Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in the city. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.
At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.
She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is.
But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Heat Level: Warm/Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
“For a fleeting moment, I picture leaning my head against his shoulder and feeling his voice vibrate against my cheek when he tells me that everything is going to be okay. It’s the exact kind of thinking I need to avoid. I will not fall down the Will Baxter vortex again. There’s still a faint purple bruise on my heart from last time.”
Fern Bookbranks spent twenty-four wonderful hours with Will Baxter in her early twenties, and believed they were soulmates. They promised each other that they would meet at her family’s lakeside resort one year from the day they spent together, but Will never showed up. Heartbroken, Fern moves on, but she has never forgotten the young boy who changed her life. Nine years later with her family’s business in peril, Will shows up with an offer that she can’t resist. She knows she can’t trust him after the way he let her down years ago, but if she wants to save her family’s resort then she must try.
Holy flashbacks! This story had a lot of flashbacks. Some from Fern and Will’s time together ten years ago. Some from her mom and Peter. I think Fern and Will’s time together should have been condensed, and the focus more on their budding relationship in the here and now. Nothing special happened between them ten years ago, and it wasn’t necessary to show all of it. Just caused the pacing to be off, and the book to drag on for what seemed like forever.
Let’s get to their relationship in the present, I feel like a lot of the focus was on Fern and her overcoming grief at her mother’s passing and making the decision to either sell her family’s resort or stay and run it. I did enjoy these parts of the book because they felt authentic, and her grief felt real. I loved watching the change of what she thought she wanted in the beginning to what she chose in the end and felt there was a lot of personal growth in Fern. Too bad their relationship didn’t experience any growth, and just felt sort of flat. Will didn’t act mature or make smart decisions, and then he barely had to do any repentance for being an idiot. I could have used more maturity in their relationship and a lot more romance.
If you like authors like Susan Mallory or Robin Carr, then this could be right up your alley.
~ Michelle
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Names and events in the review do not match the book description. I think this review is for another book.
Thank you!!! I can’t even explain what happened there.