Luke Price's life has always been about order, control, and acting tough on the outside. For Luke, meaningless relationships are a distraction-a way to tune out the twisted memories of his childhood. He desperately wishes he could forget his past, but it haunts him no matter what he does.
Violet Hayes has had a rough life. When she was young, she was left with no family and the memory of her parents' unsolved murders. She grew up in foster homes, living with irresponsible parents, drugs, and neglect, and trying to fight the painful memories of the night her parents were taken from her. But it's hard to forget when she never got closure-and she can't stop dreaming about what happened that tragic night. To make it through life, she keeps her distance from everyone and never allows herself to feel anything.
Then Violet meets Luke. The two clash instantly, yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Although they fight it, they both start to open up and feel things they've never felt before. They discover just how similar they are. But they also discover something else: The past always catches up with you
Luke is best friends with Kayden Owens. From previous books, we know that Luke’s mom has issues, his sister killed herself at sixteen, and Luke copes with his screwed up family life with alcohol. Luke has learned , it’s best and easiest not to get close to anyone. They will only let you down in the end. He’s never had a normal relationship with anyone. His mom is a crazy addict, his father has been absent most of his life, and with women, he gets sex and thats all. No relationships, no closeness.
Violet is Callie’s college roommate, but we don’t know much else about her. Violet grew up in the foster care system after her parents were murdered when she was just a child. She has learned the same hard lessons as Luke. Never let anyone get too close. She has no family at all and no real friends. At a party, she gets in a bit of trouble and Luke helps her out. She’s not sure why. Then, they start bumping in to each other more. Violet finds that she actually likes Luke, but she won’t let him in either.
I understand why both characters are reluctant to let one another in, but it does get a little bit frustrating. You can tell they are starting to develop feelings for one another, but neither will admit to it. Violet and Luke start hanging out a little, and you can just feel the heat and the tension between them.
Both Luke and Violet have pretty messed up pasts. The way their pasts intertwine, the ‘big twist’ of the story was unfortunately very easily predicted early on in the story. Even though, it was still heart breaking when both Violet and Luke discovered it. It seems just as they were both ready to put down some of their walls and give what they had going between them a real shot, this comes out in the open. And that ending.