3.5 stars
The blurb of this one had me intrigued. This one took me me a bit to get into though. I wasn't so sure of Davis at first, but that was through the eyes of a girl on the brink of adulthood. Davis' backstory pulls on the heartstrings. He hasn't had it easy that's for sure. Man I don't know I would have dealt with the Davis situation like Rae did. Her heart goes through the ringer. There is a lot of emotion and feels in this book. I had a gut feeling about a character and you know they say listen to your gut. I was proved right with that gut feeling. Davis makes dirty talking look like a work of art. Davis and Rae steam up the pages with their chemistry. With everything these two went through especially Davis the end and epilogue were so perfect.

Method: ebook
Rating: 2/5 stars
H rating: 3/5 - Davis
h rating: 2/5 - Rae
Drama: 3/5
Trope(s): small town
Thoughts: will add to review later

Davis and Raelyn’s story is a small town romance filled with twists and turns. Davis is the town grump. Hot but oh so grumpy. Raelyn is much younger than Davis. In her teen years, she tried her best to get him to notice her. She thought she finally succeeded when, on her eighteenth birthday, she was passed a note from a friend that Davis wanted to meet with her at the town library. But unfortunately, things did not go as planned. She goes but catches him with another woman. Humiliated, she leaves town to attend college.

Four years later she reluctantly returns to town to help her parents run their family restaurant. Her one goal when returning to town was to avoid Davis at all costs. Little does she know that while she was away, her parents have grown close to Davis. Even more surprising, Davis does not remember her at all. Forced to deliver groceries to Davis’s house, she tries her best to keep her distance. Holding her secret close. It’s pretty hard to do both when Davis has started having feelings for her. His persistence and her rekindled feeling for him make keeping her distance difficult. It’s how they fix the broken parts of themselves that has me loving this story. I loved seeing their character arcs. How they helped fix each other and grow from it.

This one touched me deeply.

Written from Rae and Davis’s point of view, this small-town romance tugged at my heart-strings. We learn Rae had a thing for Davis as a teen and was crushed by an incident that happened. She fled Oregon for New York, and has recently returned to help her parents.

Davis is five years older than Rae and is troubled by things from his past. Including the look on a young teen’s face when she caught him in the library with another girl. When Rae returns home, she discovers her parents have befriended Davis, and he doesn’t even recognize her.

The tale that unfolds was filled with banter, undeniable heat and secrets. I loved learning about both Davis and Rae as they navigated a romance that ran hot and cold, but never once did I doubt their feelings and emotions were genuine. Of course, a little communication would have gone a long way, but both have to experience growth and confront their own demons. Can they find their way, come to terms with the past and find happily ever after?

The tale touches on teenage crushes, depression, family dysfunction and healing. Through secondary characters, we get hints about the next story and I look forward to listening.

The narration was ok. Each read their point of view chapters. Alex narrated Davis’s chapters and Faith did Rae’s. Sometimes the voice sounded too similar. This was a dual narration and not my favorite. I prefer duet or full cast. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer