After All by Heidi McLaughlin

I would love to say this is a second chance love story with all the feelings. But in my opinion this is also friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers love story. For me it's all of these.

I have read few Heidi McLaughlin's books before and I have loved all of them. I got a chance to meet her in London last fall. She is a wonderful woman. She surely knows how to write a book with a roller coaster of emotions. 

I got After All from NetGalley. Thank you for giving me an ARC to review. It was truly my honor to read this book before hand. 

I fell in love with the cover. It's so serene. The sunset (or sunrise) is so beautiful. I didn't read the blurb before I started reading, because sometimes blurbs spoil a lot. But you can find a blurb in here if you want to check it out. And it won't spoil anything. I just love to dive in blind.

The book is written in third POV, which took some time from me to get used to. But that's just me, because once I got pass my issues I had no problems with reading. I read this book almost in a one sitting. 

The book starts with Brooklyn coming back to Cape Harbor, the place where she spent her teen years. Back to the same town where she fell in love with Austin, the local boy who was loved by everyone. Back to the same town where she lost the love of her life. Back to the town she left behind and never looked back. The town isn't all she left behind, because once she comes back she sees that there are still the people she once cared about. 

Bowie lost so much more than a best friend 15 years ago. He lost two friends. One to the sea and another one just disappeared without a trace. His life hasn't always been easy. He's struggling with his company and once he's offered to renovate the local inn he jumps on board. 

What these two doesn't know is that they're supposed to work together. They are supposed to bring the life back in inn. The inn that once was so great and was a special place for local. But the inn hadn't been the same for 15 years. While they are building the inn together it's hard to ignore one another. Old feelings and ways to behave come back. 

They struggle to let go of the past and move on. The events from the past can be powerful and they can keep you from living your fullest life. Small town brings its own vibes. Everyone knows everyone and everyone thinks they know everything. So many secrets waiting to come out and open. So many people and feelings to sort out.

For me this book is mainly about friends and family. No matter what happens you should be able to turn to your friends and find comfort with them. But I can clearly see why Brooklyn did what she did. I can understand how heartbroken she was. I also understand why Bowie reacts as he does. This book felt really real.

I liked how we got to see inside of both of them heads. I like dual POV. The book mainly happens in present time, but I loved how there were scenes from the past. A solid summer read. Or a winter read, because you feel the summer coming out of that book. Four summer stars!

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After All by Heidi McLaughlin

Montlake Romance

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