New Release & ARC Review: What I Should’ve Said by Max Monroe

What I Should’ve Said
by Max Monroe

Released – 19 April 2024

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Audio: Coming soon

Blurb

When grumpy, muscled-up artist Bennett Bishop bothers to speak, it’s usually to say something you’re not ready to hear.

When he first speaks to Norah Ellis, a rambling runaway bride who hitchhikes a ride from him, it’s to tell her to get out of his truck and walk because she’s a pain in the a-s-s.

By appearance, Norah Ellis is a fancy fashionista who’s spent the last several years living the good life in the city—expensive apartments, highbrow events, and a fiancé with wealth and good looks. The only problem is that she didn’t choose any of it for herself.

On the day of her July wedding, thanks to a letter from a stranger, Norah’s world turns upside down. She runs for the hills of Vermont to start a new life, but what’s waiting for her, between her estranged sister, the townspeople, and bad-boy Bennett Bishop himself, is way more than she bargained for.

Enemies turn to lovers, strangers become friends, dark secrets bust open like cans of worms, and most of all…Summer will never be the same.

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Review

5 stars!

Norah is running from her life and her ex. She doesn’t quite know what she wants but she knows it’s not him. She also doesn’t know what to do with the secret in the envelope that she received before she ran out of her wedding.

Bennett is broody and mysterious. He doesn’t want anything to do with Norah but she happens to pop up everywhere he is. When she applies and gets the job with the local artist who she finds out later is none other than Bennett, she couldn’t be more surprised, except maybe for the artist himself when he learns that she is the one to pass his interview.

Both Bennett and Norah are hiding things they refuse to reveal. I wanted to know what Norah discovered as well as what the word Summer meant to Bennett, and I couldn’t devour this story faster even though I didn’t want it to end.

Bennett keeps to himself. He doesn’t let people in and he’s content with those he calls his family and friends. He doesn’t want to meet new people but he can’t seem to get away from Norah and it is wonderful watching him open up to her and showing her everything he holds dear in his life. Seeing Norah grow is also beautiful. She hasn’t chosen anything for herself and I loved when she finally decides what she wants and lets Bennett into her heart.

I adore these characters. They are wonderfully complex and are full of emotion. Their personal lives really tug at your heartstrings and the two of them together are exactly what the other didn’t know they needed. Their story is a gorgeous slow burn with electric moments that will light the pages on fire. I loved the push and pull and when Bennett and Norah finally acknowledged what they could have together, it’s amazing.

When it’s right, you don’t have to search.
You don’t find love. Love finds you.

And then there is Summer. She is just the sweetest. I don’t want to spoil anything but her part of the story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time! Tears will come fast and hard as you turn the pages but you heart will be so full by the time you reach the end.

I also love the side characters. From Josie and Clay (I need their story) to Norah’s best friend Lil, this story is filled with is a great group of people who are entertaining and intriguing. I can’t wait for more!!

*ARC generously provided by the author*

About Max Monroe

A duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.

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