really help with the story and I loved that they got their own epilogues. This was a great conclusion to the trilogy and I’m sad it’s over. If you have yet to read this series, let your binge commence!
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*An ARC received for an honest review*
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Overall Ratings;u2063
First Sex Scene -6%
POV – Duel
Hero –
Heroine –
Story –
Angst –
Steam –
Chemistry –
The Best Mistakes was everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed for the final installment of The Amherst Sinners series. This is without a doubt Elena’s best yet! Its filled with all the gripping, angsty goodness we’ve come to love from the Sinners. The perfect conclusion to this wickedly addictive series!
5 years ago 2 secrets were unleashed to everyone at the bonfire. Secrets that changed everything. Layla was devastated and Ollie’s entire life was turned upside down.
A year after that night Layla couldn’t handle was their relationship had become and walked away.
Now all these years later. She is surviving but she isn’t truly living. Ollie is living but missing a piece of his soul. Their love is a forever love. They just have to find out how to move forward and leave all the bad in the past and grab onto to the good that remains.
These two have have a rough journey of ups and downs, heartbreak and lies… but through it all the SINNER & the SAINT finally get the HEA they deserve.