By: Rees Aurin
Many thanks to Grey’s Promos for the ARC of this book!
Astrid was dragged to Orange Falls to plan a wedding, but she needed a change after losing her dad. On the way there with her friend Kelly, there is an issue with the car and they are rescued by Aeron – a real grump. Every time she encounters him, he’s anything other than nice and uses some choice words to describe him. Now, she’s stuck planning the town’s summer festival with him! But then there’s an incident with a watch that makes Astrid break down, and he’s her shoulder to cry own… and that breaks down her walls. Nothing is perfect, however; Aeron has a secret that could hurt Astrid.
I wasn’t so sure about this book when I first started reading it. I couldn’t see these two getting together and making it work. Even when he was her shoulder to cry on – I thought it was a sweet gesture, but I still wasn’t buying it. Then the Ferris Wheel scene happened and I was sold. I was sold on them as a couple, and I was sold on him as one of the sweetest MMCs that I have read. Seriously, he said the sweetest things and he really did just want to take care of Astrid.
I don’t know if this is this author’s first book or not, but there definitely could have been some editing to this book to make it a stronger romance novel. There were a LOT of A names… Astrid, Aeron, and then Aeron’s friends, Allen and Ayden. I could follow them all, but maybe different names would be better. I also may have thrown Astrid and Aeron together a bit more earlier on in the book – it just felt like it took a little too long to get there. There were also some chapters that was from Aeron’s POV, I wish there were a little more of them. Astrid’s behavior sometimes was a little childish – stomping on feet, kicking in the shin – I’m not sure that was necessary. And lastly, the last chapter seemed to have ended abruptly. I thought I was missing pages! I went back to see if I was just confused because I was tired.
I will say, that those things did NOT take away from falling in love with these two after the Ferris Wheel scene. Once that scene occurred, I did feel the chemistry between the characters. I also really loved the friendship between Astrid and Kelly – they were so supportive of each other and I just love seeing really awesome female friendships.
There is also a small theme of loss in this book, which could have been explored a little more and had the characters connect on it a little more, but I also think that this topic is handled well.
All in all, a nice quick read. It’s out now, so check it out!
Publish Date: June 12, 2025
Find it here.
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