Once again I was lucky enough to be on the ARC team for another book by LJ Evans. Since I have discovered LJ she has become one of my top 5 must read authors.
LJ’s books are like Christmas Day. Or your birthday if you’re like me and obnoxiously celebrate both. :) You count down the days until it happens with great expectation and excitement and then it gets there and you almost don’t want it to be there because then it will be over and you have to wait another 364 days for the magic to come by again. Thankfully for all of us LJ writes more than one book a year so we are all #blessed in that aspect. I’m always super excited to get and read her books, but it’s a mixed feeling of not wanting to start reading it because then it will be over, and I can’t wait to read it and see what happens. Oh the struggle of being a book lover!
I had some FEELINGS over Parker and Fallon. I felt like they were real people and at several points I wished they were real people so I could take them out to coffee and talk some sense into them.
Where do I start? Parker, my dude. I think his storyline of not wanting a relationship or something long lasting because of the promise he made to his Grandpa could have been fleshed out a bit more. I don’t remember reading about that in Rafe and Sadie’s book, if it was in there it didn’t make enough of an impression on me. I kinda wanted to smack him upside the head multiple times.
Fallon is his end game, and he was just ignoring it for in my opinion stupid reasons. Work is not your life Parker! Life is who you live it with! To his credit, once the man got a clue he was all in. So he redeemed himself. But man, did I just want to grab him by the ear and talk some sense into him. I absolutely loved his love and devotion to Parker once he opened up his eyes. He finally saw what all of us (do you like how I say that like I am a member of the Hatley family and these people are in real life?! ) saw in Rafe and Sadies book. Parker and Fallon are the puzzle pieces that just fit so perfectly together.
The swooniest, I read it multiple times in a row, hand on my chest gasping at the romance of it moment, for me was BY FAR, the video conferencing moment. I don’t want to do spoilers. But when you get there you will know. I am swooning a bit just thinking about it right now. SO Romantic. SO thoughtful. SO if he wanted to he would. And just SO SO Loving. When I tell you I SWOONED as if I was an 1800s young lady of the ton needing a fainting couch and some smelling salts to revive me. It was just THAT GOOD.
Let’s move on to Fallon and her issues. First off, GIRL. GIRRRLLLLLL… I pretty much repeated the GIIRRRLLLLLLL for multiple chapters in a row with Fallon. Do you have any friends Fallon??! How did no one in your life have anything to say about he who shall not be named?! How? Does no one love you? My friends pull a Penelope Garcia on any man I even think about talking to. Give them an hour or two, usually less, and they will have everything down to his blood type. How did no one in your life have anything to say about him?! HOW??!! Rafe? How was Rafe silent? SADIE HATLEY?! You’re telling me that Sadie Hatley just let you be with that doofus? I am getting riled up now just thinking about that. Bottom line, Fallon needs better and nosier friends.
I was disappointed in Fallon’s choices to be with he who shall not be named. Not that she should have waited forever for Parker, but I was just envisioning several of the other books that LJ has written about finding your love at a young age, and Fallon settling for that moron just had me very disappointed in her life choices. HAHA Again, I felt like these people were real and in my world. My Teacher/Aunt self wanted to sit her down and have chat with her. We don’t let doofuses dull our sparkle Fallon. We don’t let Doofuses make us feel less then.
The texts. I really enjoyed the texts, AFTER I realized/remembered that Parker and Fallon had known eachother as kids, with him coming out to the ranch. At first I was kind of like Parker, either be with her or don’t be with her but don’t keep her in this Situationship! Once I realized they had known eachother for basically forever I really enjoyed the texts and a peek into their relationship. I am already looking forward to reading the book a second time, and I’m sure I will love it even more the next time.
And to wrap up this excessively long review, the mystery to this book was mysterious enough to pique your interests and have you wondering who the bad guy was and what was going on. But not so much that you couldn’t sleep at night. I appreciate that level of Romantic Suspense. Suspenseful enough that it doesn’t give you nightmares and also, when I tell you I was pumping my fists and clapping my hands at the end. Fallon, you redeemed yourself girl. I was so proud. Again, me thinking these are real life people.
Long story short, I could really just say this about every single book LJ Evans writes, because they are all fantastic. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I’m so glad we got to see Fallon and Parker’s love story. And really, if you see an LJ Evans book buy it, borrow it, read it. They are all 20/10 wonderful.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced review copy. My opinions are my own and freely expressed.
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