This was one of those books I could not put down. I had seen a lot of positive feedback online about this book and knew it was one I had to one-click. I'm SO glad I did. Penelope Ward You are a Goddess!

Amelia Payne and Justin Banks grew up together and were best friends. Circumstances made Amelia move away without notice leaving Justin with no explanation as to why one of the most important people in his life was suddenly gone. Fast forward many years and following the death of Amelia's grandmother, she and Justin are now the proud co-owners of her grandmother's beach house and based on the way they parted, that is probably not a good thing.

These two former best friends, who it's apparent have lingering feelings for one another, have to figure out how to maneuver their relationship now that things are so different and so much time has passed. Justin is in a relationship; Amelia is dealing with surprising revelations from her recent past that completely change the course of her future and they are both dealing with suppressed anger from how they parted years earlier. Will they be able to get to a place where they can be friends at a minimum?

This book had a bit of everything, but the thing that stood out to me is that it was a true love story. Both Amelia and Justin knew they had been wrong in the past, they both struggled to figure out how to deal with the feelings they suppressed and currently had, they loved fiercely and they hurt immensely. Penelope Ward crafted a story that quickly has become one of my favorite reads this year and I'd highly recommend it! ( )

Ok. This book made me blubber like a freaking baby!!!!

At the start of the book, I got the impression that there was some.girl on girl action coming on so I was going to scrap it but, I hung on. And I am glad that I did.

So ooo worth it. ( )

Piacevole da leggere ma di certo non un indimenticabile.
La storia di Amelia e Justin inizia da bambini, prima migliori amici poi innamorati fino a quando un segreto non li dividerà. La casa lasciata ad entrambi dalla nonna di Amelia sarà ciò che li costringerà a rivedersi e, complice anche il destino, contribuirà a dare una svolta a quel rapporto sospeso tanti anni prima.
Buona la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, poco originale la storia ma, nel complesso, decorosamente costruita anche se scade nei soliti cliché.
Quattro stelle stiracchiate.
( )

This is an author who elicits strong emotions in me based on her characters, plots, and the like. The premise of her books aren't often plausible, but the heroes tend to be flawed (which I like). That was especially difficult to get over in Justin at times, but good lord, I loved him. While he was a bitter jerk for the first half of the book, the flashbacks established him as a rock-steady friend.
Ultimately, the development and reconnection in these two won me over, although I felt the book was at times disorganized or like some development was unnecessary. IT didn't stop me from reading it obsessively. Justin's honesty, without being 100% forthcoming was a very nice balance.

I also want to know what the hell is with Ms. Ward's obsession with the men &breast milk
I loved that he was a "normal" musician. One issue I had was that I'm not sure Amelia should've shouldered so much blame for their falling out. The premise was, in this case, utterly preposterous.

Sorry my thoughts are a bit disjointed, I'm tired tonight! I don't know how to tag this book- second chance ,friends to lovers, hate to love. It has all those. I love all those. ( )

Wow, so good! Had me in tears towards the end. This was a great story. Will definitely be checking out other books by this author. ( )