4.5 ⭐️. I really love this series by Julia Wolf and this was a great addition. I kind of low key love the fact that it started sideways and they had to work their way back together.
Alice is a librarian who also works as a waitress at Joys bar at night. She is a quiet woman who keeps to herself and feels largely unseen. She’s been pining for Caleb for 4 years and he’s never noticed her. Caleb is a single dad to a 13 yr old boy, and head of the family ranch. He doesn’t really notice anyone, however, and is completely absorbed in his own world. She kisses him one night, they agree to a date and then he panics and breaks the date w her.
Honestly, I thought this was a clever way to start the story. It all happens quickly at the beginning. The rest of the book is her getting a back bone, learning to put herself out there, and standing up for herself… all while she and Caleb are growing closer. She’s kind to him, but not a doormat. He believes that she’s “over him”. Lol. I loved her!
I agree with other reviewers who indicated this was primarily Alice’s story and the story of her growth.
It is, also, however, the story of Caleb learning to allow someone else into his very small world and to share his worries and life with another. He grows, equally, but differently, and his growth would not have occurred without her strength and her holding him accountable.
It’s the story of two mature people growing together.
Spoilers Below:
❤️Momentary third act problem - something difficult happens w his son and he basically has a crisis of confidence and tries to push her away. She speaks to him plainly and sets her boundaries and expectations. He doesn’t let her down. It’s resolved quickly.
🗣️Communication- So much good honest communication, even when it’s not easy. Even in the beginning, when he breaks their date, he’s honest w her.
📕Small moments - So many small moments together and little inside phrases and humor that make their connection and relationship believable.
🧍♂️Son, Jesse - he’s a great character and pivotal part of the story.
✅Ex-wife, Shelby - this is handled well. They clearly don’t have any feelings and haven’t for a while, but she is portrayed as a good person and mom. She has a terrible boyfriend who causes some trouble.
🫣No OW drama. She’s a virgin which is unnecessary. He’s not, but he hasn’t been w anyone in a long time. OM: She does go on other dates after their kiss, and after he pushes her away. She just has dinner, no kissing. He is immediately jealous lol and then slowly realizes the magnitude of his mistake.
⚠️TW:
Assault: One of the dates does drug her drink and assaults her. She is not raped; but she is injured and needs to go to the hospital.
Grief: The death of her ill sister, off page. She deals w the grief on page w Caleb.
Kidnapping: brief. Calebs, son, Jesse, is briefly kidnapped and put in trunk. He’s unharmed and is resolved quickly.
🌶️Spice - the first kiss happens early and then we see them work their way back together. There’s one detailed scene and then a few smaller ones. Their chemistry is lovely and affectionate tho. Lots of cuddles and hugs.
-👥Dual POV; HEA. 1 yr later marriage and pregnancy in epilogue
Spoilers and favorite bits:‼️‼️
🐴📕Quiet kind librarian w painful past/big broody closed off rancher w heart of gold. Loved how neither character is portrayed as overly beautiful but instead perfect for each other. She loved how strong he is but that he also has a belly to lean on. He thought she was beautiful and gave him the best kiss of his life…. before her makeover.
📕Sweet gestures - She refused the flowers he tried to give her at the first aborted date. He then kept wanting to bring her flowers and found ways to give them to her in different ways including the flower bookmark, little plants, flowered gardening gloves, etc. The way she asked him to write “I love you” on paper for her and he kept doing it for her over and over.
📕 the way she tells him “I just can’t shake you” and his “boom” every time he falls for her. Lol
📕nicknames - honey, Allie, Allie-girl, love, darlin’, Cay
📕assault/caretaking - he takes care of her after she gets drugged and assaulted while on a date. She stays at his house for a couple of days to recover. She overcomes her fear of hospitals at the end to comfort Caleb when he has an accident on the ranch. She wouldn’t let him wake up alone the way she had so many times as a child.
📕son, Jesse - the way that Alice supported Jesse and advocated for him going to camp and has a deep and genuine interest in his life. And he genuinely likes her in return. The way that Caleb loves him so much he can’t bear to be without him.
📕books - she loves books and reading and he starts reading to her at night while she stays w him; it continues after she leaves, over the phone.
I dropped 1/2 a star bc she’s a virgin; I mean, why? Also, was all the drama w Shelby’s boyfriend necessary?
Anyway, I really loved these two and their story. The humor, cute moments and inside jokes made it real and believable. The way she feels seen by him at the end is everything. ❤️