[Book Review] Ryan’s Bed – Tijan

I crawled into Ryan Jensen’s bed that first night by accident.

I barely knew him. I thought it was his sister’s bed—her room. It took seconds to realize my error, and I should’ve left…

I didn’t.
I didn’t jump out.
I didn’t get embarrassed.
I relaxed.
And that night, in that moment, it was the only thing I craved.

I asked to stay. He let me, and I slept.

The truth? I never wanted to leave his bed. If I could’ve stayed forever, I would have.
He became my sanctuary.

Because—four hours earlier—my twin sister killed herself.

Page Lenght: 250
Publication Date: 2018
Characters: Mackenzie, Ryan, and Willow

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I usually start my reviews with a summary of the story, but for this one, I just need to tell you how it made me feel:

Stunned! I got to the last page and I couldn’t believe it. I just for like 5 minutes in an emotional stupor.

Mackenzie first sleeps in Ryan’s bed just hours after finding her twin sister Willow dead. Willow took her own life and now Mackenzie has to find a way to go on without her sister all the while carrying a secret only she know.s

This story is beautifully sad. Many times during reading this I had blink back tears and swallow the huge lump in my throat. I was not prepared. Mackenzie’s grief was heartbreaking and she goes through a number of coping strategies to deal with her sister’s grief, the most prominent being trying to not feel and ignore her grief.

I really liked her relationship with Ryan, it didn’t start out in the best way but they he couldn’t have been more perfect for, he got exactly what she was going through and was non-judgemental throughout the whole book.

This is a particularly difficult subject matter and I think Tijan did a brilliant job of approaching it, capturing that suicide doesn’t end with the person who takes their life, but lives on in the people they leave behind.

The last line will stay with me for a long time.