“This. Book. It deserves so many more than 5 stars. It could have ended at 15% and still would have been one of my favorite books EVER!” -Kelli, Goodreads reviewerIf envy is a sin, then let me be damned.Graham was born to be a star. Once upon a time, that star shone only for me. Now, I have to share him with the rest of the world. For a while, I thought I could do it. Because, beneath the …
Now, I have to share him with the rest of the world.
For a while, I thought I could do it. Because, beneath the hypnotic smile, gorgeous body and God-given charm that made him famous, I still caught glimpses of my best friend.
Of the boy who called me sunshine and loved me.
I wore that love like a crown . . . until he placed it on another’s head.
Losing him was agony, distance felt like the only cure.
When tragedy reunites us after years apart, it only takes one touch to erase the past. Just like that, I’m back in his arms.
He promises this time will be different. But I’m afraid to believe him.
Because behind his star’s blinding brilliance is a darkness that doesn’t want to let him go.
I know a star that bright can’t belong to just one person, but my jealous heart doesn’t want to share him.
I want all of him . . . even if wanting what doesn’t belong to me leads me to ruin.
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I wish I could give Envy more than 5 stars because this story is absolutely breathtaking. Envy captivated and consumed me from the very start. Apollo and Graham meet unexpectedly as children and develop a magical friendship. She brought sunshine into his life when he needed it the most. But when Graham makes promises that he can’t keep, it tears them apart.
I cannot express how much I love Envy. Dylan Allen’s ability to write thought provoking and gripping story with diverse characters and backgrounds continues to amaze me. The angst, heartbreak, twists, forgiveness, laughs, and love in this book put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. A must read!!
Envy delivers a beautiful and heartfelt story about two childhood friends who later becomes lovers. It’s a story of years of friendship and loss. Love and trust that will break them both. Apollo and Graham’s first meeting at eleven and fourteen years old was the meeting of a lifetime. Something that changed them both irrevocably and will forever hold a special meaning to the both of them. A friendship was formed. A bond and connection where they could be themselves and share their passions. Books and astronomy. But behind Graham’s facade lied a haunting and horrible life with his mother and stepfather.
Envy is all about the characters Apollo and Graham. Their struggles and what they’ll have to succumb to help the people they love. Their love is the center of the story and no matter what Graham and Apollo did it never wavered. Cause Graham had to make some tough choices which I didn’t agreed with but he did it for love. For his mother and Apollo.
Their friendship and love was everything. It was their truth and oasis. When they were with each other nothing mattered but them and their love. It was beautiful. I couldn’t get enough of them.
Apollo is a kickass heroine. Omg how I loved and adored her. Her strength and honesty are truly her forces. Graham brought out so many emotions within me. He wooed me, pissed me off and then put me back to together. They were the perfect match and they both knew it when they first met. Soul mates.
Envy is a fabulous and emotional friends to lovers romance. The author has done a wonderful job with Apollo and Graham. Their love and story is spectacular and worth a read.
4 BadAssDirtyStarAndSunshineStars
Envy is the perfect read for all romance lovers. I absolutely loved it and devoted it from beginning to end. I’m not even sure where to begin with Apollo and Graham’s characters. This is one hell of a friends to lovers romance read that’s full of laughs, pains, betrayal, redemption, desire, anticipation and a love that’s unbreakable. I highly recommend it and I can not wait to see what story this author comes up with next.
Oh Dylan, you’ve done it again! I could not have loved these characters any more. What a raw story of love, hurt and healing. Two souls so desperately made to fit together, even after weathering storm after storm. Apollo, the sun, and Graham, her star.
“Let’s chase life, together.”
I knew the minute Apollo “fell” into Graham’s life that their connection would be a force to be reckoned with. Prepare to be enchanted, I could not put this book down!
This was a beautiful, heartbreaking love story about Graham and Apollo. This story had all the feels, heartache, grief, hate,, forgiveness, acceptance and beautiful love. Dylan Allen knocked it out of the park with this realistic wonderful angsty read. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished this couple’s journey. Can’t wait to read more by this amazing author
This is Dylan’s best work to date. This story was full of heart and emotion, pain and love. Two young children meet at a time they both need another human to show them some humanity and compassion.
Graham is living a nightmare life by his step father’s religious cult and beliefs. Apollo is forced in to seclusion while taking care of her mother after loosing her father and sister. They both come together over the love of books. Apollo, the younger of the two, taught Graham more things than he ever thought possible for a few shorts weeks one summer. That changes both of their perspectives and the trajectory of their life paths. But life has that cruel way of stepping in and changing things within a snap of the fingers and what was going to be two soul mates making a future together, turns into a sordid tale of deceit, lies and emotional withdrawal.
