My biggest issue with this book was that it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Is it a contemporary adult romance? Is it a paranormal mystery? Is it a poignant story about a woman learning to let herself love? Yes. It's all of those things. But it doesn't do any of them particularly well.

If any one of those aspects had been strong, perhaps it would've saved this book a little for me. But I didn't feel any chemistry between the two main characters. The twists were predictable. And Jillian's personal journey just never captivated me.

I think the biggest disappointment of those three things would be the mystery, or lack thereof. There are many different aspects to this convoluted mystery, and all but one of them I had figured out about a quarter of the way through the book. And it wasn't like I was trying to unravel the mystery. It was just presented in such a clumsy and obvious way that I can't see many people not being able to put the pieces together. The foreshadowing is poorly done, and the face that I had to read almost 175 pages before the characters learned what I'd already deduced is frustrating. And it wasn't like we were supposed to know. It was obvious that we were supposed to be surprised by the ending. But it just didn't work.

I also didn't think the romance was strong in this book. As I said earlier, I felt zero chemistry between Linc and Jillian. At first it was set up as if they were going to be at odds. But that only lasted a couple of chapters, and even when he was supposedly out for answers, he had pretty much fallen for her immediately. There's also another man who is infatuated with Jillian, because of course there is. But it never materializes as anything above a lukewarm affection, and it presents zero challenge to our main couple. Which begs the question, what is the point?

None of these characters felt fleshed out, perhaps with the exception of Gracie, Jillian's sensitive (as in, can speak to the dead) daughter. That is not a spoiler. It is something that is obvious almost from the first page, but is treated as something mysterious for the first 200+ pages of the book. In any case, the other characters are one-dimensional. She tries to create depth with Jillian and her past, but it just never gelled with me. Her parents were cartoonish in their treatment of her, and the friendship between her and Lauren was never unpacked to the point that I cared about it.

Linc also suffered from a lack of development. We are presented with his past but it all feels very surface-level. I would've liked to know more about him, about his life after he left the town as a younger man, about his mother and their relationship, about his work. Also, he was a huge know-it-all. Seriously, any time anyone had a question about something, he knew the answer. And often it was supposed to have some profound double meaning that just had me rolling my eyes. He knows all about the constellations, butterflies, you name it, he can probably tell you all about it.

One last thing. Her main character's pregnancy was treated as if it was some sort of a disability. She was portrayed as clumsy and fragile. She couldn't walk down the road without a ride, and couldn't walk on the beach without falling down and needing help up.

Then less than a month after she gives birth she has a flat stomach again...oookaaaayyy...

I initially picked this book up because it was under 300 pages and I was wanting something quick. But the short page count of this book is definitely deceiving. It is 267 pages of small-type text, with very little blank space. Much of the book is narrative rather than dialogue, and even that takes up most of the page. This definitely wasn't the light, quick read I was looking for. This is the first I've read from this author. I have a couple more on my shelves, and it looks like people like her others over this, so I'm tentatively optimistic about her other books.