Letting Go at 40 by L.B. Dunbar is live!
The fourth and final book in the Lakeside Cottage series, this is the long-awaited story for Anna and Mason. A love-after-loss, unrequited love, friends-to-lovers romance, it was everything I was hoping it would be, with so many feels, and I loved this story!
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Blurb
She didn’t think it could ever happen again. Love that is. And it definitely shouldn’t be happening with him.
Anna Kulis has lost her husband. Their love was a perfect kind of love; a once in a lifetime experience. She never intended to find love again. Never expected to have this attraction stirring inside her. And she never thought her emotions would run wild for the one man she shouldn’t be attracted to – her late husband’s best friend.
Mason Becker has a secret. As a renowned ladies’ man, he’s been in love with his best friend’s wife for twenty-five years. After his friend’s untimely death, and a period of grief, Mason finds himself in a compromising position with the one woman he didn’t think he’d ever have. And that night leads to complications – namely, a desire for more.
Letting go can be one of the hardest tasks for the heart.
Opening up to a second chance at love can be even harder.
Review
5 stars!
The fourth and final book in the Lakeside Cottage series, this is the long-awaited story for Anna and Mason. A love-after-loss, unrequited love, friends-to-lovers romance, it was everything I was hoping it would be, with so many feels, and I loved this story!
Mason and Anna’s love story was hinted at in the first book of the series, when Anna’s husband announced that he was dying, and his friends gathered around to support the couple through his illness, and after his death. Mason was there for all of it, helping in the most practical of ways, and staying on to support Anna and her children. Though Anna was in no condition to even think about another man, there were hints that Mason felt more for his wife’s friend, and we’ve seen glimpses of that over each of the books in the series.
Now, we get to see all of those little moments in detail, as this book takes us back to the events of the first book of the series, showing us Mason and Anna’s story from the beginning, over the course of three years as Anna crawls out from under her grief, and Mason finally gets his chance to be with the woman he has loved for decades.
Anna is more than a friend. She’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to commitment. I’m dedicated to her, to us, to the potential of what we could be if she’d only let me in.
Mason is a wonderfully complex character. In the past he’s been a bit of a player, and there are mentions of him having a daughter that he has little to do with, but there is SO much more to him than we know, and I loved this chance to explore him further and really get to know him. My heart ached for all that he was going through, and it made all the ways that he was there for Ben, Anna, and their children, all the more amazing.
“I can’t lose you next.”
“Sweetheart.” His quiet groan is a plea … “No one else is leaving, Anna. Especially not me.” He squeezes me tighter. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you as long as you need me.”
Did I need him? I swore I never would. Oh, how my feelings have changed.
I very much want Mason in my life.
The romance is a slow burn, which is absolutely needed to be. Though Mason has loved Anna for years, they’re both grieving, and as their friendship shifts and changes over time, there’s all the expected guilt, shame, fear and heartbreak that they need to deal with. It’s a bit of an angsty ride, which makes sense for their situation, but there are glimpses of what they could be if they both just let go.
“Mason, we can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Winding each other up, only to walk away.”
“What if I don’t want to walk away?” What if I want to hold tight and never let go?
Dunbar writes with so much emotion, and I felt so much while reading this book! Though the love between them feels natural, it’s not an easy situation for either of them, and I could understand where both of the characters were coming from, and the challenges they faced. And while Anna is figuring out how to move on, Mason is figuring out how to let go of the past and fight for the life that he wants. And watching the two of them move closer and closer together was so beautiful.
“The things you do to me. My body. My heart … You could shatter me, but fuck do I want to be broken by you.”
The love story is emotional, passionate, real, raw, and beautifully swoony, and through it all, I loved that Ben, and his relationship with both Anna and with Mason, was respected and cherished. I could feel Anna’s torment, and I thought Mason absolutely shone as the romantic hero fighting for his girl with the utmost respect to her and her past, and I loved seeing these two finally get their happy ending.
“Anna. I’ve loved you from afar for over twenty-five years. And now, I’d like to love you up close.”
The characters from previous books all appear, and it was so good seeing them again. There’s a fantastic dynamic to this group, which has become closer and more important as the series goes on, and I loved seeing them all happy, together, and living their HEAs.
I have loved this series, and this book finishes it off on a huge high. This is a beautifully written story with all the feels, and I absolutely loved it!
5 stars!
An Advanced Review Copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Lakeside Cottage
Living at 40 (#1) (Logan & Autumn)
Review
Buy: Amazon US
Learning at 40 (#2) (Zach & River)
Review
Buy: Amazon US
Loving at 40 (#3) (Archer & Jenna)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Letting Go at 40 (#4) (Mason & Anna)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Inn to You (#2.5) (Noah & Tessa)
Review
Free: Available from Prolific Works
About L.B. Dunbar
L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever. Along with her #sexysilverfox collection, she’s made Amazon Top 10 in Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. She is also a USA Today Bestseller. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver fox.
To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.
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