I have mixed feelings about this book.

I love Brynne Asher and she has now become an auto read for me so it is no surprise that the writing is excellent but second chance romance can be really good or not depending on your view of the initial breakup.

This book could be read as a standalone but these two characters are introduced to us in book 1 of this series and the situation Ellie is now in is due to events in book 1.
I read book 1 when it first came out and I wished I had reread just before starting this book as I couldn't remember who was who and what had happened, events are reviewed at times but you must read the series in order not to spoil book 1.

Trig and Ellie, when they are 22 and barely 18, are forbidden love.
He is a ranch hand on her father's ranch, from a family that has a bad reputation, but he is hard working, putting himself through college to make something of himself.
Obviously when her father finds out about their relationship he isn't going to be happy.
The circumstances around the separation are revealed slowly through the first quarter of the book, through brief flashback scenes so i wont reveal details about the whys.

But the issue I had was Trig.
I know other reviews have said they loved him and when he finally sorts himself out and realises there was more to the situation than he realised at the time he is really great but....
I don't know if it's me taking on the female POV as to why I feel so strongly for Ellie but in the beginning I really didn't like him. I get he's hurt, angry etc, etc but it is 10 years and Ellie has so much going on I felt he adds to it by being so cold with her.
My heart hurt for her, she has always been a bit of a wild one and she's made bad decisions that she is paying for and loves her son so much.

I couldn't understand why Trig is protrayed as such a bright guy, being such an excellent lawyer but he didn't twig that there was more to the circumstances of the breakup than he had been told, by her father and the local sheriff.
He knew her father wouldn't want them together so when an opportunity presents itself why didn't he realise her father would make the most of it.
He uses the excuse he was young and stupid but he was 22, so although young, old enough to have thought on things a bit.
He makes a massive mistake, which I found hard to understand when sometime after the initial breakup, I got confused exactly how long but I think it was a couple of months, the heroine is in such a state, not getting over him, she rings him, ends up leaving voicemails explaining what actually happened and he deletes them without listening to them and blocks her number.

During the separation the heroine gets married, it's an unhappy marriage, her hubby cheats and is basically using her to get to the Montgomery name. She now has a young child.
The Hero sleeps around to get over the heroine then tries a relationship but can't do commitment so it's described as after that doesn't have second dates.

There are no intimate details of anyone other than the Hero and heroine.
No cheating.
No other woman drama. The heroines husband is now dead but their relationship is referred to but nothing intimate.
The couple from the first book appear a lot.
A miscarriage is referred to, vague references, not much detail, grief from that is touched on.

I did like that the heroine really, really makes the Hero work for redemption, despite his change of heart, she doesn't just accept him back.
I also liked that the Hero not knowing isn't dragged out for long, the whole truth isn't revealed to him right away, he slowly adds things up but it affects his treatment of her. I don't think I could have taken it if he had continued with his attitude, he's not actually being mean as such but is cold and has a judgmental demenor.
I guess it says something about the author that I cared.
HEA. ( )

4.5 stars

This author knows how to create characters that stand out. Even though certain parts of the story were exaggerated I didn't care because it allowed me the chance to see these characters build from hate back to love again.

Some love is destined in the stars and in this case that was definitely Trig and Ellie. ( )