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challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It has taken me forever to sit down to write this review. I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. There are things I love about the story and things that really didn’t work for me at all. I don’t know if my expectations were too high after the first two books in the series, which were fabulous. One thing I do know is that there were too many secrets! I hate secrets. At least the kind that end up getting either too convoluted or drag on too long, and this book had both kinds.
When it comes to the main couple, Jane and Kurt are amazing people. Jane is kind and loyal; she’ll bend over backward for her friends and family even if they sometimes don’t deserve it. But she also tends to have tunnel vision and focus on the wrong things. There were so many times I just wanted her to look around her to see what was happening in her world, not what she thought was happening in her world. Kurt made some questionable decisions at times, but he is a completely lovable guy. I still got frustrated with him for not speaking his truth when it came to Jane.
I felt the way the author redeemed Averil blindsided me. I truly thought she was not redeemable so kept waiting for the other shoe to drop when it came to her part of the story. And while Averil and Jane’s other friends were great side characters in this book, Jane’s sister Kate was the new bad guy in my eyes. I could not stand how proprietory she was about Kurt and can we please quit making a big deal about a 5-year age difference when the characters are in their 30s? I know it was just because the woman was older and it got annoying, especially when her sister brought it up. There is more in her sister’s story that just sent me over the edge. I believe the author was trying to make a point about domestic violence and I was trying to look at it that way, for its realism, but it was hard.
There were pockets in this book where Jane and Kurt would relax with each other and those were the times I could see their chemistry and it would make me root for them. Yet there is something about Jane’s quest for a baby and the way single motherhood and IVF were treated by some characters that gave me an icky feeling. As much as I love Kurt, there is a part where he’s thinking about “how babies are supposed to be made” that just…ugh! No. Not in 2024 dude.
Overall, this book was okay. Not up to my expectations when it came to this series, but it still kept me engaged. Plus, I’m still hoping for more. Maybe Averil can find her HEA, or one of Kurt’s brothers. I’d love to see more of these characters and this town…without all the secrets.
**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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Abandonment