Never Fade Away by EL Esch

Fair warning - make sure you read the content warning before starting this book... and then sink into the pages of Never Fade Away...

From the Blurb:

Until death does us part, but it's knocking on our door…

I'd had enough. That's how I found myself in a dingy alleyway with my revolver in my hand. I was sick and dying anyway, and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing except maybe taking back some shred of control by going out on my own terms.

One deep breath. Two… Three… Four…

Surrounded by the darkness of my own mind, this was the only solution I could see, but before I could do something I’d regret, rock star Anno Goodkind crashed into my life and flipped it upside down.

It was supposed to be one casual hookup. No complications and definitely no feelings. No, the most logical thing to do would be to stuff my emotions down so nobody got hurt. Especially not him. But nobody told me that love didn’t give a damn about logic.

CONTENT WARNING: This story has a HEA but deals with heavy themes of illness, suicide, anxiety, and depression. Reader discretion is advised.

Heather's Review:

Never Fade Away is the first book of EL Esch's that I've read and I was completely immersed in their world by the second chapter... the world building, the intensity, you won't be able to put this book down...  I normally have trouble relating to the second character in a single POV novel, but Esch is able to convey Anno's strength, backstory and character in a way that blends into Vincent's story beautifully.  

This book will tear your heart out and make you wonder if a HEA or even a HFN is even possible, but I promise you if your heart can take it, and your emotional threshold can withstand the ride, the HEA is there and so worth reaching for!

Never Fade Away will not be my only EL Esch book... and whether it's your first or not, you need to add Never Fade Away to your TBR immediately!

DLav's Review:

When Vincent and Anno find love among painful times, a readers heart may just be ripped to pieces and put back together with scotch tape and shabby sewing job. Despite it all, it’s worth the pain for them and for us the readers to get that well earned HEA.

This story, about a emotionally disassociated man struggling just to breathe after a devastating medical diagnosis that is equivalent to a death sentence. Readers go on a journey of trauma, pain, suicidal thoughts and more with both main characters. It’s interesting to watch how they  find love and life within the other.

 This story was as beautiful as it was painful. It took me longer than I expected to get through this book because I needed time to think through moments and feel the feelings this book brought out of me.

I encourage people to read this whom love angsty, painful, mind altering romance stories that have a lot of realism, a fair bit of mental health difficulties and a solid romance arc that builds over time. It also had a few solid side characters that brought more life to the story and to the main characters.

I loved how Esch pulled the story together in the end, giving the characters a believable and meaningful end as well as a tying up everything for the reader in a way that did not feel as if anything was left unanswered or glazed over. With particular detail to the topics of suicide, and sadistic humour, We got a full spectrum of healing here that I felt in the depths of me.

I’m eager for more from this new to me author.

If you missed it, you can also read an excerpt of the book from our Teaser Tuesday post!