This is the third story in the Something More series, but can be read as a standalone. There are references to the previous stories in the series and having read them would provide some additional background information, but the first 2 books follow Sam aka Cap and Rory, where this book follows their best friends Tucker and Carl (Carleigh).

Tucker and Carl were the perfect couple until Tucker found out that Carl was keeping secrets from him (or so he thought). The book starts off after they’ve broken up, but they are both at the same college. Of course they keep running into each other at parties and in class.

Tucker wants to hate Carl, but he can’t stop wanting to protect her from everyone else (or just wanting her, period). Carl feels like she deserves Tucker’s hate and just wants to get over him so she can move on. There are a lot of misunderstandings, jealousy, angry sex, and family drama that keeps pushing and pulling these two together.

There are times when Tucker treats Carl pretty badly and I think there is some toxicity in their relationship, but they ultimately get their HEA and all of the misunderstandings are cleared up and forgiven… but not until after A LOT of drama.

Some of the scenes in this book can be triggering, especially to victims of sexual assault, neglect or emotional abuse. There are a lot of jokes about date rape (which are called out on the page) and it can be a rough read in some places. Suicide is also mentioned.

Ultimately, I liked Carleigh and her devotion to her brother. Tucker is a good person, but his responses to Carl were not always the best. He does own up to it later and changes his ways, so I do like him as a character. You don’t get to see a whole lot of the other characters aside from Zayne (their professor and the cause of a lot of the drama) and Billy (Carl’s brother). Cap and Rory do make appearances, as does Carl’s mother Nicole and Cap’s sister Beth, but none of them play a key role in the overall story. Classmates and Tucker’s teammates also filter throughout the story, but aside from Ben and Manny, I can’t remember any of them.

Overall, I liked the story and am interested in reading the first 2 books to find out more about their life before this.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.