NO MATTER WHAT

After a traumatic accident, a marriage in crisis is saved by a figure-drawing class.

Roz and Vin have been together for eight years, but a ghastly car accident a year ago has caused what feels like an insurmountable rift in their relationship. Though Vin has taken to sleeping in the guest room, Roz still hopes that time will heal this wound. Unfortunately, her optimism takes a hit when she sees a lease for a new apartment on their kitchen table. When Roz literally stumbles into a figure-drawing class, it becomes more than just an excuse to leave the house. She finds a small community and a kind of therapy in her art. Vin’s inevitable move-out date hangs like a dark cloud over Roz’s head, and as she starts to let go, he surprises her by offering to be her nude model for drawing practice. Roz’s best friend, Raffi, is Vin’s younger brother, and he was also affected by the car accident. All three have lasting physical and emotional scars, with Roz having assumed the role of caretaker while Vin and Raff healed from their more serious injuries, to the detriment of her own mental health. This book is a slow burn with lots of tension in tight spaces. After all, Vin and Roz still live together. Miscommunication, or just the absence of communication, is what leads to Roz and Vin’s issues, which make it feel like they’re continually circling a drain made up of their own grief and trauma. Roz openly expresses her emotions, though she struggles with admitting the seriousness of her post-traumatic stress disorder. Vin is often the opposite, having difficulty clearly stating his wants and needs. Like all of Bastone’s romances, this one is high in emotional turmoil, but it feels particularly drawn out.

A heart-wrenching second-chance romance—but be warned that it relies heavily on miscommunication.