The fights will be endless. The heartache will be real. The demons will return, and they won't back down without a fight. There are some who will do anything to keep true love apart, and those same people will dig deep into their demonic ways until Eliza and Gage are literally no more. Can Eliza and Gage overcome it all? Will they be able to face the true demons that are seeking to destroy them? Or will they just forget about everything they've worked so hard for and go their separate ways? Sometimes you have to go through struggles in order to reach an ultimate point of peace...but will their struggle be worth it?
“Who We Are” picks up eight months after the end of “Who He Is.” Eliza, who returned to school at the University of Virginia, is home to visit her father and attend a FireNine concert. Things get off to a bad start when Gage starts their “reunion” weekend off with an explicit song at the concert, about how much he hates her for leaving him and breaking his heart.
The story continues in the same vein of having Eliza and Gage play a cat and mouse game of attraction; one minute he hates her, and the next they can’t keep their hands off each other. Later, Eliza starts her internship in Brooklyn, New York where Gage shows up, and she realizes that the company creates artwork for FireNine; and her internship was the result of recommendations by both her father and Gage. There is an odd scene on Eliza’s first day where she and Gage air their relationship issues in front of her new boss that seems more in line with a story about high school students.
The premise used to keep the couple apart in book 1 (Penelope’s blackmail), is a main plot point in this book. After Eliza and Gage make peace and spend a very romantic night together Gage disappears for weeks, resulting in Eliza’s depression and the main conflict that runs through the majority of the book. There is a two year jump in the middle of the story where it is assumed that the characters haven’t seen each other and have moved on from the relationship. After this jump, Eliza finally decides to fight for her man and the life that she dreams of having with him. This story contains a family reunion, a family tragedy, some emotional growth, and finally the HEA that fans of Eliza and Gage are hoping for.
There is some difficulty getting through the writing style and overuse of some words in this book. There was a great deal of smirking, gasping, and mind/emotion reading through people’s eyes. (The “eyes” references were greatly overused.) I kept getting kicked out of the story mentally by the misuse of some words and phrases, including a term for eyes that I don’t think the author realizes is ethnically offensive. (ch*nking/ch*nked his eyes). The story would also benefit from less generalized information about the job Eliza has, and the health issues raised.
This story is told in first person, and there is some repetition in descriptions used in the story. While the plot had some problems, I think this book was better than the first one. Once the couple is safely together, the story moves along more smoothly. The most enjoyable part of the book is the portion that takes place at the lake, when all of the band members join Eliza, Gage, and his sister for a getaway. This portion is the most heart-felt part of the story, and leads to a defining moment that changes all of the people involved.
Unfortunately, this is an average narration. The voice and the story are not cohesive, and at times it felt as though the narrator accentuated the repetitious nature of the storytelling and drew attention to the weak points. The narration however ends on a high-note, as the epilogue is voiced by Christian Fox telling the story from Gage’s point of view. He manages to bring life to the character and make it more interesting.
Narrated by Veronica Meunch with Christian Fox
Length: 8 Hours 50 Minutes
Series: FireNine #2
Publisher: Tantor Audio