4.5 stars

I said in my review of the first book in this series that I was looking forward to Adam’s story. Hoo, boy! It’s a doozy! Not only does his story bring out all the feels, but so does Lizzie’s. Just so much emotion jangling around in this story.

Lizzie is an awesome female lead. Strong, independent, caring, kind…the whole package. As a friend, lover, and mom. Adam and his wife were her two best friends and she lost them both within days of each other. One to cancer, the other to his guilt and stubbornness. Yet she soldiers on, creating a wonderful life for herself and, years later, her son. No matter how the family of her son treat her or that she’s never found true love, she doesn’t let any of that get her down.

On the other hand, Adam closes himself off after his wife dies and lives a very mundane and boring existence. He has a big and loving family, but doesn’t even realize how lucky he is or really participate in more than the work of taking care of his family ranch and doing what he can for his siblings. Nobody else is allowed into his bubble which means he’s not really living.

Adam has been avoiding Lizzie for over a decade, but a chance encounter throws them back into orbit with one another. Once that happens, they pull is undeniable and the chemistry jumps off the pages. And for a man who is so closed off to others, he is a natural with Lizzie’s young son, Roman.

There is a lot these two need to unload, especially Adam. While Lizzie is having issues with her son’s family, she knows her mind and has a healthy mental life. Adam not only hasn’t dealt with his wife’s death, he also hasn’t dealt with his mom taking off on the family when he was a young teen. Now his mom’s back in town and he’s talking to Lizze again so all those carefully constructed walls of his are starting to crumble down around him.

As much as I love this story, I hate Adam’s dad’s view on forgiving his mom. In fact, I’m not crazy about her either. Even after all the explanations I cannot understand how anyone can feel the mom only did the right thing by walking away. As a mother I don’t understand giving up at any point, especially once the kids were adults. I feel this part of the storyline may continue to trickle through the other books in the series. We’ve already seen how her leaving has impacted Daisy and Adam, it’s bound to have affected the others.

** I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in my review are my own and given freely. **

You can read more of my reviews at