Trigger Warning: The book has scenes depicting emotional and physical abuse. Please proceed with caution or skip this altogether if you feel that this will trigger your current or past condition.
A lot of small-town, Hallmark type romance novels have similar themes running through them and their characters are really a lot alike. There's nothing wrong with that though because for readers like me, I actually look for those cozy elements. I think what makes a book bearable, enjoyable or even stand out is the writing style.
The Story
Alexis Montgomery is old money and a legacy child. She's born with a purpose that she has set her heart and life into. However, things changed when Alexis met a small-town innkeeper named Daniel. He is years younger than her but she found so much solace in his company. Daniel started being an escape from her crazy fast-paced life until the inevitable happened when he started feeling like a home to her. The big problem is she knew she cannot bring Daniel into her world and she was not willing to stay in his.
Bound by a destiny that Alexis cannot seem to run away from, she's forced to choose between the life she felt she was supposed to have or take the risk by giving it all up.
What I Think...
There are so many things that I could say about this book, but let's kick things off with the good ones. Abby Jimenez's storytelling is superb. She made what seemed to be stereotypical characters (the city girl and the small town boy with a dog) very bearable and really entertaining. Her writing style is also very easy to catch up on so I think even the newbie readers will be able to read this fairly fast.
There is a noticable age difference between our two characters here. It's not so disturbing because thankfully, the author set them at ages when they're already mature enough - no grooming around here. However, this age difference really did play a big role in how each of them misunderstood their situation with one being just too realistic and the other who just thought that love could conquer it all.
Let me just take a moment to talk about Alexis because there's not much to say about Daniel. Again, Daniel is your typical romance fiction small town boy with the tattoos, big body and the dog. You know how it is. Anyway, Alexis is this city girl who is the "last" chance of maintaining her family's legacy at a big hospital in Minneapolis. She was willing to give up her love for Daniel just so she would not disappoint her parents who in the first place was verbally and emotionally abusive towards her as her narcissistic ex was. If you read the book, you might question why she chose to stay in this unacceptable environment when she can just run away and go where she was loved. However, it is also important to understand that this is the reality for a lot of victims...which brings us to my next point.
TW. The book not only tells the story of Alexis who struggled with how horrible her ex-fiance was. He was manipulative, verbally abusive and everything that a narcissist was. On top of that, even her parents did not believe her because her ex was very kind to them. While she got away from him in time, it was only when she met Daniel that she saw the difference of how it was like to be truly loved. There is also a minor part of the book with one of the other characters that gives us a glimpse of what it's like being fearful to leave an abusive situation and why victims won't leave.
Overall, this book is really worth the read. It has depth but retains the elements of why we read chicklit. As I mentioned, there are still stereotypical characters and situations but a true chicklit fan will appreciate it especially in this book when it's just done right. This is my first Abby Jimenez read and I am very much looking forward to discovering her other works.
☆☆☆☆ | Adults | Newbie-Friendly: Yes | Fast Read: Yes
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