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Review

4 stars

This is the start of a new series by Catherine Cowles, set on a small island off the coast of Seattle, for the small-town romance feel that I love. A beautifully emotional story of coming home and second chances, this book had me hooked from start to finish, and I loved it!

Bell and Ford grew up together and were the best of friends. Even though he was few years older than her, they were constantly together and were each other’s ‘person’. But when Bell was 16 her life was thrown into tragic chaos and Ford, the one person she needed to lean on, left town without looking back.

It’s now 11 years later, and Ford is urged to come back home by his younger brother to help out his family. He knows he can’t avoid his home, or his past, forever so he returns, knowing it’s time to finally face up to everything and everybody that he left behind all those years ago.

“I needed you, and you just left. Like it was the easiest thing in the world.”

Bell and Ford’s reunion is everything that I was hoping for. Bell is angry and devastated, Ford is guilty and remorseful. It’s tense and emotional, and full of all of the pain that is a constant part of both of their lives. They are no longer the carefree teens they were when they last saw each other, both changed by what they went through and their years apart, but Ford is determined to make amends for what happened in their past.

It’s a heartbreaking and complicated situation, but they meant so much to each other in the past that they are keen to try and mend their relationship. They work to rebuild their friendship, and as they begin spending time together again, you can see that there is so much more between them, something that both of them have kept hidden for so long, and oh, the feels!

I’d get hit with a memory of the two of us, the reckless kind, the kind that lit a fire in me to call her, to see her. Those reckless memories would almost bring me to my knees.

Though it’s not technically, this book has the feeling of a second-chance-romance. Nothing romantic ever happened between them in the past, but the feelings were there, and the sense of longing and anticipation as they find their way back to each other just sizzles off the page.

Even though my heart had claimed him, he hadn’t been mine.

I loved this romance. It’s slow-burning, real, and full of emotion, and I could feel their soul-deep connection. At the heart of it all is a true friendship, and the romance and passion grows from that, creating an authentic and organic love story that completely stole my heart.

“I see you, Bell. And everything about you is beautiful.”

But not everybody is happy to see Ford again. And given their complicated backstory, not everybody is happy to see him with Bell. There is a lot for them to work through, and a lot for them to face up to, and it soon becomes clear that the two of them are in real danger from somebody seeking vengeance for the past. It’s exciting and suspenseful, and the bad guy is getting braver and bolder, so while Bell and Ford are finding their way back to each other, they also need to protect themselves from the growing threat.

By their side through it all is a fantastic group of friends and family. All up in the unfolding drama, they are a big part of the story, and there are some great dynamics being set up there already, and I can’t wait to see where their stories will lead.

I loved this book. Bell and Ford’s story is beautiful with all the feels, and I loved watching them finally get their HEA.

4 stars.

 

Wrecked

 

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