Twenty-two years after Julie left Ethan, they meet once again in a small town in New Jersey. Both are divorced, Julie has a two-year old daughter - and they are both drawn to one another. Can the two of them overcome their past to find happily ever after or will secret threaten what they have?
Julie hasn't had the easiest life and the decision she made at eighteen still haunts her. Despite being married - and now divorced - she has never gotten over Ethan. By coincidence, he is friends with the same people Julie is and when he moves to Lake Crossing, she has to confront the past in a way she never thought she would. Then there is her ex-husband who consistently flakes out on their daughter's life. Ethan is back in her life and Matt is causing problems, which means she needs to stand up to him to protect their daughter.
Ethan for his part, is recently divorced and looking for a new start in Lake Crossing. He doesn't expect to see Julie again but once he does, all the old feelings he had for her emerge once again. These feelings soon encompass Julie's two year old daughter, Lilly. Ethan is determined to make Julie his again and he won't allow her to push him away.
Overall, this is a sweet contemporary romance. It hardly feels like a second-chance story but rather a relationship that was put on hiatus for a while. While Julie and Ethan are both older and have lived life without each other, they still connect to one another. I appreciated that Lilly was a part of their relationship and not just pushed to the side.
My biggest complaint is that I wish the author had done more show rather than tell. I also found the conclusion of the Matt arc disappointing. But, ultimately, this was an enjoyable afternoon read and a great start to a series.
3.5 stars