A review by hopefulromanticc_
Garnet Flats by Devney Perry

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

garnets flats. foster madden. talia eden. me oh my. garnet flats had a high bar after reading indigo ridge & juniper hill, and it hit that bar.

garnet flats follows talia eden, a medical resident in quincy, montana and foster madden, a ufc fighter and talia’s old love. they had a heartbreaking breakup when he married talia’s best friend, vivienne. foster comes back to quincy, to talia, in hopes for a second chance. we follow their journey through regaining trust, secrets unraveled, truths revealed, and hearts broken + mended. 

let’s start with foster madden. based on the description of the book (which is very harsh in my opinion and makes him quite unlikable from the beginning), he seems like a total douchebag. but as we get to know him and see how he treats talia, you can’t help but fall for him. he’s sweet, he’s understanding, and he shows talia unconditional love. however, he’s dedicated. he pushes hard with talia, too hard at times. but it’s out of the goodness of his heart and you can tell. once you get further into the story, you begin to see new sides of him and wow. just wow. (in a good way)

talia eden. an absolute sweetheart. if you’ve read indigo ridge and juniper hill, we’ve seen glimpses of talia in those books. she’s dedicated to her work and truly deserves to be Dr. Eden, regardless of what everyone else may think. i think she represents a lot of people well. she is said to have an “emotional shell” and i think many readers can relate to that. she’s a strong woman. and still, she’s the underdog. 

but let’s get into the storyline. this book is pure chaos and drama on every corner. there was not a single moment of peace. there were so many plot twists and so many shockers. the conflicts and drama were quite outlandish, in my opinion, but devney worked them well. the major conflict, between talia, foster, and vivienne was extremely complicated. it felt as though you were in each of their places when we got talia and foster’s perspective. they both struggled and fought for the right thing to do in terms of their relationship. the reason for their breakup was not what i expected at all, a complete plot twist. along with this, as a ufc fighter, foster is preparing for his next fight throughout the story. this causes a plethora of conflict within itself. up until the very end, so much happened in this story, it’s difficult to recount. personally, i think it was too much conflict that was completely out there, but i do think devney perry worked it better than most could’ve. it was a complete difference from juniper hill, with minimal conflict, and has much more conflict than indigo ridge. 

but regardless, this book sent me to a new universe. i love the eden’s series for that reason. whenever i read them, i feel like i’m on the ranch, on main street, in Eden Coffee, in Knuckles, etc. these books are my escape and my happy place. i’ll love them forever for that exact reason.

if you like:

🥊 second chance romance

🥊 small town romance

🥊 SO MANY PLOT TWISTS

🥊 UFC fighter mmc

🥊 medical resident fmc

🥊 “it’s always been you”

🥊 groveling

🥊 right person, wrong time

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Car accident