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Blurb
When I returned to Poplar Falls six years ago, I’d given up on love.
I’d made the mistake of marrying the sexy rebel right out of high school. He’d ended up in jail. I’d ended up pregnant. With a baby on the way, I decided to give up my wild, impulsive ways. All I wanted was a family and to watch my sweet son grow up, happy, and healthy.
Then Myer Wilson keeps showing up in my life—and my son’s life.
He’s the hometown football hero, who blew out his ankle his junior year and ended his career. I didn’t look twice at hot jocks in high school. But now that he’s taken over his family’s ranch, I can’t help but look even when I swore off men for good.
But maybe he’ll finally be the one to help me let go of the past and find my second chance at love. Or maybe my past will come back to haunt me.
Review
3.5 stars!
This is a cute little story. A small-town, single parent, friends-to-lovers romance, it is the second book in the Poplar Falls series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Dallas grew up in the small town of Poplar Falls. She married her high school sweetheart right after graduation, but ended up pregnant and alone when he was sent to jail. Now she’s back on her family’s ranch and raising her adorable six year old with the help of her family, and she’s working hard to create the best life for the two of them that she can.
Myer Wilson is the best friend of Dallas’ older brother, Payne. His family own the ranch next to hers and he’s been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, and she’s always been able to rely on him for anything. He’s especially good with her son, Beau, and he forms a part of her wide circle of supportive friends. But Dallas doesn’t know that Myer is madly in love with her.
Dallas is completely clueless about Myers’ feelings, and though she acknowledges his attractiveness, she’s never felt anything more for him than friendship. But that all changes when she unexpectedly starts to see him as more than a big brother figure, and all of a sudden she’s feeling all kinds of things.
The romance is slow to get started, with a lot of the book spent setting up the two characters, seeing them with their group of friends, and coming to understand their completely platonic relationship. The only hint is Myers’ little comments now and then that go completely over Dallas’ head, and it’s only once we start getting some chapters in his perspective that we learn of the depth of his feelings.
“I don’t want to put her fire out. I want to sit back and enjoy the burn. She doesn’t need to change a thing. She just needs someone to love her and love Beau with all he has, just the way they are.”
“You that man?” Payne asks, all the amusement gone from his voice.
“If she lets me be, I’ll be that man every single day for the rest of both their lives – or the rest of mine at the very least.”
Their shift to something more happens naturally, and though it’s slow to happen, once the move is made, things progress pretty quickly, which I was really happy about. Dallas is understandably tentative, but Myers has waited long enough, and though he’s nothing but supportive and understanding, he has this gruff alpha cowboy side which is so freaking swoony, and I loved watching the romance start to unfold.
“If we go inside, it’s gonna change everything,” she whispers.
What she doesn’t realize is, everything already has changed.
“Yeah,” I agree. “You ready for that?”
“I don’t know,” she answers honestly.
I sit up and take her mouth again. She opens and melts into the kiss.
When I pull back, I look her in the eye and whisper across her lips, “Yes, you do.”
Having been friends for so long, of course their feelings for each other are deep and complicated, and it’s a really sweet journey watching them figure everything out. Little Beau is a gorgeous addition to the story, and his relationship with Myer melted my heart.
There’s a bit of drama, some which was expected, some which came out of nowhere, but it’s all handled well and this book finishes with a beautifully happy ending that left me with a big smile on my face.
There’s a lot of focus given to life on the ranch – probably a bit too much for me, and I would have preferred a bit more focus on the love story, but it all fits together well, and I got enough romance to keep me invested.
The couple from the previous book are a big part of things, and there is some continuation for their story in this book, as well as some possible setups for future books. There’s a big group of side characters, and it was a bit hard to remember who was who and how they all fit together (even after finishing the book I still don’t have a handle on who everybody is), but I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and am looking forward to reading more of this series.
Definitely a good read – 3.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Poplar Falls
Rustic Hearts (#1)
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Stone Hearts (#2)
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Wicked Hearts (#3)
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Fragile Hearts (#4)
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Crazy Hearts (#5)
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Excerpt
We drop Sonia off first, and then I head to Dallas’s. About halfway there, she starts yawning. She kicks her boots off and curls her legs up in the seat of the truck.
I do my best to keep my eyes on the damn road. That dress has been driving me crazy all night. It fits her perfect and hugs her curves in all the right places.
“Myer, I think I might be drunk,” she says as she closes her eyes and lays her head back against the seat.
“You think so, huh?” I say playfully.
She peeks one eye open and looks at me. “You’re handsome,” she says with a slight slur.
“Thank you.” I chuckle.
“I’m serious. You are. You had Charlotte all hot and bothered tonight,” she insists.
“Is that right? Must be why she stayed with Walker.” I smirk.
“No, no, she stayed with Walker because I told her to back off you,” she says, and then her eyes fly open and meet mine. “I mean, I told her you weren’t that kind of guy,” she tries to explain.
“You mean, the kind of guy who would want to go home with a beautiful woman?” I ask just to tease her.
“You think she’s beautiful?” she asks and then shakes her head. “Of course you do; she is beautiful.”
“She is,” I agree. “But you’re right. The only beautiful woman I want to take home is the one in my truck,” I say as I smile over at her.
She bites her lip. “You think I’m beautiful?” she asks as if she doesn’t believe me.
“Dallas Stovall, I think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met,” I answer honestly.
She blinks at me as if the words aren’t registering.
“Really?” she breathes.
I grin and cut my eyes from the road to her. “You know you’re gorgeous.”
Her forehead crinkles, and she shakes her head.
“I’m a mess,” she whispers into the cab.
I reach over and take her hand into mine. She lays her head back down, and before we make it to her house, she is fast asleep.
I put the truck in park, and I walk to her side and open the door. I give her a gentle jostle to wake her. She barely rouses.
“Hey, we’re home,” I tell her.
She mumbles something incoherent and hands her keys over to me.
I unlock her front door and turn the lamp beside the door on. Then, I go back for her.
I pick her and her boots up. She wraps her arms around my neck. I carefully walk her to the house and to the couch. She curls up on her side and immediately passes back out. I walk into Beau’s room and grab a pillow from his bed. I bring it and place it under her head.
I throw the blanket off the back of the couch over her and kiss the top of her head. I whisper, “Good night,” and quietly let myself out, taking her keys and locking the dead bolt behind me.
About the Author
Amber Kelly is a romance author that calls North Carolina home. She has been a avid reader from a young age and you could always find her with her nose in a book completely enthralled in an adventure. With the support of her husband and family, in 2018, she decided to finally give a voice to the stories in her head and her debut novel, Both of Me was born.
You can connect with Amber on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorAmberKelly, on IG @authoramberkelly or on twitter @AuthorAmberKel1.