2023 reread
I still got emotional listening. The idea of Dead Notes (notes from loved ones after they die) got me in my feels.
On my reread, a few things bothered me:
—the lack of safety talk 😐. Sigh. Since I’ve been writing down ⚠️ info and I’ve been rereading certain books, I’ve noticed that JA Huss doesn’t include safe sex info😐… or the possibility of there being a pregnancy. Considering no one’s a virgin in this book, I wanna know that the MCs are protected in all ways. I get it. Not all readers care, and I know some people would prefer condoms or a safety talk to not even be mentioned, but I’m not one of those readers 🤷🏻♀️. Unless everyone’s a virgin, I wanna know that the MCs are clean.
—someone in the comments asked if the MCs were in love, and after my reread, I can answer that question. Apparently, they’ve both been in love with each other for decades, but because they were friends and Kali and Aiden had her twin Kyle in the way, they never acted on their feelings.
But it’s been decades 😐
DECADES 😑😑😑😑😑
Sigh. And neither were celibate 😐.
But we’re not told anything about their previous sexual experiences. We don’t even know when the last time either of them were intimate with anyone.
He’s definitely been more active than her, because she mentions that she only uses her toys when she has a dry spell, and he’s ready to use them on her and tell her that a male partner can do it to their female partner, as if he’s done this before 😑, but again, we don’t know. We don’t know if Cali will encounter his previous f buddies or if he hooks up with people out of town or what. We just don’t know 😐
I still felt the emotions from down below in my old review, but the swoony feelings I felt about Aiden and Kali finally getting together were muted considering all I’ve mentioned above ^^.
In my old review, I didn’t talk about the 🔥.
Ufff 🥵. I love me a man who takes care of his girl, and Aiden does that in spades 💦. He has no qualms about getting down and dirty 😉 and uffff 🫠 does he ever 🔥
Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain up 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
2020 Review down below
First off, damn you Julie for making me cry!!! Ugh!!! I ugly cried... the heartbreak of losing a sibling was unbearable... I can’t even describe how I’m feeling. This is not the normal Julie book for sure (of what I’ve read from her) but damn did I love it just the same..
Kali and Kyle are twins and Aiden, Kali and Kyle were, at one point, a trio. They’ve known each other since they were 8 and, for some reason, Kali and Aiden were attracted to each other. Kyle told Aiden and kept reminding him throughout the years that he was his friend first, as a way of saying “don’t date my twin sister”.
Decades later, Kyle dies (he’s crushed by his jeep) and the story starts off with Aiden reading a eulogy at his funeral. They go to bury him, and Aiden and Kali stay until it gets dark; they walk home together, deciding that they don’t want the night to end. Then, their decades-long attraction kicks in and they can’t resist each other anymore. The next day, they regret it, and then realize they have to see each other for the reading of the will. When the reading of the will happens, Kyle leaves them all a number for them to call in order to hear a message he left them from beyond the grave-‘Dead Notes.’
Dead Notes is such an amazing concept. When it first came up in the book, I felt a thud in my stomach. I knew hearing Kyle’s messages was going to get to me, and it sure did. But besides that, both Aiden and Kali kept dreading these messages (hey even me as I reader) because they were unsure what Kyle had to say about their maybe/relationship (I say maybe because they weren’t official or anything before Kyle died- more like an understanding of what they could be). They have been in love with each other since they were little and Kyle knew it, yet never pushed them to get together. So when their feelings solidify (they were always there, just not obvious to the whole world) they have to make some choices and decide what they wanna do about it.
Omg the ending... agh... tears, of happiness, of sadness, of resolve... so many emotions. It made me google this Dead Notes concept (I searched in my apps lol)... I mean, thinking about it still makes my stomach drop and a knot form in my throat. This book... damn... this book gave me all the feels. I absolutely loooooved the connection between Aiden and Kali but I also loved how close Kyle was to both of them (omg cue my tears again 🤦🏻♀️🥺). I mean, when a book makes my stomach, heart, and throat feel pain, then I know it’s a great book because it will stick with me forever. And although this book is on the shorter end, I loved it just the same.
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-after math of brother’s death
-biting/toys/anal play
-no condoms/safe sex isn’t even mentioned 😐/no info on either of them were with anyone either/they’ve both loved each other for years
-HEA/epilogue/years later