Review

“Hear me. I love you, and nothing and no one could keep me from you.”

I absolutely loved this sweet and beautiful romance. It’s an amazing ‘against-the-odds’ love story with lots of heart, a dreamy hero, a fantastic heroine and four incredible kids. Prepare for the feels!!!

5 stars

Matt and Abby meet on the beach where they are both vacationing. Matt is a Navy Seal on leave, and Abby is a widowed mother of four young children, and is pregnant with her fifth. From their very first encounter they share an attraction, and Matt is immediately adopted by Abby’s adorable kids – an affection which he returns wholeheartedly – and he starts spending time with the family. And the more time they spend together, the more they are all drawn to each other.

“I don’t know what you want,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“Time,” he said softly. “Just time. I don’t have a good reason, but I have three days left and I want to spend them with you.” 

Their connection is deep, but their real lives are far away from each other, and when the time comes for them to separate at the end of their vacation, it is with heavy hearts. But their time together has forged a special bond, and they are unable to forget about each other, and their tentative beginning develops into something very real that becomes life changing for both of them.

He knew without a doubt, he was holding his heart and soul in his arms. And he never wanted to let her go.

Matt is incredible. Sure, he’s a badass soldier, and he knows what he wants, but he’s not an alpha caveman. He’s a sweetheart who is gentle and patient, and a total gentleman. His love for Abby and her children is all-consuming, and makes him question everything as he is torn between his duty to his country and a promise to his fallen best friend, and the way he feels towards what he considers to be his new family and his promise to always be there for them.

Adding an additional drama is Abby’s past. Having faced devastating loss and a sad childhood, she is terrified of being left by those she loves, and has put up walls to protect herself. She struggles to accept Matt’s feelings for her, and open herself up to him completely. And this is where Matt shines again, as he slowly and patiently earns her trust and proves to her that he is there for her.

“Abby, look at me. I’m coming back. Do you think I could walk away from this? That I won’t be running back to you as fast as I can?”

So yeah, they both have issues they need to deal with, but through it all they never deny the way they feel, and considering all that stands in the way of them having an easy, everyday relationship, they are incredibly functional, and so completely in love. And their relationship is absolutely beautiful! Sweet and tender, and passionate without being smutty, Matt and Abby have a true soul-mate connection, and I was completely swept up in their romance.

She was everything he’d always wanted and never thought he would have. She loved him. And she owned him, body and soul.

And then there are Abby’s kids. OMG, what an amazing bunch! They each have their own little personality quirks, and their behaviour and chatter is so realistic. I fell in love with Annie, Jack, Gracie and Charlie, and watching Matt with them is heart-clutchingly gorgeous and absolutly melted me. They adore Matt, and they are each very cleverly wound into the love story as Matt falls for them just as much as he does for Abby, and the individual relationships are developed beautifully.

The strong sense of family is carried throughout the book, with Matt’s family featuring, and again the dynamics between Matt and his parents, brothers and sister are fantastic! And there are even a couple of hints are dropped about two of his brothers dealing with their own issues. I’m hoping we get to see more of them in future books.

The story is told in dual POV, and the author gets us right to the heart of both Matt and Abby, and she did a fantastic job! The book is written beautifully, and the story moves slowly, with a lot of attention paid to the little details, but I loved that! It allowed me to soak up every single little moment and feel everything that was happening. I was fighting off both happy and sad tears, and actually ended up bouncing around my house in happiness on more than one occasion. I finished the book with a huge smile on my face.

Bravo Claudia Connor! This is a fantastic debut, and a strong start to a series that I’m excited to continue.

I loved it – 5 stars.

An Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The McKinney Brothers series

And the spin-off series…

McKinney/Walker