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Review

4 stars!

Once again, KA has delivered a beautiful love story that is sweet, fun, angsty, emotional and beautifully romantic with a strong and dramatic family storyline, the whole thing deliciously detailed in a way that is uniquely hers. Mickey and Amelia’s story is just gorgeous, and I was hooked from start to finish.

Amelia is new to Magdalene. Following a heartbreaking divorce she lost her way, and lost the respect of her children along the way. Now aged 48, she is looking to make things right, so she moves from California to the small coastal town in Maine to be close to her children, make up for the mistakes of her past, and create a new life for herself and her family.

Mickey Donovan lives across the street from Amelia’s new house, and she is immediately entranced by the gorgeous single father. And as she goes about setting herself up in her new community and trying to build a relationship with her children, she starts to spend time with Mickey and his two kids, and a friendship quickly develops.

The connection between Amelia and Mickey is immediate, but their love story is a bit of a slow burn with some hurdles to overcome. You see Amelia is wealthy – like, ridiculously wealthy – and Mickey is a typical alpha who wants to provide for his woman, which puts them in a difficult situation. There is some angst as their heads battle their hearts (and other body parts), but it works to add to the chemistry and it builds the anticipation beautifully.

“You have absolutely no idea what I need,” I whispered. “And the sad part about that is that you didn’t notice you’d already given me everything I’d ever need just letting me sit at your dinner table with your family.”

They’ve both been burned badly by their exes (who are both still very much in the picture), and they acknowledge the issues between them, but once they make the decision to go all in, I love how open they are to exploring the attraction between them. Their relationship is all very functional for the most part, with open communication and no game playing, and I could feel their slow and gradual fall for each other which, as always, had me simultaneously fanning myself at the hotness and swooning madly.

“There is no safer place than in my arms and when you’re here, Amy, you can give me anything.”

“All my life I was the girl who everyone thought had everything or could get it. But the only thing I ever wanted was a man like you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met, Mickey Donovan. And you’re mine.”

And alongside the romance, Amelia is getting her life together. I admit, I was a little wary of her in the beginning, hearing about her behaviour and the things that she did, but I completely admired her strength and determination to make amends. She openly admits to her wrongdoings, she doesn’t make excuses, she just goes about making things right again, and I loved that about her. And I love that Mickey is there for her through it all.

“The mistakes we make in life don’t define us, Amy. The way we handle ’em after makin’ ’em do.”

I loved the family themes, and the strong storylines featuring both Amelia and Mickey’s kids. They bring a lot to the overall story, and I love how involved they were. I also love that we got to see a bit of Jake and Josie, and the other inhabitants of Magdalene – including a very juicy glimpse at Coert’s story up next.

I’ve seen mixed reviews for this book, with people saying that they found it long and drawn out, with too much attention paid to the non-romantic parts of the book. And yeah, I can see why people would feel that. And while I agree this book could have been shorter, I loved immersing myself in Amelia and Mickey’s world. Their story is one of second chances, of rediscovering yourself – even well into your forties (which I loved) – and of the importance of family and friends, and nobody does those stories better than KA.

“Anyone can find themselves in a place they don’t want to be, and even knowin’ they don’t wanna be there, they can’t get out. It’s findin’ it in you to get out that says it all about you, Amy.”

I loved it – 4 stars.

 

The Magdalene Series

 

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