I really wanted to like this book. The blurb sounded so promising but the story did not live up to it. There were too many flash backs, made it difficult to follow the story line as a result. The h spent most of her time doubting herself, fixating on all the things she didn’t like about herself, and this happened every time the story line was handed over to her. A person can only read so much of an ongoing internal self flagellation without going “OMG! Stop acting like a door mat in human form and start appreciating yourself.” Unfortunately it got worse from there. The Hero, during one of the never ending flash backs, decides to make some significant life changes that did not include his current teenage girlfriend. So while she is rambling on about all their plans he’s having a mental dialect with himself about how bad he feels that he’s not going to be around to follow thru with any of it but not once does he actually voice any of this out loud. To make matters worse, he takes her virginity on prom night, then disappears in the middle of the night without a trace, note, or clue as to where he went, why, or what happened. His g/f spent days, weeks, months, trying to find out what happened to him or if he was even ok. Meanwhile he has left town to go to Columbia university without telling her. 10 years later he’s holding a press conference about a new app he’s made. Meanwhile he still thinks about her, even while he’s living with his CURRENT g/f and having sex with her. Then his business rival steps in, using his own app against him, and connects with Lilly, his old g/f and flaunts it in his face. Of course THIS is what motivates the H to go back to his hometown to find the one he left behind. Not his love for her, but his macho p**sing contest with this other guy. So she’s in a park walking with her friend talking about the new guy in her life when he shows up at said park. He just stands staring at her from a distance with a scowl on his face, like SHE did something wrong, until she notices him. He doesn’t even go to her. He stands there until SHE comes to HIM. If I had been her the first thing I’d have done is slapped his face before spitting in it, then kicked him in the balls really really hard before stomping away. She didn’t do this, instead she starts talking to him like they are long lost friends catching up on old times. At this point, he asks her out AND SHE ACCEPTS??? Her reasoning is she must get answers so this is how she’ll do it. When he shows up on her door step he brings booze and this leads to them having sex, WITHOUT resolving the tiny abandonment issue or making him pay for his behavior in any way. At this point, I tossed the book into my circular DNF file. I am not a big fan of weak willed, wishy washy, insecure female characters who lack confidence or a back bone to stand up for themselves. I was so disgusted by this I had to pull out one my literary palette cleansers featuring a woman done wrong and made him work for his forgiveness story to get the bad vibes from this one out of my head. If you’re the type who likes weak women in your romance novels, this book is perfect for you. My personal preference is the opposite so I didn’t care for this book at all.