I’m kind of amazed at how many varied grumpy/sunshine pairings Cat Sebastian is able to come up with. That’s some dedication to the trope. These characters in particular were wonderful, together and apart, and I had a lot of fun listening to their story. At the beginning, I was drawn to Ben more, because he immediately came across as such a ray of sunshine and I was fascinated by his views on faith, his limitless kindness, and how his unconventional upbringing—being raised by a free-spirited Regency policule, basically—shaped him. Philip, meanwhile, felt a little too rigidly stuck in his ways, although I totally saw the reasons for it and empathized with his pain. As the story progressed, though, I found myself gravitating more toward Phillip’s parts, because he was so actively developing and opening up and earnestly reconnecting with his children while Ben suddenly opted for more rigid interpretations of certain morals than he’d demonstrated before and just plain got in his own way. It was understandable, in many ways, but also a bit grating compared to how the character initially came across—like he was moving backward for a while there. I do like where they both ended up eventually, though!

Structurally, I felt like the beginning of the book was a little rushed, as if the author was in a hurry to get to all the character interaction. As a result, early on all the side characters, including the kids I was looking forward to meeting as soon as I read the blurb, felt very surface-level, and the initial seeds of attraction between the MCs felt like they sprung practically out of nowhere. Luckily, a few chapters in the pacing relaxed somewhat, and the progression of the relationship felt as natural as can be with the book covering such a short period of time. Everyone in the cast also really opened up—I ended up loving every moment with the three kids and their adorable dog, as well as enjoying all the quirky, opinionated side characters that populated the pages. I do perhaps wish the story was just a little longer, with more space and time for the leads to have some thoughtful conversations about the reasoning between their choices and get to know each other in more varied circumstances, but that’s more of a personal preference. Not every love story needs to be a slow burn, after all!

All in all, this book is cute, summery, just a little bit angsty at times, and full of beautiful short lines that paint really expansive pictures. The entire village really comes alive on the page, from its people to the nature around it. All the troubles get resolved in pretty satisfying ways in the end. And also, I really, really loved the dyslexia rep and how it was handled.