That One Moment: Altered Paths, Book 1

⭐️ 4.75/5 🌶️ 3/5 Main characters: Jamie, Caiden, & Cooper Side characters: Sage, Darius, Oliver First person, dual POV (Jamie & Caiden). I really liked this one. It was extremely emotional given what happens in the story. Very heartbreaking. I liked how the author gave us time to be with Cooper in the first part of the book. It made his loss and the impact of that loss on the other characters much more visceral and understandable. We experience “first hand” the before of everything and I think that was an essential part of the storytelling. Jamie is just a wonderful character. He clearly loves with his whole heart and it just flows out of him. When he is in love, he is unable to hide his affection and it is a really beautiful thing to see. And Caiden is so dynamic. He has quite the arc of growth throughout the story. He was so angry and standoffish in the beginning and then in the third part of the book, he just made a decision to live and to grab at what makes him happy, as is expressed in the book. I felt his mental health struggle was represented well and I liked how he didn’t resist seeking out help when pushed to do so. I really liked how Jamie talked about every tiny decision and all the little paths leading them to where they end up. So many intricate things that determine how something plays out. It’s devastating that he and Caiden had to experience the loss that they did, but from that loss they found the deepest love in each other.

4⭐️ Wow... this book really did a number on me. I swear I lost count of how many times I ugly cried after Part 2. The first half focuses mostly on Jamie and Cooper’s relationship, which was sweet and emotional. Then Part 2 shifts to Jamie and Caiden, for the *after* and that was just... a whole other level of heartbreak. Jamie was meant to be in both Cooper and Caiden’s lives, but for such different reasons. You really feel how each connection changed them in different ways. Caiden’s journey, though... that was so hard to read at times. His pain, his growth, all of it was written so thoughtfully. Also, Cooper’s chapter? Brutal. That one gutted me. The way the characters processed grief and tragedy. It never felt rushed or dramatized for effect. It was raw and honest and incredibly moving. My only criticism is that this really did feel like two separate books packed into one. I kind of wish each story had more room to breathe. But honestly, it’s beautifully written, and the emotional depth is just unreal. If you’re in the mood for something intense, sad, and full of love in all its complicated forms, this one’s for you.

This book was really beautiful. I was surprised by this one honestly. I had an idea of what it was about and had read some critiques so I stayed away. I’m usually not a fan of second best/dead partner books to be honest, but this one definitely worked. I really loved the author’s writing and how they delivered the story. The audiobook was fantastic as well.