Daisy Haites

Christian Hemmes is one of the novel’s primary characters and one of the first-person narrators. The chapters titled with his first name are written from his first-person point of view. Christian is also one of the primary male romantic leads. He is embedded within the Haites family business and one of the Lost Boys. Daisy has known him for many years, and the two have always been friends. When they start having sex, the two develop an attraction to each other. Daisy falls in love with Christian. Christian falls for Daisy, too, but is more reluctant to own the depth of his feelings. His hesitancy surrounding Daisy originates from his fear of letting Magnolia Parks go. Christian has loved Magnolia for many years, and his ideas of romantic love have been formed around her. When he falls for Daisy, their love looks and feels different—a phenomenon that confuses Christian emotionally. If he lets Magnolia go and commits to Daisy, he fears that he’ll be losing a part of himself.

Christian is a loving, heartfelt character who changes throughout the novel. In the early chapters, Christian is adamant that he and Daisy are just friends. He refuses to see her as anything more than his close friend’s sister and his occasional sexual partner. The way he thinks about Daisy at the novel’s start implies that Christian is afraid of taking risks in love. Over time, however, he discovers the transformative power of giving in to his feelings for Daisy. Unlike with Magnolia, Christian feels seen, validated, and appreciated in his relationship with Daisy. Daisy is intuitive, sensitive, and kindhearted. She doesn’t play games the way Magnolia does, which makes Christian feel safe and valued. Once he identifies his love for Daisy, Christian is better able to invest in her life and foster a trusting dynamic with her.

Christian also demonstrates his good nature by letting Daisy go at the end of the novel. Because Daisy wants to leave their world, Christian is unsure if they can have a future together. Instead of demanding that she stay, Christian tells Daisy: “You can be done, Baby” (477). He is freeing Daisy to the life she wants. He understands her on a soul level and has no intention of keeping her from the future she craves for herself. At the same time, Christian doesn’t immediately sacrifice his life and family just to superficially please Daisy. He needs to confront his own “demons” before he can make an informed, authentic decision about what he wants, too. This behavior proves Christian’s integrity and self-assuredness.

Julian Haites, Daisy’s brother, is another of the novel’s primary characters and first-person narrators. Ten years Daisy’s senior, Julian has devoted himself to Daisy’s care and protection since their parents were murdered 16 years prior. While Julian assumes the role of Daisy’s de facto parent out of love, he also thrives on control. He genuinely appreciates and values his sister and wants her to be safe. At the same time, Julian regards himself as a royal figure in the crime world. He is obsessed with power and treats Daisy as a pawn in his criminal enterprise. His willingness to sacrifice Daisy’s comfort, needs, wants, and happiness to reify his own power indicates the degree to which his identity is defined by a sense of control over others.

Julian’s ongoing conflict with Daisy epitomizes the novel’s thematic examination of the Influence of Family Legacy. Hastings progressively reveals the depths of Julian’s desire for control across the novel, escalating the narrative stakes. At the novel’s start, Julian appears controlled, wise, and trustworthy. Over time, however, Julian starts making increasingly dangerous decisions. He starts fighting and drinking more often. He gets involved with dubious characters. He hides things from Daisy and breaches the moral contract they wrote together as siblings. His willingness to compromise his moral code tells Daisy that her brother is changing for the worse. When Daisy discovers that Julian has kidnapped Eamon Brown’s children, her internal monologue conveys her fears about Julian’s character: “And here’s what worries me: those rules, they’re like a basic how-to for humanity, and he is failing them. Which means I am failing him. I’m my brother’s keeper, and I’ve lost him” (456). Daisy holds herself responsible for Julian’s moral failings because she believes their bond is stabilizing for him. Realizing that her brother’s actions are not her responsibility is a critical part of Daisy’s character arc.

Romeo Bambrilla is another of the novel’s primary characters and one of Daisy’s romantic counterparts. His relationship with Daisy emphasizes The Complexities of Navigating Love and Betrayal. Romeo isn’t a traditional antagonist, but he has betrayed Daisy in the past. Because Romeo cheated on her when they were together four years prior, Daisy distrusts Romeo in the narrative present. At the same time, reuniting with Romeo rekindles Daisy’s age-old feelings for him. She and Romeo grew up together. Their families have always been close. Daisy believes that Romeo is perhaps the only person who fully understands her. Romeo broke Daisy’s heart, but despite his infidelity, Romeo will do anything to protect her. Their shared interpersonal history complicates her ability to navigate their fraught relationship.

Romeo is often at odds with both Christian and Julian. Christian dislikes Romeo because he feels jealous of and at times threatened by him. He particularly fears that Daisy’s history with Romeo trumps his and Daisy’s connection in the present. Julian is also skeptical of Romeo’s motives. Four years prior, Julian evicted Romeo from Daisy’s life when he cheated on her. He sent him to New York in an attempt to protect Daisy from him. When Romeo resurfaces, Julian worries that he’ll hurt Daisy again. At the same time, he also knows that Romeo has always been devoted to Daisy’s safety.

Because the reader doesn’t have access to Romeo’s interiority, his character often appears morally duplicitous on the page, building narrative tension. Each main character regards him differently, questioning his motives and intentions. By the novel’s end, however, Romeo does prove to have more integrity than the other characters expect. He lets Daisy go, acknowledges her feelings for Christian, and even encourages her to follow her heart.