Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: When We Meet Again
AUTHOR: Hayden Hall
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 296 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2024
BLURB:
Rafael owns my heart. He stole it with the first clumsy bump in a Parisian bookstore, and I never asked him to return it.
He gifted me a night to remember, a night that shaped the person I would become. And then, I lost him. I lost every trace that could have helped me find him. Until fate meddled again and put Rafael and me on the same cross-European train through the Alps.
But if I hoped that some divine hand guided us to one another, I was terribly mistaken.
Our second encounter sparked a decade of failed attempts and missed chances. For years, I yearned to be with him, and for years, something took him away. Our lives are so intertwined that we will never be free of one another. And yet, each time I see him, my dream of a happy ending fades a little more.
Is stealing moments with Rafael enough to live on? Can I survive on glimmers of hope? I don’t think so.
It’s time to take our happy ending away from fate’s hands. It’s time to break this cursed cycle once and for all.
REVIEW:
This story broke my heart again and again, but likewise heals it again and again!
Rafael and Luke were meant to be but they both created instances and thoughts in their minds that they are not. It took them a decade to realize what they have known all along, that they belong together.
They met on a beautiful day in Paris, on Luke’s birthday while he was choosing books to buy as a gift for himself. A chance encounter that led to coffee and walks that lasted until the early hours of the next morning. They got to know about each other, well as much as they could tell when you meet a beautiful stranger on a beautiful day. Fate?
When they meet again a few years after, which they both never thought would happen again, they spent a short time together, until a call interrupted it. This time though Luke learned more about Rafael, what he is currently doing and what has happened since they last saw each other.
Luke never got over meeting Rafael, he wasn’t far from his mind at all times. Rafael is the reason why Luke is now into graphic novels, why he is doing it now instead of all the other aspirations he mentioned when they first met. Rafael took his heart with him every time they see each other, and leave each other.
The second time though they took each other’s number and kept in touch through messages and calls after that. But every time they see each other, it is usually only for a few hours, or a day or two. In the meantime, they both pursued their dreams, Rafael in photography and Luke in Graphic Novels.
They both know they love each other but I guess when you are young and you have dreams or goals to achieve, sometimes the heart or mind refuses to acknowledge that until such time when your heart seems to get broken every time you leave each other after a very short time of being together. This is what happens to Rafael and Luke.
When they realized how much they love each other, something enormous happened that prevented them from being together, as they had planned. Words were said that resulted in them not being together. But the heart wants who it wants, right?
When Luke looked for Rafael again, and they got to talked, realizations materialized and Luke, with the persistence of Rafael, finally accepted to himself that he is the one who has put all these obstacles in front of them, he is the one who always thought of something that may go wrong. When Rafael made him realize this, Luke found himself with hope again, and so much more.
I love Rafael and Luke’s story even though it broke me several times. Thank you Mr. Hayden Hall for creating them, you are amazing!
RATING: 
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