Ebony's been trying to pull herself out of the darkness for longer than she cares to admit, but each day only seems to bring her deeper. Music is her only escape from a life that revolves around her siblings and getting through the next day. Then a ray of light is shining through, making her see she might not be as alone as she thought.
Marcus has his own story to tell and Ebony’s the only one he wants to share it with. He’s been waiting for her to notice him, hoping for the chance to prove he’s worthy of her letting him in. Now that he has her attention, he's ready to show her just how beautiful a life with them together could be.
Opening up her world to Marcus might be the hardest thing Ebony has ever done, and when her past threatens to drag her back under again, will he remain at her side? Can Ebony overcome, what has always seemed like, insurmountable odds and find her way to the light?
Reavis tackles family dysfunction, abuse, and more in a no-holds-barred debut that’s a little bit romance, a little bit bildungsroman. Seventeen-year-old Ebony Sealy is a serious student, and even more serious outside the classroom. She ignores fashion for black sweatpants and tunes out the world with ever-present earbuds; her primary interests are binge sleeping and self-inflicted pain. The only thing that keeps her alive is a commitment to protect her younger siblings from their neglectful, abusive mother, who failed to interfere when Ebony’s predatory uncle molested her. Then, as if by magic, a too-good-to-be-true classmate named Marcus shows up on Ebony’s porch, sits next to her on the bus, gets her to share her ear buds, and draws her into a relationship. Both teens and adults willing to read intense, explicit scenes of abuse in a tender romance novel will find Ebony’s story moving and worth their time. (BookLife)
