The Defender

Rating: 4.5 stars.“Je serais toujours la pour toi, mon coeur. Quoiqu’il arrive.”I’m still trying to collect the pieces of my heart after finishing this one, because WOW, Ana Huang did not come to play. She came to destroy me (lovingly) and then rebuild me with swoon, angst, and a hero worth every single page of heartbreak and healing.Let’s talk about the feels, this book had me on an emotional roller coaster. One minute I was melting, the next I was clutching my chest like someone stabbed me with a soul-crushing plot twist. And I LOVED EVERY SECOND. The characters were so beautifully flawed, so achingly real, and their connection? Electric. It’s the kind of slow burn romance that hurts in all the right places before it finally, gloriously ignites.ehmm let’s begin.ˋ°•*⁀➷ The Characters:“I’d lose every single fucking bet in the world if it meant I could be with you.”Vincent is the kind of man who stands in the shadows, silently watching over the people he cares about, not because he has to, but because he can’t imagine doing anything else. He’s loyal down to his soul, protective in a way that makes your heart clench, and carries a depth of pain that he doesn’t burden others with.He’s the storm and the shelter, the danger everyone warns you about, but the peace you feel safer with than anyone else. Every time he lets his guard down? I WAS DONE FOR. That quiet vulnerability under all that armor? Perfection.“You think you’re unlovable, but I think I’ve never known how to love until knowing you.”And then we have Brooklyn….oh this sweet, kind woman. She’s guarded, bruised by the world, but still standing… still fighting. Even under the weight of her grief, her trauma, her trust issues, there’s a fire in her. A will to survive, even when it hurts. She’s not perfect, she makes mistakes, but she’s so real. When she finally starts to let him in, to let herself believe in softness again, it’s the most beautiful thing ever. She’s the perfect example of a heroine who’s allowed to be strong AND scared at the same time. And I rooted for her every single step of the way.