Dear Ava: Enemies-to-Lovers Standalone Romance Kindle Edition

I really wish I read this sooner! Dear Ava is definitely one of the best reads I’ve had in 2022. Do not miss out. If you haven’t read it yet, you need to… now now now!This love story will dig its claws into your heart from the beginning until the very end. Like seriously, take it from me… I just spent the last 2 nights reading IMM instead of sleeping. I’m pretty beat, but it was totally worth it. Finishing Dear Ava in one sitting, while the kids and hubby slept was pretty spectacular.Ava and Knox have that soulmate connection in spades. Both characters are beautiful people with flaws, emotional scars and struggles. But the pull they have towards each other is undeniable.But like any good love story, Ava and Knox have a lot to lose and fight for. They come from completely different worlds. A world that destroyed Ava, and left her irrevocably changed. Ava is formidable, kind, hard working, she’s pretty much just a beautiful soul. I am so team Ava! It’s always a treat to read a strong female lead. She knew when to fight, to push boundaries, and when to walk away to protect herself and the people she loves most.Knox is just so swoony. Gah his poetry alone could melt the ice around a frozen heart. Dude is legit. He’s fiercely loyal, a protector, a love with his whole being kind of man. Book boyfriend doesn’t do him any justice, he’s a book husband to the hundredth degree.The banter between the two is perfection. The angst and tension between them is palpable. And while I read with tears in my eyes many times throughout the book, they were all worth it to get that ending. What an incredible HEA for them and us as readers. It was such complete perfection it made me downright giddy!! This book broke me down and put my heart back together just the way I like.FAVORITE QUOTESCome on, little Ava. Come closer to me, fierce girl.One more step.Let me touch you. On the arm. Your hand. Anything.Please.My fingers twitch.She walked in here like she owns the place, but she doesn’t. I do. Still… The very air around her seems lit with an aura of expectancy. Emotion, something unnamed, rare and beautiful, brushes down my spine. I tense. Rein it in.Love dies. Then you’re at the end of my kaleidoscope, Broken, bright shiny pieces. Obviously, you can’t love me. And neither should I.

Ilsa Madden-Mills is one of my favorite author. She did a good job with this book. The storyline is slightly slow at the beginning but then it picks up soon enough. It is about complex topics such as mental illness, rape, drugs and suicide. It is about teenagers dealing with such topics in their life. A delicate time in a teenager life that should be about finding an identify, and self discovery instead of dealing with the ugly aspects of life and society has to offer. The two main characters are depicted more maturely than their age. However, in the mist of the plot for revenge, and whatever, the two characters appear strong willed but compassionate, smart and caring. I liked how the author turned the story differently from the point of view of a concerning parent. Although, the author could have taken a different direction making the parent the villain, she did not, I liked that it offered a different perspective. The author wrote a storyline about letting go, self discovery and internal growth. Heavy themes such as rape, and suicidal are strong enough that leaves internal scars that last for a lifetime, it changes the individual. I believe that the author did not write enough about the challenge of the trauma in the book. Yes, the author wrote about the daily struggle at school, the bullying and facing the student knowing that one of them is a rapist but it is very superficial. The other topics addressed in the book such as drugs, mental illness, suicidal are written in a superfluous way. I believe that such strong topics in the book are not well represented. However, I liked last few chapters and the end. Letting go and starting over, finding self at some point of life, and peace at the end of the road was a good ending. The four stars is because I feel disconnected at times throughout the book. I am not sure if it is because some of the topics do not have enough of depth. The main female character is strong but there is something lacking in the character.

This is an emotional, triggering story of two strong yet vulnerable people who are destined to be together, but they have to go through a whole heck of a lot to get there. Fort Knox he may be but he’s a marshmallow for Ava. Such a great read.

Essa avaliação contém spoilers.A leitura é uma montanha russa. Tem cara de clichê, mas não é NADA disso.Considerei que não daria 5 estrelas nesse livro, não cheguei a pensar em abandonar, mas tive momentos em que considerei que era um livro meio sem graça.No final de tudo, não é.É um livro muito bom, acho até que o melhor da autora que eu já li (não li todos, acho que além desse uns 4 ou 5).Não sei o que eu esperava com a premissa do bilhete, o problema da festa e tudo mais, mas as coisas foram se desenrolando de um jeito bem único.Irônico bem o livro com personagens mais novos da autora ter me prendido tanto. Knox ter 17 anos me pegou demais — e eu só descobri isso depois de 50% do livro, porque se soubesse desde o começo provavelmente não teria sequer iniciado a leitura.Única coisa que me incomoda — e que talvez, se fosse possível, me faria dar uma nota 4.8 para esse livro, — é o fato do Knox ser bem rodado antes de enfim esperar pela Ava. Principalmente lembrando da idade dele. Será que adolescentes ricos realmente só fazem essas coisas da vida? Bom, talvez. Eu não fui uma adolescente rica e realmente tive meus momentos, enfim…O fato dele ter pego a queen bee da escola, depois ter pego mais algumas meninas e a Ava ter presenciado inclusive me irritou. O começo do livro, de maneira geral, me irrita porque flerta com o bully romance.Mas depois que Knox mostra quem ele é, todas as nuances e o celibato (sim, eu me importo muito com isso), eu realmente comecei a olhar com mais carinho pra todo o desenvolvimento do livro.O final me ganhou demais. Lee fez absolutamente TUDO certo. O esbarrão, a ida ao bar, ficar esperando o turno acabar, chamar ela pra morar com ele, a construção da família e eu simplesmente AMEIIIII ele ter virado um cara do corporativo ao invés de uma grande estrela do futebol americano porque ele só queria ser um cara família enquanto a Ava realizava seu sonho em se tornar uma médica..Então é uma grande montanha russa. No começo, com todo o jeito do Knox de achar que não merece amor, ficar retraído, falar coisas que realmente não pensa e sente ou simplesmente não falar/agir me irritou, porque odeio falta de diálogo e tenho preguiça dessa desculpa de bad boy do tipo “não é você, sou eu”. Mas ainda bem que o arco de maturidade dele é ENORME e ele melhora demais nesse quesito. Eles dialogam, ele amadurece, fala as coisas que sente, age nas coisas que sente. Sério, é perfeito.É preciso ressaltar que o celibato dele depois que ela vai embora… é a cereja do bolo pra mim.Eu teria achado perfeito se ele tivesse 18 anos e não fosse tão rodado antes (sim, vou falar disso de novo), mas ainda assim eu consigo quase ver perfeição nesse livro. Quase. Faltou muito muito muito pouco.Mas, no final, terminei feliz e com saudade desse casal.A sorte de ter o que Knox e Ava tem é única. E eu amei. Quem diria que Knox seria tão… tudo.Enfim, foi uma leitura maravilhosa e eu recomendo bastante.

I practically ate the book, I couldn't stop reading it. I'm more eager to know more about Ava and Knox.My first book of the month and I don’t regret choosing this one. Definitely checking more books from Ilsa.

This book is so beautifully written that it nearly turns the love-story genre on its head. I have to say, Ava and Knox's story is going to stay inside me a long, long time. It took my breath away, a lot like another of my favorite writers, Emily Henry. Every word counts in Madden-Mills' writing: she makes it easy, thrilling and heart-wrenching to savor each one.

I loved the depths of Knox and Ava and it was no easy story but I loved it even more because of that!An absolute page Turner I did not want to put down!Thank you for this great story!