3.5

Was one of the lucky winners in an ARC contest on Facebook.
This is my 3rd book by BCC.

I've delayed writing this review despite the fact I read and finished the book the day after it showed up in my email for two reasons... I'm not sure how to write the review without spoilers and I had to let the story (and the ending) simmer in my brain and see if I was still as disappointed as I was initially. Turns out I kinda was. Her Element 3 & 4 books were both solid 4 star reads for me so I went in with very high expectations. I liked both Jackson and Grace and really never had an issue with their characters or the way their story together played out...but the plot behind Grace and her husband....was infuriating from the beginning. I won't lie and say I didn't tear up more than once because there is some incredible sadness throughout this story and even with this hitting some of my major pet peeves it still clogged my tear ducts. I mistakenly assumed from how the story began divorce was going to be a major plot point since for some ridiculous reason (plot hole #1 for me) these two people were going back to the same town to live (in her case only for the summer) so they could break the news to their families that they had separated (because apparently in the months that he was living there without her didn't sound the alarms to any of them) and then things explode almost the minute they're in the same town together. Divorce, right? Huh, no....but you're not really going to go back are you???? Oh wait....MORE secrets revealed!!!! That's gotta bring out the lawyers now....what...wait......YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! Meanwhile Grace is getting slut shamed for banging the local bad boy and finding a little bit of happy in this nightmare she calls her life. And yes boys and girls there's one last deep dark secret to be revealed (and if you hadn't got a clue then you weren't paying attention) and... BAM! Another couple decimated...but even they didn't mention the D-word and I'd hate to assume since I was thwarted repeatedly with Grace. But then again we never lived Grace's divorce but unless she's a bigamist it had to have happened at some point. But we never finish Finn's story. You would think that after all he dragged Grace through and what he did we'd at least get some resolution....but no. The villain was never vanquished he just walked off-stage never to return. A disappointing finish for the catalyst of the entire story. This story was dark from the first page of the disintegrating marriage and continued to be so. I can deal with the darkness and the tears as long as there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel but I didn't find the light entirely worthy of the trip. Throughout the whole book there was one thing Grace wanted more than anything and it would have been nice to see her get it even if it was by less conventional methods...
I did find some minor mistakes but those could have been fixed prior to publication...and minor enough that most people probably wouldn't catch them.
Am I glad I read it? Yeah because BCC knows how to write an intriguing story even if you don't love it.
Would it make it on my re-read list? No, for the above mentioned reasons and I'll rarely re-read a book that makes me tear up this much.