Don't Be Afraid by C.A. Harms

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
Have you ever looked at someone and just knew,
knew that they were put in your life for a reason?
The one person that would be not only your best friend,
but would be your absolute everything?
That’s how I felt the first time I saw him.

That one day when a few little words changed our entire lives forever…

Don’t be Afraid, he said.
Life can change so quickly.
One moment you can be smiling and feeling as if you're walking on clouds and the next, everything you love, everything you treasure crumbles at your feet.

I told him to fight, I told him I needed him.
We needed him.
But there are just some fights that can't be won…

He was my angel then, and he’s still my angel now.
In a way, I believe he’s still looking out for us, giving us a future.
Sometimes it’s as if I can still feel his presence,
guiding us and keeping us safe.

So, I won’t be Afraid.
I'll live. I’ll fight.
It’s what he would have wanted.

I’ll do it for him… 

I absolute loved the first half of this book! I loved both Sawyer and Patrick. Their relationship is what many people strive to have and it was beautiful to see. I hated that they were facing something so traumatic that they were powerless against. I cried so much because of the pain and turmoil they felt through each of their perspectives. I was gutted especially when Sawyer and Patrick were talking about the future. I was hoping for a miracle for Patrick. They were each wonderful characters with beautiful hearts. There was no drama in this book other than the roller coaster of emotions that they each cycle through. They are each trying to be strong for each other but at times it is impossible for each of them to accomplish that. I was so happy that they had Gage and family to support them through everything. He was a great character too albeit different from Patrick because we don't get his point of view until later on in the book. Gage is a character that the author never really gives a lot of background on so I wasn't able to form as deep of a connection with him. One of my first thoughts while I was reading this book was of excitement because I thought that this would be a book I would give 5 stars to. The book began so phenomenally!
I was do disappointed to read on in the book and realize that the tone had changed so much that it felt like the second half didn't completely fit with the first half of the story. I love Gage but his place in Sawyer's life just didn't feel believable to me on an emotional level. I found it to be odd and out of place. I'm not sure if it's because of the strong connection that was already established between Sawyer and Patrick at the beginning or if it was because it was too easy and there wasn't enough time taken in order to establish the new connection and chemistry between Gage and Sawyer. I tried so hard to love the rest of the book as much as the first but it just didn't happen. I wanted Patrick back. I wanted to feel those strong emotional connections and heartache again but it just didn't happen.