Emmie 🪲

Please also see Archie Curtis, Gareth Inglis, Zeb Wyckham, etc. etc.

Does Daniel whisper it into Archie’s chest after they’ve both caught their breath? I feel it would make him inexplicably shy and he wouldn’t look into Archie’s eyes as he says it, even after the vulnerabilities of making love. Perhaps a squeeze from his lover’s injured hand would give him all the bravery he’d need to prop himself on elbows and say it again.

Does Archie confess his love during a particularly impassioned rebuke after Berlin (though I don’t see them waiting this long)?

Or maybe it simply enters the air between them, during a quiet afternoon of companionship- Daniel meticulously drafting “Songs” and Archie writing a missive to Pat and Fen.

This book is FULL of special moments.

Give me more toe-curling flirty dinner dates in the midst of murderous chaos.

Joel makes my heart beat like a hummingbird.

Every gentle detail related to Joel’s prosthetic and especially the end and the hopeful promise of Germany is just- ✨

Had a couple great side characters too!

Sukey is an absolute POWERHOUSE. KJC wrote a fantastic complex female protagonist which is rare in KJC books, as a majority of the protagonists are male. And I could feel James rooting for her and loving her how she wanted to be loved. If you’ve read the book, hopefully you’ll remember the scene in which there is a ~dangerous situation~ but James doesn’t swoop in to save her. He merely stands by her for support, because she had the situation pretty handled. I’ve kept it pretty spoiler-free, but this next part has a spoiler!

Spoiler warning ‼️

SPOILERS BELOW:

Archie: I’m just learning this about myself but you’re worth the leap of faith.

Daniel: I’m used to being used. I will survive like I always have. Show me that I’m wrong, and I’ll let you in on the joke.

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Will: Taking it day by day is how I survived. What does it mean to look ahead, and build a future with somebody?

Kim: You saw through me. I promised not to lie to you, and I’ll confess my love so as not to lie by omission.

-

Maisie: You took me out and showed me the world.

Phoebe: The world is nothing. You are everything.

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Joss- I see my home in a new light because of you.

Gareth- You filled my soulless life with childlike wonder and understanding.

-

Luke- You helped me reckon with my past, and let my father go.

Rufus- You changed your handwriting for me.

-

Christiana- You see me as I am- Christiana, always.

Stan- My beautiful girl. We saved each other.

-

Nicky- I loved you then. I lived in exile, repentance, and regret, after. You don’t have to believe me, but I did it for you.

Jem- I watched you love him. You destroyed me then, but we all deserve the truth. Don’t we?

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Pat: I see you through the bubbles and the sandbagging. You take my breath away.