Five stars for this winner!!!

We got our heroine Grace who moves back to her small town after being cheated on by her husband. There she runs into Jackson, the town grump and pariah who hates her family with every fiber of his being. The two of them don't get off on a great start, but they eventually form a unique bond, which then turns into a 'friends' with benefits arrangement. Along the way, they realize that they're not that different after all, and  their deep connection is more than just a mere summer fling.

This book put. Me. Through. It.

I felt so much pain, grief, anger, and love from start to finish. Grace and Jackson completely stole my heart with their story. Theirs was a rocky one, with many people in their lives who made their lives a living hell (and who I wanted to personally str/a/ngle) as well as their internal demons, but the ending made me go, "Yep, these two are soulmates for sure." I absolutely loved watching them fall in love with each other, heal together, and get their well-deserved happily ever after.

If anyone deserves all the good things in the world, it's Grace and Jackson, and I would like to believe that somewhere in another universe, they're living their best lives with each other and their fur babies.

So if you're in the mood to feel all the emotions in one read, this book is the way to go. And if I were to give you one piece of advice, once you feel the need to give up reading because certain characters are super annoying, don't do it (even though yes, they are annoying). You can take a break, but pick it back up. Everything will all be worth it for the last couple of chapters alone!

tw: infidelity (not between the MCs), miscarriages/infertility, panic attacks, death of a parent, death of an animal, grief, alcoholism, hospital/ICU scenes, drug use