It started as a case.
As the most lighthearted member of my team, I was put in charge of watching over the healing, cynical survivor of a sex trafficking ring.
She’s the key to unlocking this case. The key to putting the monsters that hurt her and so many others behind bars.
Until she becomes more.
She always asks me what the hell I want from her.
The answer is simple. I tell her every day.
I just want to see her smile.
𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝐸𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐, 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦.

Trigger warning: This book deals with extremely sensitive subject matter.

A story of finding your way back from a tragedy and finding your new normal.

Landon is assigned to Essie after she has been saved and helped to escape a sex trafficking ring. The problem is that she lost herself in the process and Landon has been tasked with trying to get information from her so that the FBI can take out the sex trafficking ring completely.

If you’ve read any of Bry Ann’s Roses & Thorns, FBI Brotherhood Series, or the Shattered Duet, then you know about Essie (Tammie) and how her life was changed and what caused her to lose herself. If you have not read any of these books, I highly suggest you read them. You will never be the same again after you’ve read them.

I loved how Landon was so gentle with Essie, yet stern when he needed to be, and how Essie began to trust and look forward to his visits. Landon has not had an easy life, although in a different way than Essie’s. My favorite quote from this story is from the Epilogue “His words don’t bother me, because I am a genius. I am a survivor. I am a fiancé, and a friend, and a makeup artist. I am all of those things. But none of them define me. Because before all of those, I’m simply Essie Tammy Taylor”. This statement shows how far Essie has come after her tragedy and how Landon helped her to achieve this mind set. My favorite part of this statement though is, “I am a survivor”.

Bry Ann writes such tragic stories in such a beautiful way. I devoured this book in one day and actually lost track of time while I was reading it. That seems to happen a lot when I read her books.

I give this story a 5-star review and cannot recommend it enough. One thing I will say is, make sure you have the tissues nearby and know that there can be triggers in this story.