AUTHOR: Anne-Marie Meyer GENRE: Romance PAGES: 292 pages RELEASED: 25 June 2022 SERIES: Sweet Tea & Southern Gentleman #1 SYNOPSIS: It's the moment that Harmony Island has been waiting for: the reading of Charlotte Cane's will. After I returned to my small hometown six months ago to attend my estranged grandmother's funeral, I swore I would never go back. That is, until my grandmother's lawyer calls me up. If I don't return to Harmony Island and fulfill my grandmother's stipulations, the generationally owned family inn will be turned over to the state and sold off to the highest bidder--my grandmother's rival and mother to the man who broke my heart, Missy Willis. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to return home, but I also know, I can't let Miss Willis win. So I pack up my belongings and head for North Carolina. I'm determined to stay distant, living in the small cottage next to the inn, and keep my head down. But in a small town where everyone knows your name, that becomes difficult. Soon, my past catches up with me and I'm faced with the history I've buried for so long. Just when I reach my breaking point, Miles, the single dad living at the inn, swoops in to my life to rescue me. He was my protector in my childhood, my enemy in my teenage years, and now? Now, I'm not so sure. Especially when his love for his daughter is contagious, or the way he looks at me when he doesn't know I see him. I'm so confused and I want to run away like I did in the past, but I can't. And when Miles touches me like that...I don't want to. Luckily, I find a friend in Abigail, the local bookstore owner. She's one of the only residents who doesn't know about my past and seems to be looking for the same thing I am, a place to belong. The place of heartbreak can also be the place of true love.
Shelby never had any intentions of returning to Harmony Island once she hightailed it out of there with a broken heart and headed to New York. But with the death of her grandmother, she’s back in the place that holds so many good and bad memories. When her grandmother’s will stipulates the she and her ex-step brother Miles both have equal ownership of the inn, she agrees to stay the required six months to ensure that the town’s biggest gossip Missy doesn’t get her hands on the property. Shelby and Miles were close in childhood, but they’ve been distant since one night that left everyone heartbroken. A lot has changed in the years they’ve been apart, and Shelby struggles being surrounded by the memories of her childhood. But the one thing that remains the same is Miles’ determination to protect and look out for Shelby. The Meta algorithm hits the nail on the head once again with this recommendation! It’s actually getting a little scary at how well Meta knows my reading tastes and what books I’m going to absolutely love. But I can’t worry or complain too much because I’m so glad I discovered this book, series and author! You could feel instantly the history between Shelby and Miles, and I loved getting to explore their past as we followed how their relationship developed in the present-day. There was so much love and hurt between the two and Anne-Marie set up this part of their story really well. Between the ex-step siblings trope and the single parent trope, there’s a lot to get you sucked into this story and relationship! I was a little thrown by the inclusion of Abigail’s perspective and did feel like it wasn’t totally necessary. But having read book two before writing this review, I can say that the way Anne-Marie has crafted this book and series is very soap opera-y, and so I actually really appreciated having multiple characters, stories and relationships flow throughout the books. And while cliffhangers can be frustrating, I actually really enjoyed having this book end with a cliffhanger that had me reaching for the next book. It made for a nice change compared to most companion novel romance series. Speaking of Abigail, while it took me a little to get into the inclusion of her perspective, I did really enjoy getting to learn about her and her family life, as well as having her romance drama starting to be set up. Her friendship with Shelby was also a nice balance to the Shelby/Miles drama, and I can’t wait to see their friendship develop more throughout the series, especially when Abigail takes more of a leading role. The way Anne-Marie has formated and framed this book and series isn’t going to be for everyone, but it is definitely one to check out if you’re a romance fan and enjoy some soap opera drama. Definitely one to read once all the books in the series are released because you’re going to want to binge them in one sitting! |
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