Lauren Barnes captivated me the first moment I met her.
Her effortless charm drew me in, her smile brought me to my knees, and her beautiful heart captured mine in an instant.
Over the last year I’ve fallen harder for her than I ever thought possible.
Just as I think we’re about to get our happily ever after, everything changes.
The fierce woman I love grows cold, distant, and mean.
She pushes me away and refuses to talk to me as I cling to her for dear life. The last thing I want to do is lose the woman who owns my heart.
But as her pain presses on all my insecurities, I start to wonder if there’s anything left to fight for or if I’ve already lost her.
My Review
This midlife romance is the perfect real-life example of love, lust, and hardship. Lauren didn’t make loving her easy and as she struggles with grieving, loving her becomes much more difficult for Todd. It takes some intervention from friends and family and some wise words to fix their issues, but it ends ideally for them. I like Todd’s introverted character with a good heart and lots of love. The book has some triggers, so read the author’s trigger warning before reading this story. I love that it was steamy with lots of practice. Only some moments were well described. It has a taste of seasonal feels but not enough to be classified as a holiday romance. Mostly the author did a great job incorporating the emotional aspects of the story.
This book begins in the past with Todd meeting Lauren in Marion’s Cafe. Hmm, I like that family connection. It is a small town indeed.
Present day from Lauren’s pov Lauren loves coffee so much that she decides to open her coffee shop next to her mother’s cafe. The story jumps back and forth as different moments bring up past memories. This story isn’t about finding romance, as they have already done that. Still, I’m waiting to see what actually happens to their relationship.
This romance has many steamy scenes, which is the resolution for everything. Although not always described but the rabbit trial does go in that direction. Lauren’s grief is difficult to read about. Oh, I love the holiday feels in the book for Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, I’m not loving Lauren hiding her pain.
This story gets emotional but has some outstanding life lessons in it. My eyes are brimming with tears thru the most challenging parts of this story. However, it wasn’t a perfect swoony sweeping romance; this was real, practical, and relatable. I love how this book ended.
If you would like to read Everything for You by Bethany Monaco Smith, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.
If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories Mid-Life, Contemporary Romance, and Small Town.
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