Aaron is a bit of mystery with walls stacked so tall he hardly lets anyone close to him. He also has a reputation for “mowing the lawns” for the ladies on the rich side of the lake, but lately he stopped all that activity. He works hard, is such a sweet guy, a notorious flirt, but when it comes to Teagan. When Teagan is ready to make changes in her life she heads to Pearl Lake where her brother lives and is ready to accomplish things on her own. She is a genuinely good person with a heart of gold that has a hard time saying no in hopes of never letting anyone down, so she always is taking on more than she can handle. She struggles with issues her family has endured, she wants to prove herself, but how much can she take on before she comes crashing down? When she confronts Aaron and his behaviors towards her I was so thrilled that she showed she had a backbone and that really triggered their romance. While Teagan silently suffers through her own pain, Aaron hides behind his own with so many secrets that are piling up. When Aaron finally decides he can’t hold back or hide from the truth any longer he knows he has to let others into his past and while it is very cathartic for him he notices that Teagan is starting to struggle really badly. Can Aaron help her through the tough time sand show her she is loved no matter what? Can Teagan find herself learn to take time for herself instead of others and get the help she needs? Will they end up pushing each other away because of fear of letting the other down? This book was so amazing the banter was perfect, the steam off the charts, but the seriousness of Teagan’s issues were so powerful I wasn’t expecting it to take the turn it did but it made it so real my heart hurt for her. I am so in love with this series and I can’t wait to see if we get more of them!! ( )

Emotional, soulmates romance
4 stars

I am a huge fan of Helena Hunting and love that she can turn her hand to any and all styles of romance and pull it off with aplomb. The same is true for this book as she brings us a romantic, emotional and deep story with a hugely relatable heroine and one of the most perfect of book boyfriends you could ever imagine.

This book is the second in Ms. Hunting’s Lakeside series after the wonderful Love Next Door which features Teagan (from this book)’s brother, Van. While I still recommend reading the first book (because it’s awesome!) you really don’t have to, to like and understand this story, which features a brand new couple complete with their own HEA.

Our heroine of the story is Teagan who is surprisingly normal for someone who has her background. Having once been a rich socialite type, a change in fortunes has her reassessing her life and bringing her to Pearl Lake to be near her brother and hopefully find her place in the world. She’s a hard worker, kind, self-aware and boy is she relatable - despite the fact that I have probably zero in common with her.

Aaron. Ah Aaron. He may not have started off this way, but by the end of the book he became one of the best book boyfriends ever. At the start, he’s rude and grumpy and although I couldn’t understand why - I knew what he was doing. He was pulling the pigtails of the girl in the school playground to hide the fact that he secretly likes her. He has his demons - and his secrets - but as he starts to open up to Teagan, he slowly comes into his own and becomes the kind, caring, understanding - but still grumpy alpha - that I dream of having for my very own.

Teagan and Aaron’s relationship goes from 0-60 in record time and soon they’re having sex and in a relationship. The speed of getting to this point did take a tiny bit away from the sexual tension but there was still some smoking chemistry between our couple and I loved them together in all ways.

As the book goes on it becomes more understandable as to why the relationship happened so fast - as the book is really more about overcoming the obstacles and demons of both Aaron and then Teagan herself. While Aaron’s issues are difficult - and I can completely understand why they have debilitated him - it’s Teagan’s that really hit me right in the solar plexus of my feelings. Without spoiling things, when everything came into the light with her, I was a bit surprised. And then felt pretty stupid because the red flags had been a-waving almost from the first page. Somehow that made things all the more realistic and while realism is always a good thing - I found it quite emotional to read through.

Having said that, due to her struggles and the separation between Teagan and Aaron that it caused - it made for a really sweet and fulfilling ending. In fact, I felt it was one of the most ‘real’ HEAs that I’ve read and I have no doubt that not only are Teagan and Aaron absolutely perfect for each other - they will be together forever. And if that’s not the kind of feelings that you look for in a romance, I don’t know what is.

I really wanted to give this 4.5 stars as it really was an enjoyable book that I read the heck out of. In the end I went for 4 stars as the emotional elements properly drained me - but I would still recommend this superbly written book to anyone looking for a delightful small-town romance. ( )