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We Are Us: A suspenseful and emotional second-chance romance standalone novel. Kindle Edition
We Are Us is a gripping, angsty, second-chance romance that will have you glued to your ereader until the last page! Complete standalone, no cliffhanger.
I fell in love with a beautiful, broken boy.
His whispered words of love were the sweetest of lies.
He gave me his heart and destroyed mine.
I am his.
I fell in love with the beautiful man who broke me.
His boldly spoken vow was the cruelest of cages.
He gave me his name and destroyed my soul.
He is mine.
The boy I once loved is now a man.
The man I once loved is now gone.
We are us.
I have been called many things.
Victim. Survivor. Daughter. Sister. Wife.
Now I am called something else.
Murderer.
Believe it or not, this is our love story.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
From the Author
Sounds break through my insulated cocoon of unconsciousness. Harsh sounds. Ugly sounds. Buzzing. Beeping. Humming.
The fingers of my left hand twitch with the impulse to swat at... something. An alarm clock? The television remote? But although my wedding rings slide around my finger, my arm doesn't move.
Panic whispers at the edge of my mind, though there is no corresponding pulse of adrenaline through my veins, forcing me into action. My limbs are heavy and uncooperative.
Make it stop.
It's been a long time since I've felt this awful, this lethargic. Filled with an all-encompassing exhaustion that has seeped into the marrow of my bones.
Survivor's guilt, apparently. Sleeping the day away is preferable to facing what happened, what I've done. The dawn of a new day isn't a fresh start, a new beginning.
It is a violation. A betrayal.
Finally, I manage to clutch at my covers, dragging them over my head. Egyptian cotton, a thread count so high it could be spun of silk. Surely it will muffle the noise.
But something is wrong. The fabric is rough beneath my fingertips. It doesn't smell of the lavender and verbena packets tucked into the shelves of the linen closet. And there is a sterilized stench to the air I didn't notice before.
The whisper of panic becomes more of a murmur, then a shout. This isn't my bed.
The noises pick up, racing now. My breaths quicken, my lungs throbbing from the sharp bite of bleach with each shallow inhale.
Hospital. I am in a hospital. The buzzing and beeping and humming. Those are machines.
What happened? Think, think.
My mind is frustratingly blank even as my skin prickles with memories of another time. Another confused awakening. Another frantic search for memories. Did he... No. He wouldn't dare. Not again. Not ever again.
My corneas sting in protest as I squint against the harsh daylight streaming through the open window, my pupils slowly retracting until the room comes into focus. I turn my head, looking for the door, or a chair where my husband is probably sleeping. A sharp pain explodes in my temple at the small movement, taking me off guard.
"Look who's awake." A woman in scrubs peers at me, a stethoscope swinging from her neck. "Are you in pain?"
I consider nodding, then think better of it. My mouth opens on a squeak. "Head. Back." My throat hurts, too. "Legs," I add.
She nods. "That's normal for the injuries you've sustained."
Normal?
"Are you thirsty?"
This time I don't nod, or speak. I just open my mouth. She moves my bed into a more upright position and guides a straw between my parched lips. I clamp down on it, sucking greedily. Too soon, there is only a gurgling sound as the straw catches the last few droplets at the bottom.
"You can have more later, I promise."
"Hello, hello." Another woman enters my room. Clutching a clipboard, she is wearing a white lab coat over a navy blue dress. "I'm Dr. Carlson. Do you know why you're here?"
Tears prick my eyelids. No.
She isn't fazed. "How about your name? Can you tell me your name?"
A wave of relief washes over me. "Poppy."
"How about the name of the president and the city where you were born?"
I answer both questions and she beams. "Excellent."
"My... My husband?" My voice sounds as if it belongs to a ninety-year-old man with advanced emphysema.
The nurse lays her hand on my arm. "No need to worry about anyone else but yourself right now, sweetie."