There are so many ways Graham and Apollo should be so emotionally unavailable to one another and others. So many things happen during the course of their lives, especially Graham’s, that make your heart hurt while reading this story. It would be so hard for anybody to make it out of the holes Graham ends up in. Then Apollo is the sun and the stars. She brings in the light to this story and also to Graham’s heart.
This is one emotionally fraught tale that when finished leaves a smile on your face. You just want to yell, “Yes! They did it!” but it’s not without a light of tears, frustration and hard work. A wonderful emotional story of how love can conquer all.
Grahm and Apollo, two people from two very different worlds were brought together by fate but pulled apart by the world! Each one wanting something that they didn’t have and fighting for the one thing they both wanted; LOVE!
I love what Grahm and Apollo are to each other! They are so much more than friends and their connection is one that stays with you even after the last page is turned! I love these two characters so much! Both of them are so strong and so loving!
I want to gush and gush about all things Grahm and Apollo but I can’t because I don’t want to give a single detail away! Every word, feeling, and interaction between these two needs to be experienced first hand and felt in the moment!
Envy is a friends to lover story that will draw you in and keep you wanting for more. The chemistry between Apollo and Graham is so explosive in the best way possible. This story is one you will get lost in. My favorite stories have love, angst, lost and let me tell you this story has them all and will give you all the feels. My heart broke for Graham so many times.
Runs in throwing gold glitter like SUNSHINE and all the STARS!
This story consumed me from page one. The beginning was like nothing I’ve read which had my mind spinning. I hated having to put my kindle down to do anything once I started. This is definitely a BINGE WORTHY, ALL NIGHTER put your LIFE ON HOLD type of book!
Dylan Allen has a way of creating these distinctly unique and utterly fascinating characters. So different from anything else I’ve ever read. Apollo and Graham are works of ART! That is the best way I can think of to describe them. They are these two very different, totally unique people who just happen to fall into each others lives. I am a strong believer in ‘things happen for a reason’ and love how that is incorporated. Although this story is fiction – I felt like I was living it along side them as it unfolded – all too real. I experienced anticipation, joy, humor, hurt, longing, excitement and eventually simmering, sizzling lust. All evoked from these magnificently written words!
The journey Graham & Apollo endure – with all the twists and insane bumps in the road – had me so completely consumed. I rooted for them from start to finish. They needed to over come all that life threw at them and to find their way to be together. Have the incredible love and life they so deserved…together! Happy. Free of their pasts.
My review may be a jumbled mess of random thoughts but know that my goal is to hit on the points that move me the most. I save quotes as I read – no way am I posting those and spoiling them for readers. You can’t re-read something for the first time. You need to experience them in the context of this author’s brilliant work and not as my highlights.
Oh the sweet and beautiful words of Dylan Allen have completely wrecked me. My heart is on the floor sobbing uncontrollably at the things this book has put me through. This book has rendered me speechless. The emotions were almost too hard to bare and I cried for the desperate love and need Graham and Apollo felt for one another. I’m not going to lie I could have finished this book in two days, but my heart needed breaks to deal with all things these characters went through. There were times when I was so afraid of the inevitable hardships and mistakes and it broke my heart to read. But there are times of pure beauty that my heart was overflowing with joy. All the emotions still running through me is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced with any book I’ve read.
Dylan Allen has a talent for writing characters that come from unique backgrounds and how the things in their past shape beautifully conflicted characters with hardships they must overcome to find their way to people they love. What I loved most about this book was the shining personality of Apollo. She is so bubbly and sweet and whenever she’s around Graham my heart seriously melted. Graham is icing on the cake in this book. It still makes me teary-eyed thinking about all the things he had to face in this book. For Graham and Apollo they are each others star shining in the sky. A constant comfort. Its a desperate need they try so hard to hold on to, but life and choices get in the way and they have to navigate through smoke and mirrors to see the truth. That Apollo is his sun and Graham is her star.
I highly recommend reading this book. No one writes or comes up with the unique and captivating stories that Dylan Allen writes. Her stories feel so real. She writes diversified characters of all colors and backgrounds. If you love any book by her then Envy completely blow you away. If you haven’t, then your missing out on some beautiful stories.
3.5-4 stars
Graham unexpectedly meets Apollo when he’s trying to escape his own reality for a few hours. Even though these two couldn’t be any more different from each other, they start to build a friendship and find they’ve got more in common than they thought. Graham’s home life is heartbreaking and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for everything he’s had to put up with. Apollo may have the material things that Graham is lacking but she’s also suffered massive losses. The bond the two youngsters make lasts for years and they think their friendship is stronger than ever. But life has a way of messing things up and when that happens to Graham, he finds his life spiralling and he has some choices to make that are going to change everything.
