Este es de esos libros difíciles de definir en una reseña. Tiene muchas emociones y despierta muchos sentimientos como para poder plasmarlo en una reseña que te convenza a ti, como lector pasajero de mis opiniones, de que merece la pena leerlo. Pero de verdad que lo merece.

“You’re coming home tonight. Got it?”
Guilt. Fuck.
“Got it,” I promised. “So needy.”
Maddox growled at me, right back to being angry. “Don’t make me admit I miss you, Devon. I’m not about that shit.”

Esta es la conclusión de la historia de Devon y Maddox, porque si bien la saga tiene un tercer libro (Knock Knock), este sigue la trama de los hermanos de Devon y Maddox y su friends to lovers, el cual ya se empieza a intuir en este segundo libro. Pero Madd y Dev dan punto y final a su historia en Lot 62, y no es una historia sencilla ni libre de dificultades, en lo más mínimo.

Devon y Maddox comenzaron odiándose mutuamente, pero ya vimos en Garron Park que ese odio, incentivado por sus respectivos padres, podía ocultar un sentimiento que ninguno comprendía hasta que pasaron cositas y las cosas cambiaron. En el primer libro vimos a dos chicos mucho más viscerales y, aunque tenían sus momentos emotivos y dulces, en este exploramos aún más esa faceta sin dejar de lado esa tensión y dinámica tan puramente ellos.

Devon was even more of a piece of shit trailer trash than I was, but holy shit did I love him. Like, heart completely consumed, wanted him for life, ride or die type of loved him. He was mine and I was his, and even though we fucked shit up more often than not, I couldn’t imagine going through this clusterfuck of a life without him now.

Las consecuencias de los sucesos del primer libro siguen persiguiéndolos y el padre de Devon y Nate, ya fuera de prisión, es una sombra que enturbia su vida. Pero nuestros chicos tienen más problemas que solo Jim: la vida cotidiana, el cuidado mutuo de la pareja, que la vida no se los coma y los destruya, encontrar lo que quieren y pueden hacer, conseguir equilibrar su vida juntos con la vida laboral. Básicamente, ser adultos sin dejar de ser ellos.

Esta segunda parte, tal y como adelantaba ya la autora al final de Garron Park y como me habían avisado antes de meterme en ella, es más cruda que la primera. Nuestros chicos se topas con más baches por el camino y sufren situaciones complejas, duras y que los pondrán a ambos al límite. Pero al mismo tiempo vemos una profundidad emocional en su relación (como digo, sin dejar de lado esa tensión tanto sexual como sentimental que los caracteriza) que te hace derretirte por dentro y enamorarse de ellos una vez más.

“Yeah, I can. I fuck up all the time. I just hide it from you better.” I smiled with a numb face. “No matter how many times we fuck up, we’re stuck together. Don’t even think about backing away from me, Devon. I don’t want space. I don’t need time. I don’t need to think about anything. I almost lost you, but you’re still here, so can we just skip that stupid part?”

Los momentos divertidos y los dramáticos se suceden y van alternando, haciendo que en ningún momento llegue a ser excesivamente dramático ni se te haga muy duro de leer. Incluso diría que las peores partes no abarcan la mayor parte de las páginas, en lo más mínimo, pero sí que dejan una huella emocional que traspasa las páginas.

La conclusión de su historia, sin embargo, está a la altura de las expectativas y de lo que ellos merecen. De verdad que pese a lo difícil que es verlos sufrir a veces merece cada página que lees, y no puedo esperar a leer Knock Knock (aunque voy a intercalar un libro diferente para superar la resaca emocional) y ver qué será de Xabi y Nate.

“I refuse to lose you, Devon. We’ve spent too much time fighting life and each other that I’m ready to go to fucking war to fight for you. I’m ready for all the…” Oh, God. Shut up, Madd.
“The what?” he asked, grinning.
“The happiness part, you know? I wanna be all in love and shit, and like… go stay at a terrible hotel with a jacuzzi or a hot tub. Stupid trips, you know?” Yeah, here I went full sap. Whatever. “I want the fun part and the happiness and the cheesy bullshit, Devon. I just hate worrying about everything all the time.”
“You romantic fuck,” he said, using the same tone of voice he’d used the first time he said it—the night we fucked for the first time.

Y con esto me dejo muchas cosas en el tintero, pero espero que alguien lea esto y se anime. Aquí encontraréis una pareja atípica, una pareja con una dinámica muy suya que a veces roza lo extremo, pero que funciona. Además, la autora consigue algo fascinante con ellos: no puedes decir que sean empalagosos ni excesivamente románticos, no es un romance que catalogarías como adorable o cuqui ni de lejos, pero, sin embargo, se dicen cosas y tienen gestos el uno con el otro más bonitos, románticos, ñoños y cursis que en muchos libros que sí catalogaría como empalagosos. Maddox y Devon se dicen que se quieren, lo muestran y no lo esconden bajo ningún concepto. Sienten un amor tan profundo que aunque no sean grandes poetas consiguen transmitir el mensaje tanto con palabras como con sus actos, y aún así no te resulta empalagoso. Es un balance perfecto que funciona con ellos y que a mí me ha hecho subrayar casi todo el libro, y no esto exagerando.

