The four stars rating gives it away: I really liked the second installment of the Seven Shores series. Honestly, I like Autumn and Kate’s romantic journey more than Isabel and Taylor’s ride. With the amount of heated stares and locked-in gazes, this story earned the title [b:Eyes Like Those|34992178|Eyes Like Those (Seven Shores, #1)|Melissa Brayden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493212421s/34992178.jpg|56265796] more than the actual book itself.

I love everything about the main characters, Autumn and Kate. Their personalities compliment/enhance each other. Where Kate is easy-going, charming, and quiet, Autumn is straightforward, personable, and quick-witted. In all the ways that matter, they’re both warm, compassionate, and selfless. They don‘t arrive at the same conclusions at the same time concerning the direction of their relationship. However, with the support of awesome friends and family (Vicky doesn’t count), Autumn and Kate are well on the way to their happily ever after. ( )

Read on my blog

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: 13th February, 2018 by Bold Strokes Books

I was drawn to this book by the pretty cover and the fact that it was a lesbian romance, and it was just as heartfelt and warm as I expected.

I was first surprised by the age of the characters (I'm used to reading about teens or twenty-somethings, while the protagonists in this book are in their thirties) but I found it refereshing to read about people who are older than what I'm used to, but still far from old. Honestly, it made me feel better about aging because it's so easy to think that women in their late thirties/early forties are old, when that's really not the case.

I didn't read the first book in this series, but from what I understand, each book concentrates on a different member of the same friendship group, which I really loved. (It is also done in Maria Hollis's series starting with The Melody of You and Me.) I loved these women being friends and really being there for each other, and I loved Autumn and Kate's romance.

One thing that really caught me off guard (and I think should have been in the blurb) is that having children is a major plot point for both love interests in different ways, and this is not a topic that I like to read about. I eventually got over it and ended up enjoying the positive and validating way this book deals with having children as a single woman, having children in your thirties, and adopting children. Still, a warning or a clue in the blurb may have been nice, although I might not have picked up the book if I'd known this was part of the main plot.

While I liked both Autumn and Kate, I was slightly more interested in Kate's story and I loved how it was gradually revealed through flashbacks instead of the story being told at once. I also loved that Autumn's and Kate's plans didn't always go the way the reader expected - there were failures, and yet it was clear that these failures were not the end of the world.

I admit that I found parts of this book slow and really difficult to get through, but overall I think it is a good read for people who like contemporary romances. (Do be aware that there several explicit sex scenes.)

My rating: ★★★★☆ ( )

It's Autumn's turn, she's the owner of the Cat's Pajama's coffee shop next to the Seven Shores Apartment Complex that this series gets its name from.

Kate meanwhile rents one of the empty units at Seven Shores through AirBNB and she meets Gia, Hadley, Isabel and most importantly Autumn soon after that. They're both drawn to each other. But, Autumn has some changes that she's starting in her own life, and Kate is trying to get space away from her small town because everything there is super overwhelming since she saved a couple of kids from a burning house.

It was a very adult type of romance. I don't mean it in an exactly sex sort of way, although of course it had a good portion of that, but in the way that the book first approached the Autumn/Kate relationship. Of course, it is a romance book, so the pull becomes harder and harder for the two women to resist. And I thought that Brayden had some cool twists I didn't see coming in there too.

It was a fun book and the ending seemed like it worked perfectly, not rushed or too long.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. ( )