Dylan Allen is a new to me author so I honestly had no idea what to expect with Envy. I struggled quite a lot in the first half of this book. I just wasn’t clicking with the characters at all, even though there’s enough details and background to make that easy, for some reason I just couldn’t connect with them. Once I hit halfway though things started coming together for me. Whether that was to do with the characters ages in the first half or the storyline concerning Graham I’m not sure (I absolutely detested Nanette which I’m sure didn’t help).
I struggled with Graham’s character throughout this book. I found Apollo much easier to like and relate to than I did Graham. There were times I really disliked him and got frustrated to the point where I didn’t particularly care what he did or why. I really just wanted him to man up. Yes he’s there for his mum and yes he’s doing the best he could given the circumstances but it seemed like he was always finding an excuse to not be what Apollo wanted.
I love an angst ridden, second chance, friends to lovers romance but unfortunately I just wasn’t feeling it with this book. Whether that was due to my lack of connection with Graham or the fact that I really wasn’t that convinced he was what Apollo needed, I don’t know. While I didn’t love this book I did enjoy it and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
What an amazing story. I’m so glad I waited to read this book on a day I would have no interruptions as I could not put it down and read it all out in one sitting.
Envy had me hooked from the first page right until the end. It was a fascinating tale of two people who met at a young age and desperate for friendship formed an unexpected bond.
The story was engrossing and riveting, it was also heart-wrenching at time. In fact, it will take you through a roller-coaster of various emotions from the very first chapter and throughout the entire book.
Dylan Allen took us on a breath-taking journey with Graham and Apollo. A journey that spans years with the ups and downs of life intervening. Whether together or apart, these two had a love that was not easy yet could not be forgotten. This friends to lovers second chance story was about love and friendship, acceptance and forgiveness. It about the lengths one would go through for those they love.
This page-turner was captivating and unique. With twists and turns along the way, it will stay with you long after you have finished reading. Definitely worthy of more than 5-stars, it was a phenomenal read and I would highly recommend it.
I went into Envy slowly. I always enjoy Dylan Allen’s books and they honestly end quicker than I am ready for. I would stop and in between readings and this book made me think about my dreams and my hopes when I was younger and how my life turned out. Envy started deep and meaningful conversations between my husband and myself.
I really struggled at first with Graham’s mother. I couldn’t understand how or why a mother could… I’ll stop there because spoilers. Graham’s momma totally redeemed herself in my eyes at the police station. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of a situation. They are lucky she did. She ended up being stronger than I ever imagined.
Dylan Allen immediately captured my attention with her amazingly descriptive language. I could envision exactly what Graham was seeing, experiencing, and feeling those early years. The description of the lake area and how he would read with Apollo was incredibly heartwarming it and set the tone for the whole story to come.
Most Swoonable Quotes:
“I’m here to win you over and then ride off into the sunset with you.” SWOON
“Who wants safe when you can have the thrill of loving someone so much it aches when you’re not together?” YES!!!!! This just makes my heart happy!!
“I don’t want you to run after me, baby, I want you to run beside me.” YES! This just encompasses what we all want in a relationship.
I can’t recommend this book enough!! I loved the writing and steady flow of life over the years. I love how we see how people do things for the love of their family, giving up their wants and needs and putting others needs in front of their own. My heart aches throughout this story. Seeing a relationship build over the years out of love and adoration made my heart swell. This is a truly beautiful story!! I hope everyone read and falls in love with Apollo and Graham’s journey. Let me add that Apollo seriously kicked butt! My love for her grew to new heights by the ending.
I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.
“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.”
And BAM! , I know I’m setup for the heartbreak! And why wouldn’t my heart weep,in the first page itself, I had fallen in love with the beautiful boy, stealing a few precious moments in the lake, reading a book. Life’s simple pleasures we take for granted are treasures for him. His world is very dismal and hopeless at the moment. A prisoner of a town, a lifestyle, not of his choosing. Excruciating punishment his staple diet and hope nowhere to be seen on the horizon.
I’m not anyone’s hero. I’m a skinny, weird kid who reads in secret because I live in a town where no one’s allowed to read, and everyone’s miserable. Except for me. I’m miserable and angry. I feel like the rest of the world is happening, and somehow, they forgot to include me. And now I know that even my name doesn’t mean anything.
And then the clouds part and his sun falls into his life.
