Six years ago, I was living my dream life. Supportive family, amazing friends, admission into my dream college… And a secret relationship with my brother’s best friend.
Zane and I had it all worked out until one horrific moment tore our worlds apart, sending us spiraling in different directions.
Now he’s making headlines for all the wrong reasons, while I’m drifting through life, dating his biggest rival.
But just as I start questioning my future, Zane reappears. He was never supposed to come back, yet here he is, reminding me of my worth, begging me to walk away from a man who never truly valued me.
Everything has changed, yet he’s the same—confident, charismatic, and looking at me with fire still burning in his eyes. It’s impossible to pretend he’s not the incredible man I once knew.
I try to keep my distance, but for the first time since losing it all, I’m starting to find my strength. And it’s all thanks to Zane’s unwavering support.
But it turns out, I’m not the only one who’s broken, and the only way forward is to face the past…together.
(ARC Review)
This book completely consumed me from page one and never eased up. I went in expecting angst, but what I got was a deeply layered, emotionally relentless second-chance romance that kept peeling back new truths, new wounds, and new reasons to ache for these characters right up until the very end.
Zane Fitzpatrick and Blair are the definition of right person, wrong time, in its most brutal form. As teenagers, they were quietly in love behind her brother’s back, until one devastating night changed everything. Zane lost his sister. Blair lost her best friend. Guilt, grief, and secrets tore them apart, sending Zane running and leaving Blair to carry years of unanswered questions and unresolved pain. When fate throws them back together years later, the past isn’t just waiting—it’s demanding to be faced.
“She’s like an addiction I never knew I had, and it’s only after I’ve taken a hit that I realize how dangerous it is. My chest aches from the hole I thought time had well and truly mended, and when she smiles to herself, all rational thought exits my brain.”
Zane Fitzpatrick is introduced to the world as a headline-making NFL bad boy—tattoos, trouble, and controversy included—but that image barely scratches the surface. Beneath it is a man wrecked by grief and drowning in guilt after losing his sister, his family, his best friend, and the girl he loved all in one devastating night. Zane doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love anymore, so he leans into the chaos instead. But when Blair reenters his life, the mask slips. He is unwavering, fiercely protective, and quietly devoted in a way that hurts to read. He sees Blair exactly as she is, and exactly as she deserves to be seen, and refuses to walk away from her a second time, even when she pushes him to.
“I just refuse to let you go again.” My own honesty shocks me, but the second I say it, a weight lifts. It almost killed me leaving her seven years ago. I’m not sure I can go through that again. But also…I don’t want to.
Blair’s journey is just as powerful. She’s been surviving, not living, stuck in grief, tangled in anger, and trapped in a relationship that never truly valued her. Watching her slowly reclaim her strength, her voice, and her sense of self felt deeply earned and incredibly real. Blair doesn’t forgive easily, and she shouldn’t. Her pain is layered with loss, betrayal, and years of unanswered questions. As she’s forced to confront the past she tried so hard to bury, you see her grow, step by step, into someone who finally understands her worth and is brave enough to demand more from the people she loves, including Zane.
“I don’t know who I am anymore. But I know it’s been a long time since I’ve recognized myself, and if I’m being honest, since seeing you again…it’s like tiny fragments are coming back to me. Like I’m finding my way out of the darkness, and I don’t know what to do with that.”
When Zane and Blair are together, the tension is thick. Everything between them feels heavy with what they lost and what they never got to finish. The push and pull, the looks, the half-said things—it all hurts in the best way. And once those walls finally come down? The chemistry is intense, emotional, and absolutely feral. This is not a story where everything is magically fixed. They have to sit in the pain, face the past, and be painfully honest with each other before they can move forward.
“We should have had more of these,” he whispers. “We should have had a lifetime.” His lips brush mine, gently at first until he increases the pressure, his hand tugging on my braid, tilting my head to deepen the kiss…
“I have never and will never want anyone else in this lifetime. The sooner we acknowledge that, the better.”
I also loved the found-family vibe woven throughout the story. The team group chats had me laughing out loud, the banter was top-tier, and Blair’s friendship with Jenna was exactly the kind of supportive, grounding presence she needed. Those relationships added so much warmth and balance to an otherwise heavy emotional journey.
Careless Storm is messy, emotional, and packed with angst, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. It’s about love that never really leaves, about choosing yourself, and about finding your way back after everything falls apart. Zane Fitzpatrick is protective, devoted, and completely obsessed, and I ate it up.
Release Date: December 18th, 2025
Thank you to Katherine Jay and The Author Agency for the ARC read!