raindrops333's Reviews (1.96k)

Cary and Gannon's story is probably my favorite Brewer tale. She takes care of plants, and she is interested in expanding her business. Gannon hires her and the story starts. However, he's had feelings for her for a long time in spite of their age gap but stayed away because she's his brother's best friend. We learn how she doesn't know how to deal with family members and throughout the story we see her learn how to cope. There's a little bit of angst due to those family relationships; the author handled it with care and gave us a fantastic ending. The love story was very well written. 
If you like grumpy but cinnamon roll vs sunshine stories, he falls first, little angst, no third act breakup, this book is for you.
EDIT: March 2025 - audiobook reread - Angelina Rocha and Jack Calihan bring emotion to an already favorite story. I just fell more in love with Gannon. It reinforced my idea that he is my favorite Brewster. Cary is just delightful voiced by Angelina. 

Delightful body positivity message 

Mood

Single dad, small age gap, city set story? Sign me up. The story of Sophia and Grant is a slow burn well written read. I loved how this author focused on the plot, and I appreciated she did not make this book longer than it needed to be. I like my romances short and sweet.
The kid, Hazel, steals the show with her personality and bubliness. 
We see two people navigate not only a relationship with each other, but also incorporating a child and her needs. All under the potential scrutiny of the public. I found the story engaging and satisfactory. 

I know very little of African culture. The display of local traditions and legends in this beautiful work is enlightening. I enjoyed it very much.

Problematic. 

I thought this debut book had a good foundation. There was enough back story to follow along. A single mom escaping an abusive relationship meets the hot guy in the small town she landed in. We see how their relationship developes. I felt there were some long wordy episodes repeating information already provided. The twist was not surprising enough. This would've dock 1/4 of a point, but I felt the author made an effort , especially with the kid's storyline and the mental health representation. I rounded up. 

First time reading a book by this author. I was impressed with her level of craftsmanship relaying the characters' story. I loved the age gap where she's older and more experienced. The spice is spicing, the scenes were not to be read in public, purely delicious smut. Read this very hot short novella as a palate cleanser after some heavier reads.