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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was incredible 🥹. I have never read anything from this author but I kept seeing this book mentioned and finally decided to read it.
I am SO mad at myself that I didn’t read it sooner! I’m simply obsessed with Darby & Leo. The dual timeline was perfection and OMG all the feelings this book made me feel. Young love and heartbreak and so much anger with Darby’s parents. Leo Graham is top tier MMC quality and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Now off to read book two!
I am SO mad at myself that I didn’t read it sooner! I’m simply obsessed with Darby & Leo. The dual timeline was perfection and OMG all the feelings this book made me feel. Young love and heartbreak and so much anger with Darby’s parents. Leo Graham is top tier MMC quality and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Now off to read book two!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An emotional, heartfelt story of young love, tragedy and terrible parenting, Heathen & Honeysuckle is a good read. It is slightly repetitive in parts, and overtly cheesy in others (how many times do we have to hear how much Darby glows, even in the dark?), and I think it could have been shorter but it’s enjoyable. There is a lot of world building and setting the stage for later books which I think explains the length but, at times, it felt like far too much. I’m intrigued enough to read the next book as I want to know more about Dahlia, though I wish it was Elena and August’s story. I’m sure their time will come!
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Classism
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was absolutely fantastic yall! I went in thinking this was going to be a small town beach romance and ended up being completely caught off guard in the best way of the emotional rollercoaster I read. Leo & Darby went through SOOO much to find each other. I loved the small town beach vibe where they first fell in love. The setting. The main character being from opposite sides of the track. Their instant connection. But then Darby had so much more she was going through. She was using that summer as an escape. I absolutely LOVED the way that Leo helped her find her confidence. I loved how he made her feel. My heart broke from their separation. But then I was beyond hopeful and at the edge of my seat when they met again like 10 years later after she had ghosted him. I loved that Leo showed up no questions asked. I loved the tenderness they showed each other even just as friends at first and how that slowly morphed into what they were before and even MORE than that. It was like Darby had been living in the shadows and then met the sun again. Leo reawoke her. UGH this was one of the best second chance romance books I have ever read! The angst was beyond angsty. The spice was ridiculous. And the LOVE. OMG the love.
Darby has been sent to visit her grandma for the summer so that her parents can work through some things with her sister. Darby decides to take this summer as a moment to just be. Be outside of her comfort zone. Live a life she might not be able to with the walls that her parents have put around her life. And then she meets Leo. Who pushes every boundary and limit she has ever known. He is beautiful and reckless and she trusts him. She feels this instant connection with him. What they share is beyond anything she could have ever imagined. But then her real life breaks the glass of this illusion. And so she does what she has to do to protect her family. She breaks Leo and her heart with it. Fast forward 10 years and Darby finds herself about to be married to someone she barely knows. Someone who gives her a ton of clues as to what this marriage will be. How did she get her? How did she lose her way so badly? But then Leo shows up. Like an angel to save her. They end up leaving together and he proposes they go on a road trip cross country. Back to where it all started. She can have time to think about what she really wants. They can be friends. But she doesn't want to be friends. She is too scared to want but she can't help it. He has become this amazing man now not the boy that she remembers. She is scared her will never forgive her once he learns the truth, but she wants to trust that what they have is beyond the past. That they are unshakable. She is ready to give him her heart again fully. Is he there with her? Will he forgive her?
