Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

This book has some issues, mainly that there’s a little too much back story on the Chance Family in the beginning to tie this into that series and a little too much focus on detailed sex for my tastes (even for a Harlequin Desire), but these two items aside, it’s a lovely look at coming to understand yourself and being willing to let yourself be vulnerable enough to take a chance on love.

The male main character, Regan, is broken for very good reason, but not the one he thinks is the problem. He’d caught his fiancee in bed with his best friend just six months earlier and is wallowing in the betrayal, but it takes meeting Lily for him to see everything that led up to that crushing moment so he can learn the true source of his problems. She’s an unexpected intrusion into his emotional state, and one he cannot ignore.

Meanwhile, Lily knows all there is to know about rebound relationships having had her heart stomped on by one before. Forewarned about Regan’s recent history, she’s determined to keep her distance despite the instant attraction she feels. If she can just keep things platonic as he helps her bring the horse rescue she’s purchased around into something viable without having her charges stage a coup, everything will be fine.

Lily’s heart is too open for her own good…to Regan and to the rejected animals that come to her door. Regan’s is too closed because he sees only the uprooted part of his childhood without recognizing the foundation.

This is a novel about learning your own motivations and discovering when surface appearances can be misleading, both in Regan’s interpretation of how he was raised and how Lily appears flighty when she’s just searching for the job or person to make her heart sing.

I think the resolution could have used some of the space spent on the sex mechanics to be stronger (one of the reasons I think it’s too much sex), and there’s a small thread left dangling, but the story is well written and thought out. Both of them have to grow and learn before they’re ready to commit to a shared future, and that growth occurs on the page where we can share in their discovery.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. ( )