* * * 3/4
Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her
popular blog. Reality is... messier. Especially when it lands her back in
one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous
six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but
she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up
and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the
big city. Simple, easy, perfect.
Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved
slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful,
wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to?
And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of
perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.
Full disclosure: I don’t typically veer towards small town
romances for my reading pleasure. What’s different this time is that THIS is Lia
Riley and since I love her Off The Map series, I’m all about following her
through her latest endeavour!
Annie reluctantly returns to her small town of Brightwater
as a divorced single-parent who needs to assemble a plan for her future while
picking up all her broken pieces. She’s a champion putting on a brave face for
her sweet son, Atticus, and it’s only in those solitary moments when she allows
herself to crumble just enough. On the agenda as well is to get her family farm
ready for sale. It’s just far too expensive to maintain and her family wants
out. This causes mixed feelings for Annie who has bitter memories of being the
town’s oddity yet she loves her family home.
Running into Sawyer and realizing that she still has the
hots for him is not in the plan. No, not when she’s still trying to figure herself
out. Sawyer is the opposite. He's so happy she's back and sees a chance to make up for an unfortunate misunderstanding that happened years before. He wants to make it
right with Annie now. Sawyer is the ultimate good guy without what Lia Riley has described
as the “man flu”. He knows she's vulnerable at the moment, and though being around Atticus makes him wonder if he has the potential to be a capable dad, he doesn’t want to be
discounted.
I was utterly wrapped up in this charming story that has two of the sweetest and most likable characters I've ever come across. Gentle, quirky Annie
is still struggling with insecurities and Sawyer
just wants to love her. The
sparks come out in full force as they get reacquainted and it’s just a matter
of who can hold out longer.
Aside from Annie and Sawyer, there are some other pretty
awesome characters that’ll be fun to get to know as they series wears on. There’s
Sawyer’s crotchety grandma who’s carrying the flag for the family’s decades-long feud with Annie's, Archer who's Sawyer’s
Lothario of a brother and finally Edie, who’s new to the community. The town of Brightwater that this is set in provides a lovely respite from reality. I felt like I was on vacation. I look forward to more
from this series – Right Wrong Guy featuring Archer and Edie comes out in
August. Go on and get smitten!
~ Bel
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