The affectionate term is as offensive to me as the cheap, scratchy sheets. I stopped being anyone's sweetie, or sweet at all, nine months ago. "Why am I here?"
"You had an accident. Do you remember?"
"No." I run a tongue across my dry lips. "Am I-- What happened?"
"When you were brought in, we had to give you some pretty heavy doses of antibiotics and painkillers. We've kept you sedated for the past forty-eight hours to monitor the swelling in your brain which was, thankfully, relatively minor."
"I've been sleeping for two days?"
"Not exactly sleeping. Medically sedated. But all of these factors--high doses of strong medications, bruising and swelling of your brain, lacerations to your scalp, back, and legs--these things tend to reduce your ability to store memories of the causal event."
What event?
Anxiety threads beneath my nerve endings, pushing them up crookedly like roots distorting a flagstone walkway. She continues, as if I'm not already struggling to absorb her explanation. "In some cases, memory loss can go back further, impacting the days or weeks preceding the event. Those memories are likely stored in your mind, though recalling them can be difficult."
I glance beyond her, looking for a movie camera and a director's slate board. Have I been thrust into a bad soap opera?
"Are you--? I don't--" My head isn't just pounding, it is spinning. I can't keep a straight thought.
"Why don't you tell us the last thing you do remember, okay? We can go from there."
I stare unseeingly through the window, images floating up from the darkened recesses of my mind.
A silken smudge of horizon, sea meeting sky, no land in sight.
Ships. At least a dozen of them. Then one in particular, with glossy teak decks. Its hull gleaming bright white, mast arrogantly pointing toward an azure blue sky.
The flashes of memory appear and disappear like a shark's fin cutting through the ocean. Furtive and ominous. I turn my confused gaze back to the doctor. "I--"
"Poppy!" My sister screeches to a halt at my bedside, her concerned hazel eyes taking in the tubes and wires, the doctor and nurse and my bandaged head and body, all at once. "When did you wake up?"
Dr. Carlson scowls at her. "Just now. I know you've--"
"Sadie," I interrupt. "What's going on?"
She presses her lips together, scrutinizing my face. "Don't say anything else. Not until after we talk." She shoots the doctor and nurse a warning glare. "Privately."
A scream would rip through my throat like a fistful of razor blades, but I can feel it building. If someone doesn't tell me something... I suck in a deep breath, ignoring the ache in my lungs.
One of the machines gives an angry buzz. "Calm down, Mrs. Stockton."
Sadie's arm creeps around the back of my neck, drawing me into a gentle embrace. "Just relax. I'll explain everything."
Bright spots appear at the periphery of my vision, and there is another angry buzz. Can't they just unplug the damn machines already? "What happened? Why am I here?"
Sadie pulls back, a strange expression on her face. "You don't remember?"
"No." My heart pounds against my lungs, trying to escape. "Tell me."
Dr. Carlson clears her throat. "There is an FBI Agent waiting outside. He's asked to speak with you as soon as you're awake."
"Absolutely not," my sister answers immediately.
"FBI agent?" My whisper is barely audible against the blare of the machines.
"Yes. Given the circumstances, he's quite insistent." She pulls a card out of her pocket and reads from it. "Special Agent Gavin Cross. He said you know him."
Gavin. My cracked lips form the shape of a name I so rarely allow myself to think, let alone say aloud.
Sadie merely scoffs. "And you believed him?"
I turn pleading eyes on the nurse. Gavin. Get Gavin. But she doesn't look at me as she injects a needle into my IV bag.
A drugged numbness charges through my bloodstream, Sadie's voice becoming distant. "No one is going to accuse my sister of murder until..."
The warm embrace of sleep rolls over me and I surrender to dreams of a stolen past. A beautiful, broken boy. An enchanted forest. And a love that evaporated like mist in the morning sun.
