Whistle (Westbrook Elite #8)

Here's to skipping around in a series to only (for now...in theory) read the MM books! Cambria Herbert's Westbrook Elite series broke me when I read them before (and reread WTF), so why not deal with some emotional torture today?? Here's the eighth book in the series: "Whistle."

["Ever since my twin sister was murdered and I blamed my best friend, my life has been nothing but an epic downward spiral. Once a swimmer for the most prestigious West Coast college, I never in a million years thought I'd end up here. Abandoned. Locked up. Alone. In a moment of weakness, I call the guy who was more of a brother to me than anything, the guy I betrayed. Shockingly, he flies cross country to bail me out. But he isn't alone. In tow is his new swim coach. A whistle-blowing tyrant who makes me crave to push every button he's ever had and toss his list of rules into the bottom of the pool he loves so much. But I can't because now he's my coach too. It's Coach Resch and the team who hates me or a four-by-four cell. So off to Westbrook I go to do my sentence like the good boy I'll never be. Coach thinks he can handle me, but he’s never met my particular brand of wild."]

I cried sooooo much during this book. Yes, Bodhi was a bit of a dramatic brat and didn't really want to help himself at all, but MY GOD! All of his heartbreak and trauma and anxieties of being alone and abandoned and unloved were hard to take. Constantly being reminded that people left you, that people don't want you, that people did want you and then changed their mind, that people are purposely excluding you, that people are keeping secrets from you, that people are keeping you a secret. It was all soooooo much. 

And the moments when you think Emmett (Coach) understood the depth of his heartbreak and loneliness and desperation to belong, he fucked up. Benefit of the doubt, Emmett has his own traumas holding him back, but holy hell did I hate him for a while (you know when you just want need to crawl through a book to scream at someone for being soooo STUPID? yeah, that).

I think this is the last of the Westbrook Elite series, which is rough and hard (but good on my heart). But I guess its an excuse to read some of Cambria's other things (and try, try, TRY not to reread "WTF"...for the third time (I just love Lars so much (sorry Bodhi)).

Trigger Warnings: discussions of suicide (off page), death, murder of a sibling, water trauma, and more.

#wish #wtf #whisper #whistle #wet #wingspan #wildcard #wow #westbrookelite #westbrookeliteseries #cambriahebert #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks