SCREAMING - CRYING - THROWING UP, I LOVED THIS BOOK.

There are so many reasons why I loved this book. Let me try to coherently just parse them out.

1 - The characters

Alex is what some would call an "unlikable heroine", because she isn't kind/demure. She doesn't always have good intentions. She's kind of selfish. She's got a temper. If you fight, she'll hit below the belt with her words. BUT, she loves hard. She's protective. And I love her.

Jeremiah is a sweet golden retriever of a man who was dealt a bad hand in terms of family. The loneliness he feels is so sad and so acute that my heart was hurting for him. He just wants to belong so badly.

2 - The romance

Jeremiah sees what other's don't in Alex and the two really just fit. I think the reason it worked was because when Alex crossed a line with her temper, she owned it and apologized. It just felt REAL.

3 - The family dynamics

The good AND the bad.

Alex has a huge family but is estranged from her dad, and fights with some of her family. The scenes where there was family drama (Alex and her grandma arguing, explaining their hurt; Alex and her dad, multiple scenes; Alex and her mom, multiple scenes) just again, felt so REAL.

4 - The town

So often we think of small town romances we love and they're an all white cast of characters. It's just sort of synonymous with "small town romance". I loved that this book not only shed light on the very real and very diverse background of a small town in Kansas, but gave us real history and this fun mystery and some paranormal elements. 

I'M PROBABLY FORGETTING STUFF BUT WOW. FIVE STARS. It's pretty early to call it but I think this will wind up being a fav of 2024.