Product details
- ASIN : B083JK5KCH
- Publisher : Hachette Book Group (February 27, 2020)
- Publication date : February 27, 2020
- Language : English
- File size : 2.6 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 418 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1732801096
- Best Sellers Rank: #799,898 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #865 in Contemporary Urban Fiction
- #12,530 in New Adult & College Romance (Kindle Store)
- #23,232 in New Adult & College Romance (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Tara Leigh is a multi-published author of steamy contemporary romance. To keep in touch (and receive behind-the-scenes snippets, prizes, and book news), click here! http://bit.ly/TaraLeighNwsltr.
A former banker on Wall Street, Tara graduated from Washington University and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, but she much prefers spending her days with fictional boyfriends than analyzing financial spreadsheets. Tara currently lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut with her husband, children, and rescued fur-baby, Pixie.
You can also find her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaraLeighAuthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tara-leigh
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/TaraLeighGR
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taraleighbooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaraLeighBooks
Book + Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/TaraLeigh/bites
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this romance novel suspenseful with engaging twists and turns, and one review notes it's full of heart-squeezing moments. Moreover, the book receives praise for its beautiful writing style and vivid imagery, with one customer describing it as a "gripping roller coaster of emotions." Additionally, customers appreciate the character development, with one review highlighting the author's masterful creation of characters.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the story's twists and turns and find it suspenseful, with one customer noting its authentic feel.
"...Built trust with each other. And it was beautiful. Their love is strong, until Gavin disappears. Devastating Poppy. “I am his. He is mine...." Read more
"...It's raw and intense emotions. It's young love full of hope, only to be shattered unexpectedly and seemingly with no reason...." Read more
"...There were surprises and twists. I just wish that we could have had two sides of the story...." Read more
"...This story was intriguing and intense and emotional, and full of so many heart-squeezing moments...." Read more
Customers find the book worth the read and consider it their best book to date, with one customer noting it's a page-turner.
"...So I had a different perspective. Gavin was the absolute best!! Everyone needs a Gavin their life. He was a true hero!! He was Poppy’s hero...." Read more
"...I would not put on the list as a reread but it was very compelling...." Read more
"...Tragic, heartbreaking, wistfully romantic, and not just a book, but a journey from start to end...." Read more
"...full of twists, turns, secrets & unexpected surprises that makes this book a page-turner. Another amazing read from this author!" Read more
Customers appreciate the emotional depth of the book, describing it as intense and real, with one customer noting it's full of heart-squeezing moments.
"...Seeing the colors, smelling the scents, hearing the sounds, feeling the love, experiencing the pain...." Read more
"...An absolutely spectacular read!! Georgeously written, shattering my heart and oh so slowly putting it back together, only to shatter over and over...." Read more
"...This book has you feeling everything - from young Poppy’s & Gavin’s promises to each other, sharing their thoughts & dreams to adult Poppy trying to..." Read more
"...Some of the decisions made are hard take but feel so real. The power Tucker held over her had me hoping she’d find a way out...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and beautifully written, with one customer describing it as an amazing roller coaster of emotions.
"...This book was the most amazing roller coaster of emotions. And will leave you completely wrecked yet relieved...." Read more
"...Just read for yourself and form your own opinion. I do recommend for angst lovers...." Read more
"...of Poppy, and Gavin, her first love, is so beautifully and incredibly written. It's angsty and at times brutal. I ugly cried so hard for Poppy...." Read more
"...Then I read the blurb and I knew I HAD TO. Powerful and eloquent words grabbed a hold of me with every page...." Read more
Customers find the book beautiful, with one mentioning how the author paints vivid pictures.
"...Poppy and Gavin’s relationship was beautiful, sweet and everything you want in a teen romance. They both somehow needed the other...." Read more
"...The story of Poppy, and Gavin, her first love, is so beautifully and incredibly written. It's angsty and at times brutal...." Read more
"...I felt like I was there... Seeing the colors, smelling the scents, hearing the sounds, feeling the love, experiencing the pain...." Read more
"...The cover of the book is beautiful. I'm pleased by my purchase and am anxious to read it" Read more
Customers appreciate the sweetness of the book, with one mentioning how Gavin is so damn sweet, while another notes that Poppy is amazing.
