✯REVIEW✯ 'Lily of the Valley' by Sarah Daltry

Blurb

You met them in Forget Me Not. Now, hear Jack’s story.

Plagued by a dark past, Jack sees college as a way out. Desperate to escape the area where he grew up, the people who know his secrets, and his own family, he deals with his problems through alcohol and sex. 

When he first sees Lily, she’s the epitome of everything he hates. Yet something about her makes Jack rethink everything he knows and assumes about other people. Now, with the help of his best friend and lover, Jack has to decide if he wants to pursue something that he knows will only end badly.

Can Lily be one of the few people who can see Jack for who he really is – or will his darkness be too much for her to handle?

Ariana's Review

5 stars!!!

'Lily of the Valley' really surprised me with just how much I loved it! I often find books which are a re-telling of the first book in the other character's POV to be quite repetitive as it can feel like you are reading the same exact book at times. This was NOT the case with 'Lily of the Valley'... not at all! It almost felt like I was reading a whole different story. In the first book, 'Forget Me Not', I was aching to know what was going on inside Jack's head. I never realized just how complex of a character he actually was, nor did I realize the depth of the relationship between him and Alana throughout the years. This book went completely above and beyond my expectations!

I really loved learning all about Jack. This book gave you an in-depth look inside his head, and just how horrible the demons he had to face were. With Jack, it was not just a here and there battle with these demons, it was a day to day, minute to minute battle which at any point could have dragged him into the darkness forever. It was utterly heartbreaking to read about just how sad and alone he felt all the time, but when Lily came into his life, he was finally able to grasp onto this little ray of light. It was this light which ended up allowing him something he had not had since he was a little boy... Hope, and a glimpse of a future. He did not look at Lily as a cure to the darkness, he looked to her as the light which was helping to guide him away from it. Only he can cure himself of it.

I will admit that in the first book, 'Forget Me Not' I had found Lily to be a little on the irritating side. There were just little things that had irked me here and there, but after reading Lily of the Valley' I absolutely ADORE her. I may have to go back and re-read 'Forget Me Not' now, because I do not understand how I could have felt that way before! She didn't look at Jack as someone who was broken and needed fixing... she saw someone who needed help looking forward instead of backwards. And she became the one person who was able to help him do this. 

"Sometimes the things we hold onto are the things that hold us back."

The sex? OH MY GOD! It was extremely hot and steamy and left me needing to douse myself in ice water to cool off! These two have a completely insatiable sex drive that completely blows my mind. But what I really loved (aside from the kick-ass sex scenes... which were plenty!!!!) was the actual story line and how the characters seemed like such real people. Jack wasn't this perfect guy who could do no wrong. He had his issues... insecurities... problems... but most importantly he made mistakes. They both did. 

"Normal is a state of mind. No one's as picture perfect as they look. Some just cover the cracks better."

One thing I was really happy about with 'Lily of the Valley' was how Jack and Alana's whole relationship was explained. I was really curious about that after 'Forget Me Not' and was thrilled to be given a much better understanding of the dynamic between the two of them and how they ended up where they were with each other. Alana's character really intrigued me and I would absolutely LOVE to hear more about her and her past, and understand a little better how her mind works, and how she felt wen Jack met Lily.  

"Well, then, pretend I'm your princess. Fuck me, Jack. Make me forget that I can't be her."

I am so happy that I don't have to wait to get more Lily and Jack! Off to start Star of Bethlehem! Thank you Sarah, for making a fan out of me! I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for Lily and Jack!

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