Mistakes Were Made

I feel incredibly lucky that this amazing story about Gage and Zoey somehow landed in my hands, because I truly savored everything this book gave me. So first of all, I have to sincerely thank Hambright and author Lucy Score, not only for providing me with this eARC, but for topping it off with the ALC as well. For a true audiobook lover, that’s basically a dream come true! First, I need to confess something: I can’t believe I had never read anything by this author before. Because wow!, she delivered absolutely everything I look for in a great book. She’s clearly in the auto-buy author category for me now (I’ve already bought the book that comes before this one, Hazel’s story, and I’m starting it immediately!). The writing is incredible, smooth, almost melodic and always laced with the kind of humor that completely wins me over, with every character but especially Zoey. And don’t be fooled into thinking that, just because there’s humor, this is a light, sugary love story filled with cute animals and fairy-tale characters. It’s not. It’s intense, emotional, and it tackles serious issues moral dilemmas that leave you standing right on the edge of the abyss, wondering what you would do in that situation. But it’s written so beautifully that even with the weight of those themes, the drama behind the laughter doesn’t tear your heart apart though it definitely brought a few tears to my eyes by the end. Of course this book deserves every star I could possibly give it, because it’s wonderful in every sense. And honestly, I just want more of these characters, more of this town, more of these animals... more of everything! Zoey is me. Completely me. And wow, how badly I want her to be happy, to find her path, her strength, her self-confidence, and to see in herself what everyone else already sees in her. This book also contains one of the most incredible little details I’ve ever come across in a story: when the anchor is found inside a disco ball, because someone loves broken, sparkly things, because “all those broken pieces add up to something everyone loves.” My very first reaction was: I want this sentence on a T-shirt, tattooed on my skin, because it’s exactly that. It’s exactly what we should hope for in people… even when broken, together and shining, they become something perfect. Perfection in imperfection! There are very few authors who give me everything in such a complete and harmonious way, who pull me in with their writing and make me step inside the book, experiencing everything the characters are going through, always leaving my heart full, even if it trembles along the way. Lucy is definitely one of them. More than anything, this book pushed me to the edge with the legal dilemma at its core and since I’m a lawyer, how could I not be completely captivated by the situation placed before Gage, a lawyer himself? Watching him struggle to follow his heart without seeking revenge, and to find a way to forgive someone for a mistake with devastating consequences… it was impossible not to be invested. A standing ovation for this book, this perfect masterpiece that took me from laughter (for almost the entire book) to tears: tears of sadness, tears of joy, the right amount of anger, and a magnificent, flawless redemption that will absolutely make you swoon. Absolutely perfect. ¿