Leo wasn't expecting to meet the woman of his dreams the summer he turned 17. But there she is. Sassy and beautiful and here for the summer. Darby. He finds her beyond intriguing. He finds himself nonstop thinking about her. Wanting to touch her. And provoke her. And push her to do things that she maybe wouldn't normally do at home in the shelter of her family. They share a connection he has never felt before. He finds himself planning beyond the summer. He thinks Darby is there with him in these thoughts but then he wakes up after they share an amazing night together and she is gone. No number to contact her. Just like dust in the wind. Fast forward 10 years later and he gets a letter in the mail from her. He doesn't even question his decision when he jumps on a plane and flies to save her from this life she has found herself in. Marrying a man she doesn't love. Marrying a man that isn't him. He decides right then and there that even if they are only friends he won't let her walk out of his life again. So he rescues her. Proposes they do a cross country trek so she can hide away for a bit and figure out what she wants. How she is going to respond to what has happened. Along the way he tells himself this woman broke his heart, but he doesn't seem to care. He still feels this connection between them. And when her walls finally lower he knows she feels it too. So they explore it. He knows she is his endgame but needs to get her there too. She says she hid things from him. Things that will change how he feels. Which just means he needs to make her understand how he feels because this feeling is unchangeable.
This book was just beyond brilliant. The connection was instant and long-lasting. I liked the twist on how Darby was raised. I found myself wondering how many people still live like that where they find themselves in arranged marriages. This book made me feel so many things. I was loving the banter. The side characters- I know ALL of these books are going to break me then build me back up. I was elated when Leo showed Darby how to live when she was younger and then again when she was older. I was broken when Darby was made to make an impossible choice. I felt her pain. It was palpable. But then I felt hope. Hope when Leo showed up and wouldn't let her go. Hope when they got the happily ever after they both deserved. I can't recommend this one enough!!
Darby has been sent to visit her grandma for the summer so that her parents can work through some things with her sister. Darby decides to take this summer as a moment to just be. Be outside of her comfort zone. Live a life she might not be able to with the walls that her parents have put around her life. And then she meets Leo. Who pushes every boundary and limit she has ever known. He is beautiful and reckless and she trusts him. She feels this instant connection with him. What they share is beyond anything she could have ever imagined. But then her real life breaks the glass of this illusion. And so she does what she has to do to protect her family. She breaks Leo and her heart with it. Fast forward 10 years and Darby finds herself about to be married to someone she barely knows. Someone who gives her a ton of clues as to what this marriage will be. How did she get her? How did she lose her way so badly? But then Leo shows up. Like an angel to save her. They end up leaving together and he proposes they go on a road trip cross country. Back to where it all started. She can have time to think about what she really wants. They can be friends. But she doesn't want to be friends. She is too scared to want but she can't help it. He has become this amazing man now not the boy that she remembers. She is scared her will never forgive her once he learns the truth, but she wants to trust that what they have is beyond the past. That they are unshakable. She is ready to give him her heart again fully. Is he there with her? Will he forgive her?
Leo wasn't expecting to meet the woman of his dreams the summer he turned 17. But there she is. Sassy and beautiful and here for the summer. Darby. He finds her beyond intriguing. He finds himself nonstop thinking about her. Wanting to touch her. And provoke her. And push her to do things that she maybe wouldn't normally do at home in the shelter of her family. They share a connection he has never felt before. He finds himself planning beyond the summer. He thinks Darby is there with him in these thoughts but then he wakes up after they share an amazing night together and she is gone. No number to contact her. Just like dust in the wind. Fast forward 10 years later and he gets a letter in the mail from her. He doesn't even question his decision when he jumps on a plane and flies to save her from this life she has found herself in. Marrying a man she doesn't love. Marrying a man that isn't him. He decides right then and there that even if they are only friends he won't let her walk out of his life again. So he rescues her. Proposes they do a cross country trek so she can hide away for a bit and figure out what she wants. How she is going to respond to what has happened. Along the way he tells himself this woman broke his heart, but he doesn't seem to care. He still feels this connection between them. And when her walls finally lower he knows she feels it too. So they explore it. He knows she is his endgame but needs to get her there too. She says she hid things from him. Things that will change how he feels. Which just means he needs to make her understand how he feels because this feeling is unchangeable.
