Cora out for the night celebrating her sisters birthday party declines leaving with her sister and her sister's irritating fiance Dean... seriously what does she even see in that guy? She maybe has a few too many drinks and finds herself in need of a ride home but her wallet has been stolen, making a few phone calls the only one to answer is the last person she should have called to begin with... Dean.
Surprisingly Dean shows up for her when she needs him the most getting her away from some creep who stepped up next to her offering her a ride home... no thanks her ride has arrived. Only neither of them gets home safely that night they wake up the next morning locked to pipes in a madman's basement... the last person Cora ever wanted to have to see on a daily basis is now her only hope of surviving this horrible situation.
Against all odds they both make it out of the basement alive after 3 weeks of being in a nightmare situation... but in that 3 weeks their whole lives have changed they survived something no one should ever have to go through and they did it together, they were each other's life lines in the darkest days of their lives and no one understands what they are going through or who they are now a the end of this horrible situation... in many ways they are still in that basement clinging to each other for light, hope, and the will to live when other options might seem easier.
They are drawn to each other in ways that feel so natural, but it shouldn't be like this them being together would hurt everyone around them... especially Cora's sister. What can they do when they at this point feel like they need each other like they need air?
*2026 *enemies --> more *sister's fiance (Taboo) *Spice *horror *dual POV *
*Trigger warnings --> check these before reading *Trauma *PTSD *survivors *very dark themes
Thoughts:
This started off like a horror movie or an investigation discovery episode, it's truly scary that there are people out there who have done these types of horrible things and I'm sure that the survivors are never the same after. That being said I usually wouldn't be a fan of this type of relationship in a book due to the fact that our MMC has been in a long term relationship (15 years) and is currently engaged to the FMC's sister but the fact that they went through this situation together and had such an intense experience it really changes the dynamic.
This was a really emotional read they are both torn knowing that they need each other so badly after returning to civilization but can never truly be together because they know how much pain it would cause the sister. I was at times really upset with the sister (Mandy) she made statements throughout the book like she was trying to be "supportive" and "give them time" but she was actually forcing them into things quicker than they wanted at one point she was bringing her sister out on a double date with her and Dean to the same place that they were at the night they got taken, a few times she mentions to Dean that she doesn't understand how he could "change so much" he was just down there in the basement for "3 weeks"... that's 3 weeks longer than anyone should be there and you can't rush this healing process it takes time and a lot of mental health support.
Cora said she hated Dean but through flash backs you see that there was always a kind of "flirty" vibes before hand through that it always felt there was something more there and I did feel that part was kind of unfair to the sister long term since they were both dismissing those potential feelings for years leaving it seem like perhaps Dean should have asked Cora out to begin with instead of her sister.
Cora frustrated me at times because she was stuck on pranks played on her in high school by Dean so much so that when she woke up locked in a basement with him she wanted to continue to hold this grudge... like girl set that aside immediately he's your partner to get out of this place... worst escape room ever!
I did enjoy this book over all it was darker than I usually read but my heart went out to Cora and Dean and I did root for them to have a happy ever after they needed it after what they went through.
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