She has a house she loves, a job she adores, and a ridiculously attractive “nemesis” who never seems to mind when she wins their favorite online game. The pain and secrets from their past and present that they want to keep hidden are just heart wrenching. Meanwhile, Jade has her own difficult history, the loss of her mother, the abandonment of her father, and some unexpected challenges of her own that she is terrified to even admit to herself. I loved how the author had them spend time together and the more that happened the more they realized they are both very much haunted by their past. Prescott blamed himself for what had happened to him and Jade, and he was clearly on the road to self-destruction.

He also had some secrets none of his friends knew about; he wanted a fresh start being in Blairwood but his parents were always telling him how disappointed they were of him🥺 He was an amazing hero and I hated everything he was going through but at least we got to know more about his past and understand his background story. Again not trying to be biased because it’s an ARC but please stop reading my review and go get this book when it launches. This book starts right where the previous ended, that is Jade breaking her secret in front of her love, her brother and her best friend.As for Prescott's circumstances, I can only hope this reality check will point him in the right direction, rather than him following the path he is currently on. It could easily have been a heavy-set melancholic narrative but Doe carried comic relief amongst the cast of characters, witty banter, as well as uplifting moments all throughout.

There were quite a few angsty moments throughout, but they were necessary to move the character development along and I think that was done nicely to get Jade and Prescott to first fight their own needs then fight for each other.Never knowing when the other shoe was going to drop for either of them had me on edge, but that’s a sign of good writing.

I don’t have cancer and my partner isn’t a football player, but I still saw pieces of myself, of us, in each character. Kiss to Salvage is the continuation of Jade and Prescott's story and takes place right after the events and cliffhanger of the previous book in the Blairwood University series. Prescott and Jade hate each other, or that's what they think, cause the reality it's that these two are more similar than they think they are.

The note in regards to triggers I felt is key to this book, as there is a lot that both Jade and Prescott experience. Kiss To Shatter is a quality contemporary romance that I’m happily recommending to fellow romance readers.