Returning to Sugar Brush wasn't something Remington had seen himself doing. But after being in a terrible accident and then learning of his father's death, he'd returned to settle things before he moved on and left town again. What he hadn't expected was his father leaving his home to both him and his mentee, Hannah Kelly. His relationship with his father had been very different from the one his father had had with Hannah, and I felt so terrible for him because he deserved so much better from his dad. I truly felt bad for Remington and the kind of welcome he received when he returned to Sugar Brush. I didn't like the way people gave him shit for leaving, especially when some of them knew the kind of situation he was living in. He was also recovering from an injury from his last assignment, which had left him with PTSD.

Hannah was strong, independent, fierce, and cared deeply for those who were a part of her life. She was so used to taking care of everyone and was still reeling over the loss of her boss, mentor, and friend, Graham Town. He had become a father figure to her over the years, and she took care of him right till his final moments, which was also why she was angry at Remi for not showing up for his father sooner; however, she didn't have all the facts for why Remi had left years ago. After her last breakup and the things her ex had said to her, she had been left feeling raw and doubtful of her own feelings, and she'd vowed to not let herself confuse things in her mind and get attached to anyone. Being diagnosed with ADHD also made her feel like she was too much for anyone to handle.

Hannah was forced to coexist in the same house as Remi while she worked, hoping he'd leave town again soon. But Remi decides to stay a while longer to get his bearings and figure out what his next move might be. What started as a confusing and volatile situation between Remi and Hannah over being owners of Graham's property slowly turned into the two starting to lean on each other for support and comfort. As someone who had felt like he had nothing left to return to in this town, getting close to Hannah gave him a renewed sense of hope and helped him deal with the trauma from his accident better. She was by his side and soothed him in a way that he hadn't realized he'd needed. For Hannah, who'd gotten used to feeling like she was too much to be with and not worth the effort, Remi proved to her that she was perfect as she was and that he wasn't intimidated by her strength and independence, nor did he feel like it was too much to give her the attention, love, and reassurances she deserved.

Although there were moments I enjoyed, this book didn't quite hit that mark for me.
The pacing of the book felt a bit off for me. I feel like the way the plot shifted between romance and suspense didn't tie up all that well. The suspense part could've been left out, and it wouldn't have made much difference to the plot.

I wanted more moments between Caleb and Remi and them slowly mending their friendship, not just one conversation over beers to sort everything out and then for Caleb to just kind of disappear. The whole brother's best friend trope wasn't explored too well since these two had been estranged and had no contact for over a decade. I needed more on-page moments between them to get an understanding of their friendship. Also, Caleb didn't even have much of a reaction to Remi and Hannah dating.

The romance between Hannah and Remi seemed to pick up out of nowhere. Hannah initially hated Remi for not coming back when his father needed him, and they'd barely had any interactions because Hannah didn't want to hear him out or entertain his presence. But one mention of his injury and a kiss later, things went from hate to lust instantly. Their conversations with each other kept shifting between things seeming casual and being in love constantly. So I couldn't see the gradual growth in their relationship. It felt like they'd already declared to give each other their all even when it was supposed to be just casual, and that didn't give me the angst and build-up I was looking for.

I needed more information about Remi's past with his father. That whole thing felt so unfinished for me. I didn't know how bad things had been for Remi growing up, what he'd endured, or why he felt like he had to leave town. Some kind of backstory to justify the level of terror, panic, and detachment Remi felt at being back at his old house or at the mention of his father. What did he mean when he said that he'd experienced a lot at a very young age? And how did his father, who was so terrible and negligent of his child, who'd leave him feeling terrified and abandoned so easily, be reformed after Remi left town? It didn't make sense to me. I really didn't get the answers I was looking for regarding his past with his father, especially with all the shit Hannah had given him for not being there for his dad and being heartless. Maybe I'm just mad at the unfairness of it all for Remi, but I'm happy Graham didn't get to see his son before he passed, because he didn't deserve it in my opinion after the way he'd shut down on his son when he needed him the most.

Although Sugar Brush is mentioned as a small town, not much about the town was described for me to get an understanding of it. I wish the town was a more present part of the book. The side characters, especially the T&T character names, had me confused half the time because I couldn't tell who was who.

The suspense aspect of the book felt lacking and a bit underdeveloped for me, and like the attention was randomly returning to it from time to time. I had a lot of questions regarding the reveals, which I couldn't exactly understand the reasoning behind, to be honest. I wish more questions had been answered and the suspense had built more smoothly along with the romance plot.

Thank you to Julia Wolf and Valentine PR for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.