I loved this author’s Charleston Heat series. Nobody can do swoony southern men and strong women like she can. It’s been nearly a year since the last one in the series was released, because the author had her own life events going on (shocking, right?) The break was much needed and inspirational, I think, because this book was personal to the core.
One thing that always stands out about her books is the honesty. Her characters are raw and real. While the endings are sometimes fairy tale-ish, the romances are something to dream about and aspire to. They also provide an escape to old married women like me. It’s fun to live vicariously.
For this first book in her new North Carolina Highlands series, we get the story of Annabel and Beau, best friends for nearly 20 years. I’m not going to go into too many details about the plot of this book (those can be found elsewhere) but I’m going to tell you what struck me personally about this friends-to-lovers story.
I think that Bel came from a very personal place for the author. The descriptions of the feelings and emotions that Bel felt as a new mom could only be put on paper by someone who had lived them herself. I imagine that other moms to newborns will identify, which makes the book so much more relatable.
I, personally, wouldn’t know. But what the author managed to do was make me realize what I will never feel. Sometimes you don’t know what you miss until it hits you in the face that you won’t have it.
What I did feel deep down, however, was the emotion that Beau’s fear brought out in me.
[SPOILER ALERT] SCROLL DOWN TO BELOW THE BOOK COVER NOW if you don’t want to see a major plot point.
My father had a condition very similar to Beau’s dad, and the descriptions of his behavior (as well as that of Beau’s) brought the last few years of his life screaming back at me. Where other readers will relate to the PPD and find strength, I related to the memories of the dementia and bursts of outrage that Beau remembers of his father.
I’m not going to lie. I had to put the book down a few times after his descriptions of temper, or forgetfulness, or just failing…those were real and raw emotions, and they were hard to deal with. Since the author’s perspective of PPD was so accurate, it led me to wonder if she also had experience with the kind of brain trauma she wrote about. The passages were difficult, but I was able to relate to Beau more in those moments. He became more real to me than just the best friend studmuffin character.
It was a heavy dose of reality in a beautiful romance.
OKAY I’M BACK
Anyway, this author also has the slow-burn romance thing down to perfection. She’s fantastic at creating scenes that give the reader that little swoop in the belly and the “oh my” seduction. Who doesn’t love a character who can seduce both the female lead and the reader at the same time!
I loved the entire Beauregard family, and their resort is one I wish existed in real life because I would love to vacation there. I know that it is based on real-life places, but I want the whole Beauregard experience. I’m excited that it’s a big family and that we’ll (hopefully) get stories for each of them.
This is probably one of the most personal reviews I have ever written. I hope you love the book as much as I did.
