He was reaching for the rim. She was reaching for the stars. They never expected the fall to be the thing that brought them together.

Miles Moore is the King of the Court. With a vertical leap that defies gravity and a scholarship to Duke practically guaranteed, his life is a straight line to the NBA. He is defined by the roar of the crowd and the squeak of sneakers on hardwood.

Alexa Brooks is the girl in the wings. A ballerina striving for perfection in a world that demands she bleed for her art, she dreams of Juilliard and the bright lights of New York City. She is Miles's best friend, his quiet shadow, and the only person who knows that behind the swagger, he is terrified of silence.

But life has a way of rewriting the playbook.

In a split second-one awkward landing, one sickening pop-Miles's future is erased. His knee is shattered, and with it, his identity. Suddenly, the boy who could fly is struggling to walk, and the silence he feared is the only thing he has left.

As Miles spirals into the darkness of a dream denied, Alexa begins to soar. But as her own star rises, she finds herself torn between the future she has worked for and the broken boy she can't bear to leave behind.

Love Is Beautifully Painful is a heart-wrenching, tender exploration of what happens when the life you planned burns down, and you have to build a new one from the ashes. It is a story about the messy, terrifying transition from best friends to soulmates. It explores the agony of long-distance, the brutality of ambition, and the realization that sometimes, the only way to heal is to let yourself break completely.

Perfect for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and Love & Basketball, Mervedi Kautako's second novel asks the ultimate question: When the applause stops, who is left standing beside you?