The first scene! OMG! It was so perfect,it just came alive in the pages. Apollo Havaa Locklear just dives headfirst in Graham Stevens’s Placid Lake and shatters his ennui. She climbs on his back and becomes his instant best friend. No invitation necessary!
Charming Chatterbox is hard to ignore and miss Know-It-All is full of conversation. She’s endearing, charming and steals my heart.
We’re a team. You’re a superhero, and I’m your cape.”
But that’s the charm of Apollo, Graham’s Sunshine. She smiles and his darkness dissipates, her non stop chatter plays like music in his insipid life. He becomes her “star” GrahamStar and they embark on a dangerous togetherness that will tear their hearts out, break his back and cause years of acute pain for both of them.
Their nascent love memories on a hammock in their bubble, are strong enough to keep them orbiting in each other’s galaxy. In the periphery yet distant!
it’s her eyes that are my undoing. They hold a universe of futures in them. Each of them composed of galaxies that burn bright with possibility. With them , she sees everything. And nothing and no one is insignificant when Apollo looks at them.
I loved the dynamic of this innocent girl who manages to cut through the dark smoke and see Graham’s strength clearly and surely. She can see what nobody else could and her idolising love gives him confidence.
I loved the story thus far and the tumult, the anguish was rising in temperature by every page. I knew Dylan would crush me bad. Her pen dipped in grief, she wrote straight on my heart!
This being my first book by her, will certainly not be the last.
As the years progress, Apollo & Graham are wallowing in parallel misery. Just breathing and existing without each other.
“People who love each other are never without each other. Even if they’re not in the same place physically.”
Graham is lost and rudderless without his Sunshine,being sucked in the mosspit of his own nefarious deeds. His cape is gone so he can’t fly!
My chest tightens as the chasm between us widens. And, in the place where we used to be, there are shards of glass that will never be part of a whole again.
The story takes a very interesting turn here. I loved the tribulations but felt my heart being stretched beyond its limits. It got a tad habit too dreary. I guess casting the line and reeling it in is a delicate balance.
Anyhow, Graham’s mother is the most amazingly strong character in the book, she steps in at the right juncture and saves Graham time and again. From his stepfather and from himself!!
“Looking at what everyone else is doing should not be how you pick your path. Listen to your heart. What does it love? What does it need? Envy isn’t a sin; it’s a vice. One that will never allow you to be happy.”
The writing is superlative, the plot, though not novel, is written with novelty.the words just melt in your eyes and I could not step away from the book at all. Finished it in one day, morning to night. It was so addictive like a drug, I needed to get my fix page after page, and now I’m hungover.
A sweeping tale of formless love which changes shape with time. Sometimes soft curves and sometimes sharp pointy edges. Sometimes strengthening, sometimes eroding, sometimes pink with love, sometimes green with ENVY!
Embark on the journey and take your time savouring the incredible writing of Dylan Allen
‘Truth outlives pain, as the soul does life.’
5 “Paradise” Stars
I absolutely adored this book so much! I don’t even know how to put it all into words how much I loved it. Dylan Allen isn’t a new-to-me author, but holy cow, she brought her A-game with ENVY. It had everything I wanted – some angsty, some swoon-worthy moments, a hero that I loved and hated all at once. Most of all, I loved Allen’s writing – it flowed like poetry, sucked me in like I was an addict craving more, and wrapped me up in a story that lingered with me for days after. It is by far one of my top 2018 reads! Loved it!
Hail to the Queen! I bow down at your feet Dylan Allen for this story is enchanting.
The adventure starts out in this amazing unexpected way with Graham as a 14 year old boy who meets the 11 year old Apollo. Apollo laterally falls from the sky and makes Graham her hero, the star in her universe. They have an instant bond over books and all things literature.
As the years pass their friendship remains solid, although distant, their connection and growing love for one another solidifies their future. However, fate and life have a way of interfering.
Graham makes a choice that changes everything and will lay the path heading away from his Sunshine, his love, Apollo.
“Looking at what everyone else is doing should not be how you pick your path.”
Apollo has no choice but to move on with her life and the dreams she had always planned.
“The grass is green where it’s cared for. Live a life that feeds you inspiration.”
A second chance encounter will bring the childhood best friends back in one another lives. Secret and lies tore them apart; can the truth bring them back together? Or will the past haunt their future.
This book has so many unexpected storylines that give you all the feels. I like going into a story semi-blind, not knowing completely what it’s about. I tore through this story so fast. I could not put it down and when I did I was thinking about it. Dylan has this power to hold you hostage in her stories until the last word.
