Now, at twenty-five, Madison has long since stopped believing in love. Balancing single parenthood, three jobs, and online courses, she doesn’t have the time anyway.

while the single mum trope usually has a sexy guy coming into her life who adores the shit out of her kid(s) and sweeps her off her feet. there is zero contest for me.madison is one of the strongest characters i’ve ever read. she managed to raise, jamie, a young boy with such a passion heart, while also balancing multiple jobs to make sure her son can live comfortably. i just want to give her a big hug, she doesn’t deserve any of the things she had to go through. He was many things. A barkeep, a friend, an artist, a lover. But one thing he was not, was monogamous. It was even more surreal when Jamie brought his book out, and he and I read on the couch while Garrett stretched out on the floor, eyes closed and hands behind his head, listening.

The book was also SO LONG. I could've spent that extra hour reading, sleeping, or eating instead of suffering through this. There are like 4 toxic men in the mc's past/ present (and I'm obviously counting Garrett cause that relationship is going to last as long as my patience). FOUR. And honestly, it's not that I believe that this isn't possible in real life, because it obviously is, but it seemed over the top for me. The author could've focused a lot more on overcoming past relationships/ trauma, rather than ADDING more to it, which felt unnecessary. Madison gave her heart to a boy at the age of 16, but all she got in return was a broken heart and a swollen belly. He's the definition of a man she should run from. Dark hair, tattoos, and a smile that instantly has her squeezing her thighs together. He didn’t date. Didn’t believe in tying himself down to only one person to touch and taste for the rest of his life.

so by default, i was gonna love this. it really gave me everything this trope does so well— the cute kid, the sexy neighbour who’s a grump but a big softie, the sweet heroine, the slow pining and tension, the fun best friend... yeah, this one just hit. single mum romances featuring a sexy, grumpy next-door neighbour hero are my kryptonite. Wait for It, River Wild and One Percent of You are some of my favourite books, period. Also, her boss is a complete creep and is always harassing her and getting in on her personal space. Then she did the same thing to Garrett (her neighbor and love interest) and thought it was completely fine (he might have been okay with it, but they barely knew each other and she shouldn't have done that). By that, I mean that she got into his personal space trying to... seduce him? Embarrass him? I honestly don't know.