"...Poppy and Gavin’s relationship was beautiful, sweet and everything you want in a teen romance. They both somehow needed the other...." Read more
"...Love, shock, awe, happiness, tears...you name it. The author’s writing continues to get better and better and this is her best book to date...." Read more
"...The print is larger than I expected which is quite nice. The cover of the book is beautiful. I'm pleased by my purchase and am anxious to read it" Read more
"I absolutely loved this book! Poppy is amazing and goes thru so much. That Gavin so damn sweet and caring and just a badass!" Read more
Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one describing it as a masterpiece.
"This book is a masterpiece in creating characters that resonate and feel real...." Read more
"I loved the story of all the good qualities and bad qualities of the characters. Even the antagonist wasn’t without hope in my eyes...." Read more
"...Overall I liked the story and the characters and it was worth the read." Read more
Reviews with images

All the stars and all the feels for this five star beautiful book!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020We Are Us by Tara Leigh is a stand alone book of second chance romance, but nothing can prepare you for what awaits. This is arguably one of the most complex yet deeply moving love stories to be told. Reading the reviews before going in, no one wants to give anything away! Which is probably for the best. While there are delicate matters at bay, the author does an extremely well take on them and
Poppy wakes up from an accident with no recollection of how she has gotten there. She has no idea where her husband Tucker is, or what has happened to him, but her first heartbreak / true love is there for her.
Special Agent Gavin Cross was Poppy’s first love, but then he disappeared - breaking her heart.
This book is written from Poppy’s POV. Poppy was a brave 13 year old girl that grew up with not the best of childhoods. The only comfort she had in her life, she found in a boy that she met in the woods between their houses. That boy was Gavin Cross.
The woods, “their” cave, the moment is theirs. Poppy and Gavin’s relationship was beautiful, sweet and everything you want in a teen romance. They both somehow needed the other. Healed each other. Built trust with each other. And it was beautiful. Their love is strong, until Gavin disappears. Devastating Poppy.
“I am his. He is mine. We are us.”
“I am hers. She is mine. We are us.”
We follow Poppy on to University and her relationship with Tucker. Her life does not get any easier. In fact just more complex. And Poppy’s POV gives an in depth understanding of what she is dealing with and the why behind the decisions she has made.
Not going to lie, some of her decisions truly upset me and I did not agree with them at all. But this is a broken child becoming a woman. My heart completely aches for her. Connecting with Poppy was easy, we have all had our own angst growing up. Hard not to feel that. This was not an easy read, your heart will be wracked with emotions, aching with pain - but there is healing, and hope, and promise.
Gavin truly loves Poppy. And he has never stopped. Even when she pushed him away. The years has separated them, but what will the future hold.
This book was the most amazing roller coaster of emotions. And will leave you completely wrecked yet relieved.
Highly recommend if you want to a book that takes you to the emotional edge and then slowly builds to a not your typical HEA.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2020From the moment I started Gavin and Poppy’s journey, I knew there was gonna be heartbreak. Lots of it. There were times I wanted to slap some sense into Poppy as her decisions pissed me off. But once I hit a certain point, my opinion changed.
I put myself in her shoes and asked, what would I do? So I was able to better understand her because she went through so much pain and loss, I started to sympathize with her. It didn’t make me completely happy with her but I knew why she did the things she did. So I had a different perspective.
Gavin was the absolute best!! Everyone needs a Gavin their life. He was a true hero!! He was Poppy’s hero. Gah! I loved him so much and the love he had for her.
There were other things that bothered me but I won’t go into detail. Just read for yourself and form your own opinion.
I do recommend for angst lovers. I mean, it’s super angsty with quite a lot of darkness, but it’s worth it in the end. Gavin makes it all the more worth it.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2020I've been thinking all day about writing my review for We Are Us and there really is no way I will be able to do this book justice. Tara Leigh has really blown me away with this book.
