God, Megan Hart just breaks my heart. Over and over again, she writes these amazing, damaged, utterly *real* characters that just make me fall in love with them. I wanted to hug Elle, just hug this poor damaged woman (that would flinch from the hug and all it represents). Hart doesn't include disturbing content as garnish, it's not peripheral for shock value. The awful events that scar Elle are central to her being, to every nuance of her destructive behavior and pained responses. Such a beautiful story.