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emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m starting to think it’s me. Maybe it’s a bit of a reading slump. I just didn’t feel connected to these characters. They are great characters with interesting backgrounds, but I felt the author was only giving us the most surface information. Oddly enough, I still felt the connections amongst them all even without getting to the soul of them as I am used to with RaeAnne Thayne
There are a lot of stories in this one, as is often the case with this author. Two love stories are happening; Meredith and Liam, Tori and Sam. There is also another relationship being built, actually rebuilt, between Meredith and Tori. Cousins who spent every summer together growing up who have not only grown apart but have a lot of animosity between them. We don’t see as much of Sam as I would have liked, but we get perspectives from the other three characters.
I’ll give a warning here that one of the romantic pairings is a woman and her deceased husband’s brother. I know that bothers a lot of people so wanted to put it out there since it’s not really a spoiler. Tori has been a widow for many years and Sam didn’t live nearby until recently, but it’s still a sticky situation for some readers.
What I would have loved to see in this story is either a stronger emphasis on Tori and Meredith working through their problems or a stronger emphasis on the romantic pairings. As it is, I felt each of the various relationships was only given a token amount of time. So while I was invested in the characters, I still felt I was being cheated out of something.
Generally, I adore this author, even her stories that lean a bit more toward the women’s fiction end. I just wanted more.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug abuse