Wow, just wow….this is the first book by this author I have read and she blew me away with this story. Much to the disdain from my family, I could not put it down. (They had to resort to leftovers and cereal for dinner, or what we call a YOYO night )
Envy is the perfect title to this, envy comes in all shapes and sizes and this story encompasses many different versions of it. From childhood innocent envy to adult skewed envy and everything in between this story covers it.
This story about Apollo and Graham will seriously give you ALL the feels. From laughter and tears, to anger and happiness the story runs the whole gamut. This story will take you through the wringer in a phenomenal way that will leave you still thinking about the story even after it’s finished and that is a true testament to excellent writing skills.
I was so invested in Apollo and Graham’s world. The story flows through the years and it does so with perfection. The way that these two meet is touching and the bond that they create in such a short time is amazing and they way Dylan tells it feels so real and honest. Through the years and all of the ups and downs, Apollo and Graham show that they are truly soul mates.
This book is so good, it’s going to be in the running of my Fave Reads of 2018! Well done Dylan, I am going to be stalking you shortly! (In a healthy, respectful way…I promise!)
Again, Dylan Allen writes us an amazing story. With each new release, I think it’s my favorite and then she releases the next book, and I’m just floored by her writing again.
I finished Envy last night, and I have the biggest book hang over today, so bear with me as I try to piece together my thoughts on this book.
Graham and Apollo meet as children, it’s a serendipitous meeting in so many ways and they bond, and bond tight over mutual grief and, in my eyes, loneliness. But, what they seek from each other is friendship and the balm of reading and sharing books, its a deceivingly simple beginning to a bit of a complicated relationship. The very core of this relationship is true love; I’m talking about two halves that make the whole; destiny; luck, and happily every after love. However, there are so many outside factors that do not make the road an easy one, many things happen in Grahams life, his past, his ability to trust the love that is in front of him and it makes me sad that he has other forces keeping him from what is truly what make him a star. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, so I’ll leave it here.
Grab this book as soon as it comes out, it’s a journey, it’s life, its love, it’s destiny, it’s really so much, but the message is love and at the end of the day, no matter where life leads, everyone’s worthy of love which is a rare and precious gift. “The Star is my universe. And I am his.” Dylan Allen, Envy.
We’ve seen it before. Boy meets girl. Fall in love. Live happily ever after right? Wrong. He life sucked until she fell from the sky. Her life was ordinary until he saved her. A summer of kindness. Sunshine to his darkness. She was his everything and then she was gone. This story isn’t about loss. It isn’t about insta-love, it isn’t pretty with unicorns and rainbows. It’s the story of a young boy who has his life turned around by a girl and a book and he is forever changed. It’s about life choices made in desperation. It’s about mistakes and lies. It’s about best friends and forever. It’s about forgiveness and love.
This author doesn’t make it easy. Her books are emotional and gritty and in your face with realism. She touches on real life issues and challenges and overcoming them. She writes about love so deep and real you can feel it down to your toes. And yea she writes a scene that will have you fanning yourself. I love this author and how she brings it out and pours it into you one word at a time. You can’t help but feel her stories, the emotion, the feels, the ever after.
Wow! All I can say is that I’m in a loss for words about how I feel about this book. “The Star is my Universe, and I am his!” OMG!! I just can’t get enough of Apollo and Graham! This book made me ride an emotional roller coaster. It also, kept me on the edge of my seat and on my toes!
Graham came from a battered past (child abuse), locking him and his mother in their village, and emotionally through his stepfather’s preachings. Apollo grew up living with her mom and sister Tante Isabel. The two girls are sent to stay with their aunt for a little while, while their mom grieves over the death of their father.
How they met is a bit strange. Graham was in a canoe and all of a sudden saw a shadow over him. He noticed it was a girl. He reduces her as he noticed that she hit the water and was flailing her arms to get help. Graham dives into the water to save Apollo. She was scared at first, but she warms up to him and she tells him that he was her hero. Later on through the years, they grew apart and got reunited. Apollo saves Graham and his mother from his stepfather and helped them escape the village. In theory, they saved each other.
This book will put you on the edge of your feet with all kinds of emotions. You will not want to put this book down. From acquaintances, to best friends, to first lovers, this story hit home to be going through semi the same thing from being best friends, to lovers, to soulmates with my childhood best friend that passed away in 2008. We saved each other from some dark times, just as Apollo and Graham did with each other.
Dylan Allen,
I really enjoyed Envy. I didn’t want to ever stop reading it. I was sunk in through the entire book from beginning to end. You have an amazing talent that I long for, the way you put just the right words together to become much more than just a book, but an envisioned movie in the minds of everyone that read your books!