Part of Harlow Sanctum
First published 2023
At twenty-six, the protagonist wants to die. She wakes up in a hospital bed with her brother crying over her, knowing everything will change now. The nurse assigned to her has cruel eyes and dark humor that matches her own. Her brother enrolls her at Harlow Sanctum, an unusual rehabilitation center that pairs roommates according to their treatment plans. She discovers her roommate is the same cruel-eyed man from the hospital. He now works as her nurse and lives as her roommate. She craves death while he craves life. Their opposing desires create an intense dynamic as they navigate recovery together. The story explores whether two people with such different relationships to mortality can heal each other. Set within the confined world of the rehabilitation facility, their connection develops against the backdrop of their shared darkness and conflicting drives.
Genres: fiction, drama, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotionally-raw, intense, intimate, introspective, thought-provoking
Tropes: caregiver-romance, enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, slow-burn
Setting: Harlow Sanctum
304 pages · Paperback · Forever
Content warnings: death, mental-illness, suicidal-ideation