“Without light?” He cringed a bit. “Lame, I know.”
He held my hand in his. “I found a set that says, ‘without light, there is no darkness.’ They just fit or some shit, you know? You’re my light, Devon.”
More tears brimmed my eyes. Maddox sucked at romance sometimes, but holy hell, this lame bullshit did it for me.
“I am?”
“I don’t need you to light up my world or anything like that. Just… sit with me in the dark and remind me that light exists.”

This is one of those books that's difficult to review. It evokes a myriad of emotions and feelings that are challenging to capture in a way that would convince you, as a casual reader of my opinions, that it's worth reading. But it truly is.

“You’re coming home tonight. Got it?”
Guilt. Fuck.
“Got it,” I promised. “So needy.”
Maddox growled at me, right back to being angry. “Don’t make me admit I miss you, Devon. I’m not about that shit.”

This is the conclusion of Devon and Maddox's story because, even though the series has a third book (Knock Knock), that one follows the storyline of Devon and Maddox's brothers and their Friends to Lovers, which starts to be hinted at during this second book. However, Madd and Dev’s story comes to a close in Lot 62, and let me tell you that it's anything but simple or trouble free.

Devon and Maddox began hating each other, but as we saw in Garron Park, that hatred, fueled by their respective parents, could have been hiding a deeper feeling neither understood until things happened, and everything changed between them. In the first book, we saw two boys who were more visceral, and although they had their emotional and sweet moments, in this one, we delve even further into that aspect without neglecting the tension and dynamics that define them.

Devon was even more of a piece of shit trailer trash than I was, but holy shit did I love him. Like, heart completely consumed, wanted him for life, ride or die type of loved him. He was mine and I was his, and even though we fucked shit up more often than not, I couldn’t imagine going through this clusterfuck of a life without him now.

The consequences of the events of the first book continue to haunt them, and Devon and Nate's father, now out of prison, cast a shadow over their lives. But our boys have more problems than just Jim: the challenges of everyday life, mutual care in the relationship, preventing life from consuming and destroying them, finding out what they want and can do, and balancing their life together with their work life. Essentially, being adults without ceasing to be themselves.

As the author hinted at the end of Garron Park and as I was warned before diving into it, this second part is grittier than the first. Our boys face more hurdles along the way and also complex, harsh situations that push them to their limits. At the same time, we witness an emotional depth in their relationship (while still maintaining the sexual and emotional tension that characterizes them) that makes you melt inside and fall in love with them all over again.

“Yeah, I can. I fuck up all the time. I just hide it from you better.” I smiled with a numb face. “No matter how many times we fuck up, we’re stuck together. Don’t even think about backing away from me, Devon. I don’t want space. I don’t need time. I don’t need to think about anything. I almost lost you, but you’re still here, so can we just skip that stupid part?”

Funny and dramatic moments unfold and alternate, ensuring it never becomes overly dramatic or too difficult to read. I would even say that the worst parts don't dominate the page count, but they do leave an emotional imprint that transcends the pages.

However, the conclusion of their story lives up to expectations and what they deserve. Despite how difficult it is to see them suffer at times, it's truly worth every page you read, and I can't wait to read Knock Knock (although I'll be interspersing it with a different book to overcome the emotional aftermath) and see what happens with Xabi and Nate.

“I refuse to lose you, Devon. We’ve spent too much time fighting life and each other that I’m ready to go to fucking war to fight for you. I’m ready for all the…” Oh, God. Shut up, Madd.
“The what?” he asked, grinning.
“The happiness part, you know? I wanna be all in love and shit, and like… go stay at a terrible hotel with a jacuzzi or a hot tub. Stupid trips, you know?” Yeah, here I went full sap. Whatever. “I want the fun part and the happiness and the cheesy bullshit, Devon. I just hate worrying about everything all the time.”
“You romantic fuck,” he said, using the same tone of voice he’d used the first time he said it—the night we fucked for the first time.

And with this, there still are many things to say, but I hope someone reads this and gets intrigued enough to give it a chance. Here you'll find an unconventional couple, a pair with a very distinctive dynamic that sometimes borders on the extreme but somehow works for them. Additionally, the author achieves something fascinating with them: you can't label them as overly sweet or excessively romantic. It's not a romance you would describe as adorable or cute by any means. However, they express things and have gestures toward each other that are more beautiful, romantic, cheesy, and sentimental than in many books that I would indeed classify as somewhat cheesy. Maddox and Devon say they love each other, show it once and again, and don't even try to hide it under any circumstances. They feel a love so deep that even though they may not be the biggest poets out there, they manage to convey the message both with words and through their actions, and yet it doesn't come across as too cheesy. It's a perfect balance that works for them, and it has led me to underline almost the entire book. I'm not exaggerating at all.

Totally worth to read it.

“Without light?” He cringed a bit. “Lame, I know.”
He held my hand in his. “I found a set that says, ‘without light, there is no darkness.’ They just fit or some shit, you know? You’re my light, Devon.”
More tears brimmed my eyes. Maddox sucked at romance sometimes, but holy hell, this lame bullshit did it for me.
“I am?”
“I don’t need you to light up my world or anything like that. Just… sit with me in the dark and remind me that light exists.”