The Darkest Sunrise (The Darkest Sunrise #1) by Aly Martinez

by Aly Martinez
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Romance
Goodreads

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.
Whoever coined that phrase is a bald-faced liar. Words are often the sharpest weapon of all, triggering some of the most powerful emotions a human can experience.
“You’re pregnant.”
“It’s a boy.” 
“Your son needs a heart transplant.”
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.
Lies.
Syllables and letters may not be tangible, but they can still destroy your entire life faster than a bullet from a gun.
Two words—that was all it took to extinguish the sun from my sky.
“He’s gone.” 
For ten years, the darkness consumed me.
In the end, it was four deep, gravelly words that gave me hope of another sunrise. 
“Hi. I’m Porter Reese.”

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 *I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

 

“Hi. I’m Porter Reese.”
I didn’t know it yet. But those four simple words changed my life all over again.

For ten years, Charlotte’s world was shrouded in darkness. One moment that changed everything in her life. Unable to see past that darkness to find a shred of happiness, until Porter Reese walks in. Aly Martinez has created such an irresistible hero, I was rooting for him to get past Charlotte’s walls. And oh how high those walls are. But Charlotte isn’t the only damaged character in this book and when we begin to learn more about these two and their stories evolve and intertwine, we get one of the best books this author has written, and that’s saying a lot since I absolutely adore her Retrieval duet and On the Ropes series.

“I never came back up, Charlotte. At least, not the man I was. That was the exact moment I saw my last ray of daylight.”
…Her hand cradled the back of my head, her fingers threading into my hair, and our bodies became flush, head to toe. “Stay out of the darkness, Porter.”

This book was captivating and was sort of like being on a roller coaster. My emotions were all over the place and when you think you know where the story is going, you don’t. Oh. My. GOD’s!! This book! That ending! There aren’t enough exclamation marks for this story. Charlotte is buried under this shell and seeing Porter break that down while they heal one another. The repertoire between the two, the attraction, the chemistry. Everything worked so beautifully that I didn’t realize I got to the end until I was letting out a cry of dismay that there was no more. I’m just going to sit here and cry until I get the next book because my heart can’t handle the feels right now.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. We don’t share an inferno, Porter. You wouldn’t last a day in my flames.”