*I won't go into any details about what this book is about, I think it would take away from a readers experience*
This is not your typical romance, not even close. It's raw and intense emotions. It's young love full of hope, only to be shattered unexpectedly and seemingly with no reason. It's the struggle of getting past that and trying to move on. It's making bad decisions, a mistake if you will, only to think you may have found love again. The story of Poppy, and Gavin, her first love, is so beautifully and incredibly written. It's angsty and at times brutal. I ugly cried so hard for Poppy. I felt her pain as if it was my own. In part maybe it was. I felt her struggles and I felt her happy at the end.
Serious mad props to Tara Leigh, this book is just everything and is definitely a top read of 2020.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2020I liked the story. I would not put on the list as a reread but it was very compelling. I felt that the stories that took place while Poppy (main female character) was in college was hard to read because we know it happens to young women on college campuses across the country. There were surprises and twists. I just wish that we could have had two sides of the story. I would have loved to get Gavin’s (main male lead) POV of just a snap shot of what he was going through.
4 stars.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2020We Are Us was a beautifully flawed, complicated, long and wind love story between two people who are meant to be but for some of the book aren't. Poppy and Gavin meet as children under less than ideal circumstances in their lives. What made it even more authentic was that some of Poppy's initial journey was culled from the author's life herself.
This book is divided into three parts. The beginning section of their discovery of life and growing up with one another. Then Poppy's years away at college and finally, Gavin's readmittance into her life. That's not to say he is not present throughout the book but because of the nature of the story and the twists that it takes, there is a portion where he plays second fiddle.
There's also a little intrigue thrown in there and a touch of suspense. But what rang loud and clear for me was that from the minute these two met as innocent children - they were always fated to be together. Which made the ending feel all the more like a well earned victory and a sweet coming home!
Top reviews from other countries
- RdtiddReviewed in Canada on April 7, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick, fast, emotional read
I LOVED this book. It pleasantly surprised me at how much I enjoyed it.
I found myself furious, sad, and happy multiple times during the read. There hasn’t been a novel that has made me yell or left me speechless in a long time. Tara Leigh’s ‘We Are Us’ made me do just that.
I would highly recommend reading it.
RdtiddQuick, fast, emotional read
Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2021
I found myself furious, sad, and happy multiple times during the read. There hasn’t been a novel that has made me yell or left me speechless in a long time. Tara Leigh’s ‘We Are Us’ made me do just that.
I would highly recommend reading it.
Images in this review
- stephanie spraggReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars no words.
ive never read a book by this author before, it was the cover that grabbed my attention so withiut reading the blurb i downloaded it on my kindle and started reading it.
ive just finished reading it and im glad i read it. my heart, omg what a rollercoaster of emotuons this book drawn out. im not going to give away any spoilers for the story but what i wikk say is what was written after the story absolutely broke me and stitched me back together in the spave of minutes. Tara im truly in awe with you. what you wrote, god i broke. i dont normally write reviews but when a book evokes so many emotions i feel that a review is needed!
- LisaReviewed in Canada on March 2, 2020
4.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly beautiful
Wow just wow. I give this a 4/5 only because I found the end started to feel more like a Hollywood movie than the complicated heartfelt drama it started as. There are a few triggers in this book and I want you to know they are handled with the utmost respect especially with regards to the complicated feelings that they invoke. Definitely worth the read.
- ValentinaReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece
This book was not what I expected but so much better, the story is extremely raw and emotional and it keeps me gripped from the beginning to the end. The author took inspiration for this book from personal experience and it
made it more real than anything I read in a long time.
Well done and thank you Tara for this masterpiece ❤️
- alysonjReviewed in Canada on February 3, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Surpassed all my expectations
I could not stop reading this book. It was very well written and The story felt so real.
This book surpassed all my expectations!
I will checking out Tara’s other novel soon :)