Review: The long overdue love story of Trip and Layla
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2013
This is a review I should have written weeks ago, but I have been putting it off because I knew once I finished, I would have to finally give Trip and Layla up. I'm still not entirely ready to do it, but I can't put it off any longer."My God, every time, it never fails. You happen to me all over again." He swiped a palm across my cheek and added, "I never stopped loving you, Lay. You were always with me. Everywhere."It's no secret to anyone who reads my reviews or follows my blog that I fell head over heels with Trip, Layla and this series from the minute I picked up Remember When. I connected with them in a way that almost made it as though they were more than characters in a book, they were more like friends. I was invested in their friendship and budding relationship. Remember When 2 broke my heart in the sweetest way possible. I was devastated and desperate for the third and final book. After two books of the "back and forth" of Layla and Trip, it was fantastic to read the story of them as adults, in love. It was long overdue."Suddenly, in that one flash of time, everything had become excruciatingly obvious. Every choice we'd ever made, every road we'd ever travelled brought us to this place. Every bad decision, every stupid screwup, every bit of drama. Every beautiful second together, every miserable hour apart… led us here. All the tumblers had unexpectedly fallen into place, unlocking our fate with an almost audible click! and we didn't realize how much our lives had been on hold until that moment. We loved each other. We belonged together. And we were finally, finally ready to acknowledge it."We don't make it very far into Remember When 3 before Trip and Layla are finally ready to face their feelings, admit them and make a real go of a relationship with each other. Thank goodness. I don't think I could have taken the agony of waiting any longer for two of my all-time favorite characters to be together. Oh and when they were together? It was hot. ::fans self:: Their relationship was far from perfect. There are outside forces and misunderstandings and miscommunications, but that's what made their relationship so realistic. They both hurt each other deeply in the past and sometimes those feelings and insecurities creep into the present. They have to be willing to let those parts of the past go to move forward."You were my first love, babe. I want you to be my last.""I know you love me, Chester. I love you, too. More than anything.""I'm not me without you."I'm not going to get bogged down in plot details. Though we all know where this story ends up, the journey is the most beautiful part. It really must be experienced for the full impact to be felt. Let me just say that fans of Trip and Layla will absolutely love this book. It's absolutely unputdownable. This entire series is one I will read over and over again for years to come.Remember When 3 was everything I wanted and more. Some of our old favorite characters popped up again. The book was filled with the humor and heart I've come to expect from Tina. I love her 90s references. They always manage to bring back a memory and put a smile on my face. The writing was beautiful. Sometimes funny, sometimes sexy (*really* sexy), the story was heartfelt and heartwarming, even when I wanted to yell at Trip and Layla for being ridiculous. This entire book took me through every single emotion possible, but it's nothing compared to what the ending did to me. It was sheer perfection. The final two sentences literally took my breath away, gave me chills - and left me with happy tears streaming down my face.Most of all I want to say thank you to Tina. Thank you for sharing Layla and Trip with us. Their story was real and beautiful. It was impossible to not fall in love with them. It's always hard to give up characters and stories I connect deeply with, but I can rest easy knowing they're both in good hands now… each other's. :)I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.