Thank you so much to Avon for the advance copy!

I am so so mad at myself for waiting this long to read this book! I was not a fan of Dade's last book so I was hesitant to start this but after several of trusted reader friends raved about it, it was time to dive in.

This book is out now!

"You've never bored me. Not for a fraction of an instant."

I honestly thought this was going to have paranormal element (I could've sworn I read that somewhere) but it very clearly did not. A spite house was a new term for me though once I learned more about it while reading it, I realize that it definitely was not a new concept. I love that we got see Athena and Matthew meet at the engagement party before it all went downhill so we could see their spark. When Athena ended up moving in, in between the brothers (which was a choice by the author) they were forced to play nice. I am not sure if I would've done all the spiteful things that Athena did to Matthew just to agitate him. He took it with stride.

Chapter 11 to 13 were the most beautiful chapters and had me in all my feels. Matthew was just so tender and the moments between him and Athena just felt so real. And even typing this was making me emotional. We all deserve to have those individuals who will do whatever it is to make sure you are okay. "I know you're lost right now, Athena. I know you're damaged. But you're seeking new worlds sweetheart, and sometimes that's what happens." My heart just broke for Athena because she had so much change in such a short time and she never fully dealt with those changes. It just felt so relatable and turning 37 this year I felt the failures that Athena felt. It just hit me hard and made me reflect on moments in my life where I needed a Matthew.

Dade is a masterclass of writing sex scenes for plus size characters. She has a way with her words that just make you feel all those ooey gooey feelings. She knows the mechanics of the female body and the partner has the gentleness that you want to read in a romance. There was something about Matthew that was new for me in a romance and thought that was a refreshing take and unexpected. I was so happy she took advantage of their apartment proximity.

I am still rating this book high because of the emotions and reflecting it had me mentaling doing while reading. But the whole brothers triangle was just not something that I enjoyed and I knew there was going to be pain and anger regarding it as always does. Even though I thought Dade did as best as she could with the storyline and I am glad that this was a dual 3rd POV because we got to see the brothers interact. I had so many love hate moments with Johnny and though I didn't fully understand why Matthew was so against Athena in the beginning. It only makes me wonder what Johnny was telling Matthew and making her seem like she was one thing but as Matthew learned he was very incorrect about. Also the moment towards the end at the cemetery just squeezed at my heart. I actually would've loved more about their parents. Perhaps this trope would've worked for me more if there was more time between them reconnecting and not so soon after the engagement ending.

I also felt like she could have cut some parts out to make the book a tad shorter. Did we really need to get the detailed of all the audiobooks (granted I think this sets up for next book)? Or every time someone needed to google something new?

I paired my reading with the audiobook (thank you Libby) and I thought Joy Nash did such a great job narrating! She has such a playful tone and her male voice made me melt.

I am looking forward to the next book because honestly I have no idea what Karl is going to look like or anything about him! But his personality was great!

If you are a fan of Olivia definitely check this one out but proceed with caution because even with the antics and small town feels there is also a lot of real topics dealt with.