oh man. i wanted to like this, i love small town romances and broody neighbours and friends to lovers but this did not work. it started off so well and then gradually started falling flat around 40% in. i just did not feel the pull between the two of them, they connected again over grief and it just felt a bit forced in places. i also hated the nicknames i can't even lie about it. i also felt a bit icky around the halfway mark

when jax goes to eddie and basically tells him all of kennedy's issues as if that's not a private matter that she would've wanted to keep to herself or tell people on her own damn terms.

i wanted this to work, but it just didn't. i will still continue with the series though and see if it's just this one book or if it's a general brittainy cherry thing for me!

TWs: death of child (before, car accident), death of parents (before, car accident), emotional abuse, cheating (past), grief, vascular dementia, ref to stroke, ref to paralysis, death of mother (before book). refs to cancer, child abuse, domestic abuse, bullying

Tropes/rep/themes: childhood friends distanced to lovers, small town romance, grumpy mmc, dealing with grief

This is the kind of romance book that makes you believe in love and leaves you thinking about how sweet it is to be surrounded by people willing to let you be you.

I’m so happy I’ve read this story. It’s a beautiful book about grief, hope, love, and life. There’s so much heart in these words, they hit me right in the feels. I couldn’t stop the tears during the final chapters, in the best kind of way! 

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