stephanie_inman's Reviews (228)

I loved Savannah and Liam. Their story is a brother’s best friend/enemies to lovers/age gap all in one.

Savannah and Liam grew up together. Liam’s best friends are Savannah’s younger brothers. From the time Liam discovered girls, he’s crushed on Savannah Bailey.

They’ve spent the better part of their adult years thus far arguing. Denver and Rome have warned Liam to stay away from their sister, afraid that should Savannah and Liam hook up, it will end in a mess and they will be stuck between them.

Savannah is the Bailey with the most on her shoulders. While Austin raised their siblings, she was still very much a part of their lives, helping out however she could. She’s also responsible for the family business. All of the responsibility she has to deal with has her losing herself. Liam misses the fun, carefree Savannah Bailey. The one she was before her parents died. He decides to see if he can bring that woman back.

Liam and Savannah are so good together. Liam tries to prove that he’s now a responsible adult, while Savannah is trying to figure out who she is now. I thought the only thing that made Liam seem a little immature was him flirting with a girl in front of Sav, and making Sav think he was going to hookup with the random girl. Not a great way to prove to the woman you love that you’ve gotten past your wild days.

I do love that Liam was willing to help Savannah, even when he thought them being together might never happen.

The chemistry was definitely there, although it seemed to take longer for them to get together than it did some of the other couples. I don’t know if I’d say this is a slow-burn, but it definitely burns slower than some of the other Bailey books. There was a previous hookup between our couple, and it’s mentioned, but it takes a while for them to get together again.

I gave this one 3 stars for Holly. Austin would get less.

I thought most of the storyline was good. The singing on the float, and the town worshipping the Bailey family? Cheesy as hell, but I grew up in a small town, and the part where everyone thinks they have a say in everyone else’s business rings true.

I liked Holly. She was smart, and I loved the fact that she wasn’t a virginal waif. My biggest issue with her was that she let Austin talk her into a physical relationship knowing that she would get hurt.

Austin, on the other hand was a whiner. His parents died, and he came home at 21 to raise his siblings. He didn’t get to live his dream of playing baseball. Realizing that he won’t ever play, he turned his dream to coaching a college team. He’s the coach at the high school where he teaches, but wants to move to California for a job. Over and over again we have to hear how he sacrificed his own life to take care of his siblings. Dude, get over it. Imagine being one of the Bailey kids and knowing that the brother who raised you, the one you looked up to, is out of there now that the two youngest are graduating hs. Sure, they are all adults, but I felt like Austin was constantly guilting them, and blaming them because his life wasn’t what he had planned.

And then there was Holly. He railroads her into a sexual relationship. She even tells him that she will be the one to get hurt and he still tells her he’s not taking no for an answer (coercion, btw). Then, when he gets the job, he breaks her heart by taking it. Holly spends the last month they have together doing everything to make him happy. Denying her own feelings, and he still wants to leave. Obviously, by this time he has an epiphany that he wants to be with Holly more than he wants to coach in California, but fuck if the dude isn’t again picking someone else rather than think of his siblings. Again, imagine that you’re brother is leaving, but oh, yeah he’ll stay for someone else, but your family just wasn’t enough. Austin came across as a selfish asshole.

The Bailey grandma, Dori is a huge part of the entire series. I enjoyed her and her shenanigans, even when I didn’t agree with them.

I’d still count this as a decent start to a series. I liked meeting the other Bailey siblings and was eager to read their stories.

I usually love Evie Mitchell books. I’ve read the entire Capricorn Cove series, as well as the Thor’s Shipbuilding series. (I’m planning a reread of them all, as I want to add reviews for them).

What I love so much about Mitchell’s other books is the relatable characters. Different body types, different ethnicities, varied economic backgrounds. But I’ve found them all likable.

I couldn’t bring myself to like Molly or Josh.

Molly is a pushover who lets her “best friend” walk all over her. Her BFF gets with the guy Molly liked (who is Josh’s brother) and is now engaged to him. At one point Molly mentions that she was stuck listening to them have sex. The best friend has zero redeeming qualities. The author gives an explanation at the end, the reasons Molly’s friend did all of the awful things she did, but it didn’t really work for me. I’d have rather the friend just been the bitch that she acted like and had Molly finally grow a backbone.

Josh is dull. Nothing about him kept me interested. And he’s supposed to have been in love with Molly for years, but, again we’re given a reason for his actions (never acting on his feelings) and, again, it didn’t work for me.

In addition to Molly being spineless when it came to her friend, we are also shown that she lives her life more for her family than herself. Although we are told how she isn’t like the other women in her social circle because she does a lot of charity work, and runs some kind of foundation. I think this is supposed to make us like Molly. I thought it was unnecessary and made her hard to relate to. It’s like we were being told “Molly is just so much better than everyone else”. She was “not your typical rich lady”.

I hated rating this one so low. Evie Mitchell is a talented author. I absolutely recommend her work. Just not this one.

This was so close to being a five star read for me. The characters were perfection. I could not have loved Cassie and Curtis more. I like that Cassie was a gentle character. Too often we either get wimps or bitches. Cassie was kind, loving and had a good heart. She had endured a lot and was putting her life back together. She was flawed, real and so different from the usual virginal waifs. Curtis stepped up for his brothers. He was hell bent on giving them a good life.

My only issue is that this one moved way too slowly. It was hard to really feel a connection between Cassie and Curtis because we weren’t given much time of them being together. We saw two separate stories. I’m fine with the slow burn of it, but I needed to see both of them on the same page, whether or not they were a couple yet. They just didn’t interact enough.

Cassie is still hands down my favorite Gentry kid. And this one definitely will go in the re-read file.