This book was just beyond brilliant. The connection was instant and long-lasting. I liked the twist on how Darby was raised. I found myself wondering how many people still live like that where they find themselves in arranged marriages. This book made me feel so many things. I was loving the banter. The side characters- I know ALL of these books are going to break me then build me back up. I was elated when Leo showed Darby how to live when she was younger and then again when she was older. I was broken when Darby was made to make an impossible choice. I felt her pain. It was palpable. But then I felt hope. Hope when Leo showed up and wouldn't let her go. Hope when they got the happily ever after they both deserved. I can't recommend this one enough!!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everything about this book was so amazing. I loved the dual storylines. Leo and Darby were so perfect together. I did find Darby crying every other page of the story a bit annoying. I wish the book would’ve been longer - I wanted a scene where Darby stands up to her family.
I’ve never cared too much either way about second chance romances but this might’ve been the perfect story and one of my favourite reads of the year so far
The alternating timelines from both POV’s were so well done, tying past and present events together seamlessly
It is beautifully raw and honestly a bit of a painful read at points because it covers some rough subjects but I do think that’s what makes it so good
Leo’s letters had be bawling, Chapter’s 36 & 39 might be my favourite bits of writing ever that I’ll be thinking about for a loooooong time
REVIEW POST - Book 20 of 2025
Heathen and Honeysuckle by Sarah A Bailey
Thank you @nettie.readsromance for this one. I know how much you loved it. And I am looking forward to reading the second.
So... I'm conflicted. Objectively, I wanna give this more. But for me, subjectively just something is holding me back from a 5 star rating.
Firstly, I will say I think you need to read this in as close to one go as possible to keep that feeling going. It's not one you can dip in and out of with one chapter here and there. It will totally sever the feelings you're meant to have reading this.
Secondly, I do feel like calling Leo Graham and heathen and then writing possible one of the greenest flags known to man is a little jarring 🤣 Darby's grandma starts the whole thing by telling her that boy is a heathen, but then knows that he's good for her, let's her continue to sneak out with him and tries to get her father to let them be together, unbeknownst to Darby of course.
I think the last 25% of the book felt a little rushed and whilst the first 25% is intended to be that slow burn to draw you in over a lazy summer of exploration and discovery, I think it takes away a little from some key components I wanted a little more exploration into.
We never see Darby confront either of her parents, only a brief fuck you conversation between her father and Leo instead. I think given how much they controlled her, it would have been good to see her character face that head on.
Despite that, I fell hook like and sinker for these two and was rooting for them all the way. I would love to delve into the other characters more so I will be reading more from her. And I really loved the then and now chapters. I love past and present timeline switches so this was perfect for me.
The ending was super super cute and had me grinning like a Cheshire cat 😸
Heathen and Honeysuckle by Sarah A Bailey
Thank you @nettie.readsromance for this one. I know how much you loved it. And I am looking forward to reading the second.
So... I'm conflicted. Objectively, I wanna give this more. But for me, subjectively just something is holding me back from a 5 star rating.
Firstly, I will say I think you need to read this in as close to one go as possible to keep that feeling going. It's not one you can dip in and out of with one chapter here and there. It will totally sever the feelings you're meant to have reading this.
Secondly, I do feel like calling Leo Graham and heathen and then writing possible one of the greenest flags known to man is a little jarring 🤣 Darby's grandma starts the whole thing by telling her that boy is a heathen, but then knows that he's good for her, let's her continue to sneak out with him and tries to get her father to let them be together, unbeknownst to Darby of course.
I think the last 25% of the book felt a little rushed and whilst the first 25% is intended to be that slow burn to draw you in over a lazy summer of exploration and discovery, I think it takes away a little from some key components I wanted a little more exploration into.
We never see Darby confront either of her parents, only a brief fuck you conversation between her father and Leo instead. I think given how much they controlled her, it would have been good to see her character face that head on.
Despite that, I fell hook like and sinker for these two and was rooting for them all the way. I would love to delve into the other characters more so I will be reading more from her. And I really loved the then and now chapters. I love past and present timeline switches so this was perfect for me.
The ending was super super cute and had me grinning like a Cheshire cat 😸
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes