e-ALC, 13:47:40
Narrated by: Blair Young, Emily Elden, Alex Raby, and Sean Patrick Hopkins
Release Date: September 2, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: September 6-8, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a free ALC from the publisher and their app. I also received a free ARC of this from the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review)
Content Warning: Death of a Parent, Sexual Content, Grief, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, Toxic Relationship, Bullying
For Readers Interested In: Adult, Audio, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Grumpy/Sunshine, Small Town Romance, Slow Burn, Historical FictionMy new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.
I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out.
Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.
Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.
Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe.
Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards.
So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I heard about this, I was like ok, it’s set in the 90’s. It’s going to be good, but I won’t feel THAT much. And let me just tell you how wrong I was lol I had SO MUCH FUN with this one. And yeah it’s a 13 romance, but it goes so fast y’all. I promise you won’t even realize how long it really was.
Ok so the main thing I loved about this was the nostalgia. With every mention of a camcorder, a pager, The Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, cassette tapes, just everything that was straight out of my childhood, I fell deeper and deeper for this book. Take me back to when things were better than they are now. In Fall of 97 I was turning 9, so I had no worries. Much like the kiddos in this book. And let me tell you, I thought about that the whole book lol Not because it was bad, but because I liked it that much. I kept thinking that they’d be my age now and for whatever reason, I loved that.
The romance was cute. It was a slow burn and y’all know how I feel about those. I did think it could have been edited a bit more, but even still it was moving so fast I didn’t even realize I was actually flying through it? I did feel a ways about this tho because I kept agreeing with Cliff. And y’all know how I feel about agreeing with the MMC lol I had to remember she was grieving. But she was terrible for a good bit of this and it threw me off. I meannnnn she had to cuss him out to let him know she liked him lol But when they finally got it together, I was like ok, they work well. And the way he and his kids softened her when he needed to made my insides melt. They were so cute and I loved the way they just immediately became a perfect family without even trying.
Lastly, the extras that were there? Like the epilogue, and the Y2K one? LEGIT cutest thing I’ve read this year. I think I’ve read those twice. I don’t think I’ve fell into a book this hard like ever. I felt like I was sitting there with them. The writing style and imagery was beautiful. It really felt like a Hallmark movie. Is that how every small town romance is? I need to know what’s in it because I need more of it. Maybe it’s just the Fall vibes. I can’t tell you about that because Fall makes me legit sick lol (My allergies are terrible) But it seems like it’s cozy and comfortable and fun and that’s exactly what this book was for me.
This book was much needed after reading another just like it. I couldn’t get enough of it. But then it got really bad because I needed even more. So look out tomorrow for some more ideas. You’ll understand why lol
Overall, I give this
