Thank you so much to Atria Books for the advance copy of this!

This book comes out on April 1st.

I first heard about this debut from Bad on Paper and host Becca Freeman spoke so highly of it so I immediately went to NetGalley to request. This was such a delightful romance!

Popular romance writer Margot Bradley has escaped to the remote wilderness of Alaska with the assistant of her sister as it came out that she doesn't in fact believe in love. Margot thinks that the 6 weeks with limited internet service is the reset she needs to start work on her first mystery and also give the public enough time to forget the headlines. What Margot didn't plan is to be in her very own romance with all the tropes being thrown at her.

Margot is very attracted to Dr. Forrest Wakefield whose family owns the lodge she is staying at. Forrest had his own issues with a prior female guest and tries hard to stay away from Margot and Margot just wants a simple hook up during her stay to take some edge off. Except it doesn't work out that way (as it never does). Forrest knows the Margot is different than anyone he has ever encountered. He was originally living in California before he moved to Alaska and took it as a sign that perhaps maybe he should reconsider going back to Cali. Him and Margot both go on this journey of self discovery in their own way. They each want to be in their respected career but the cloud of caregiving follows them around and the immense guilt they feel doing something for themselves isn't far behind. Also hello Forrest went and read all of her books - SWOOON! The quote above alludes to a sauna and boy were we in for a treat during that scene! This book is told from dual POVs though Forrest's chapters are nearly as long as Margot's but I was still happy to have his POV.

It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of slow burns but sometimes slow burns are truly amazing and this one was done well. There was just enough tension to keep me wanting more. Forrest was such a hottie on page. He was truly a perfect book boyfriend that only a female writer could craft. He was a selfless man who gave up his chance to work on breast cancer research to be a full time caregiver to his father. He truly thought his life was going to consist of living in Alaska and being there for his father making sure his needs were handled. I love seeing their relationship on page. And the juxtaposition to Margot who did not have a relationship with her dad but is close to her mom and even closer to her sister Savannah.

Savannah played a major part of the story without necessarily having much page time. Just like with Forrest, Margot has dedicated her life to being there for her sister who has an autoimmune disorder but Savannah had other plans. Even though I felt like Margot was a little overbearing it made me wish that I had an older sister who cared so deeply about my well being. I was proud of Savannah for orchestrating this trip for Margot and really planning all the moments out for her. The letters she left for Margot were so sweet and meant a lot to her. If there was one person who was going to motivate Margot, it was her sister. Without giving away any spoilers, the last letter that Savannah wrote for Margot really threw her in for a loop which after a series of other events prompted Margot to return back home.

My only critique and this is such a me issue is that the first half of the book, the chapters were long which made me feel like I wasn't getting anywhere in the book. But then as the chapters got shorter, I felt like I was zooming. So if long chapters are your jam then you shouldn't have any issues.

Final Thoughts: When I was not reading this book, I was thinking about Forrest and Margot. I love seeing how their relationship grew in 6 weeks. And not only their growth but also Margot's growth during that time away. Truly I feel like we all could use 6 weeks in the wilderness to reconnect with ourselves and turn the brain off for a bit.

I recommend this book if you enjoy caregiving storylines, sister relationship, Alaskan setting with burly intelligent man!

PS - The author's thank you to her her husband at the end made my eyes misty!! I also felt like that it explained a lot about the book and its themes.