So, my experience with this book is interesting. It's something that has been on my shelf for quite a long time, well over a year. I think when I originally purchased it, it was off the part of the synopsis that talked about the protagonist, Katelyn, reuniting with her first love, Jackson. I'm a sucker for second-chance romances, so it makes sense I would pick this up.

But when I picked this up and re-read the synopsis, all I could think was, "Why on Earth would I pick this up?! The last thing I want to read about is this woman on a road trip with her mean soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law...

Funny enough, the parts between these ladies and her MIL and the other elderly ladies in town were my favorite parts. They had the most life to them, and felt the most authentic. The romance, on the other hand, felt under-developed and watered down. It wasn't slow burn so much ice cold. I could deal with angst, but this felt more tortured than anything. I liked the idea of the romance more than the execution.

Also, the writing was incredibly simplistic. Characters have conversations where they talk about things that happened in the previous scene pretty much verbatim. I understand that if you were telling someone a story about something that happened the day before, it would be realistic, but as a reader I don't need each conversation and scene rehashed for me in the next scene. It would have been as simple as, "When Katelyn got to work the next day, she filled Layla in on her conversation with her mother the day before." Then they could get on with the story.

I loved the scenes with the old ladies, but the end of the book was focused on the mediocre romance. I did like that Shirley found someone who made her happy, but I didn't enjoy the wishy-washy nature of Katelyn and her relationship with Jackson.

As far as Jackson goes, he was kind of a wet blanket. Like, I get that he's in recovery and has to make sure that he's not making decisions that could put his sobriety at risk, but damn. He's dull as dirt.

I could see how this could appeal to someone who doesn't enjoy sex scenes in books, but I find it amusing that with how much these characters talk about sex and sleeping around with people, there are no sex scenes in the book.

I could absolutely see this as a movie. Parts of it gave me Sweet Home Alabama vibes and I'm not mad about it. I just wish the romance was more developed in the text.