{"id":65720,"date":"2022-07-31T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=65720"},"modified":"2024-04-11T04:02:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T08:02:15","slug":"review-weight-of-regret-camp-bexley-1-by-k-k-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=65720","title":{"rendered":"Review: Weight of Regret (Camp Bexley, #1) by K.K. Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

3 \u201cno regrets\u201d stars<\/b><\/p>\n

An angsty friends-to-lovers, almost-second-chance romance that is sexy and heartfelt, I enjoyed this one.<\/p>\n

This is the first book in the Camp Bexley<\/i>, which spins off from book #4 of the Bellecurve<\/em> series (Over the Moon<\/em>), though you don\u2019t have to read that one first. I actually read the second book in this series, Moments in Time<\/a> first, because at the time it hadn\u2019t been labelled part of a series and I didn\u2019t know I was reading out of order. But the books read well as standalones, with just enough hint of other characters\u2019 stories to have you wanting to read more.<\/p>\n

Hope has spent the last few years living and working at a family-run campground. She was the activities director, and loved her job, but it was her unrequited love for camp owner, Anderson Bexley, that ultimately drove her away when he gave her a heartbreaking push to go and live her life and pursue her career dreams in the city. A year has passed, and she\u2019s done exactly that \u2013 she has a brand new job, and a friend with benefits (who just happens to be her boss), and she\u2019s worked hard to make a success of herself and put her past behind her. But then she gets her first big solo marketing project, and it\u2019s none other than the reopening of the newly renovated Camp Bexley.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the problem with unrequited love. It doesn\u2019t give back, even when you think you\u2019re on the verge of something spectacular. It\u2019s like looking into a one-way mirror, knowing in the depths of your soul that you\u2019re standing in front of the one<\/i>, but he never sees you in return. Still, you try. It\u2019s an addiction. A trap. And the deeper you fall, the harder it is to climb your way out. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anderson is a complex man who has dealt with a lot of pain in his life, but his life is his camp, his family legacy, and it\u2019s his dream that one day his brothers will all return home to help him run it just like they always planned before devastating circumstances pulled them all apart. In the meantime, he\u2019s determined to build the camp to be what they wanted it to be. What he doesn\u2019t expect is for his new marketing expert to be the woman he pushed away a year earlier, breaking his own heart in the process.<\/p>\n

The second I recognize Hope is the moment the pain of losing her comes crashing and burning all around me. The damage I did, the woman I lost, the deep-seeded desire I smothered like it wasn\u2019t the last flame left standing in my life.
\nShe was the one. The only one I\u2019d ever felt could make my dimly lit world a better place, and I pushed her away as though she didn\u2019t even matter. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The dual POV allows us to get right to the heart of these characters and we very quickly realise that there\u2019s so much more to Anderson than we originally thought. He is a man who feels deeply, and who does what he thinks is best for others \u2013 at the expense of himself. A year ago, he thought he was doing the right thing by letting Hope go. Not only is she ten years younger than he is, but she had a huge future ahead of her and he didn\u2019t want to stand in the way of that. But now she\u2019s back, that spark that always existed between them is still very much there, and he realises this is his chance to win her back.<\/p>\n

The last time I gave Hope the space I thought she needed, she walked away and left a big, gaping hole in my chest. I won\u2019t make that mistake again.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anderson hurt Hope badly, and he has a lot that he needs to make up for, but she\u2019s on a mission to be nothing but professional during her two week stay at the camp while she works on the reopening. It\u2019s a bit snarky to begin with as they both work through their feelings about their reunion, and Hope is understandably still angry and hurt, but Anderson is single-minded in his pursuit, and it\u2019s beautifully emotion as they finally start to lay it all out for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew you\u2019d leave one day. You were young and still figuring out what you wanted to do with your life. You were bound to leave, whether I pushed you away or not. Everyone leaves.\u201d
\nFrom my peripheral, I can see her scan me like she\u2019s assessing my expression. \u201dI\u2019m not everyone. I was yours. And you were the only one who couldn\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right. About everything.\u201d I bend down to touch my forehead to hers. \u201cI was cruel, and I forced you to leave when it was the last thing I wanted you to do. I\u2019ve never wanted anyone to stay more.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s so much emotion between these two, and the chemistry absolutely sizzles. I was feeling it all, but there is the pesky issue of Hope\u2019s boss and lover…<\/p>\n

<\/span>Spoiler<\/div>
Was there cheating? Ugh, it’s borderline. Hope isn\u2019t in a committed relationship with her boss, Dexter, but he wants one, and they are monogamous. They decided that she would use her time at the camp to think about their arrangement and whether she wants to commit to more with him. She absolutely crosses lines with Anderson before she ends things with Dexter \u2013 more than once. And Dexter finds out by actually catching them together, even though she had multiple opportunities to tell him, which is bad. . It\u2019s a messy situation, and the way it was handled was not how I wished it was, and that definitely impacted on how I felt about Anderson and Hope finally coming together. There\u2019s no question they are right for each other, I just wanted it to happen a bit differently.<\/div><\/div>\n

But the love story is gorgeous (and super sexy), and I liked seeing these two finally find their way to each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou brought me back to life at a time I needed it most. If you think if you think I\u2019m giving up on you now then you\u2019re wrong. I get a second chance to show you exactly what you mean to me \u2013 and just how far I\u2019ll go to keep you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is some drama from the aforementioned boss, and the fact that Hope has created a life for herself away from Camp Bexley. She\u2019s determined to protect herself, and her new career, but will she have the strength to walk away from Anderson again, or can she have it all?<\/p>\n

I enjoyed this book. It didn\u2019t hit me in the feels as much as I was hoping \u2013 probably because of the issues in the spoiler \u2013 but definitely a good read. We get a bit of an introduction to who Anderson\u2019s brothers are (and I already know I love Jamison), and I\u2019m keen to continue on with the series as the boys find their way home.<\/p>\n

3 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Camp Bexley<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Weight of Regret (#1)<\/strong> (Anderson & Hope)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Moments in Time (#2)<\/strong> (Jamison & Violet)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Heart of Stone (#3) <\/strong>(Benson & Brooklyn)
\nReview<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Blanket of Stars (#4)<\/strong> (Cayson)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meet K.K. Allen<\/strong><\/h4>\n

K.K. Allen is the USA TODAY Bestselling and award-winning contemporary romance author of sweet, sexy, and inspiring stories that evoke emotion at every turn.<\/p>\n

K.K.’s debut romance novel, Up in the Treehouse, was named the Best New Adult Book of the Year by RT Book Reviews, an honor beyond belief. And she continues to take reader\u2019s emotions on an epic ride every single time with real, layered, coming of age romance stories that will make you fall in love over and over again.<\/p>\n

Born in Hawaii, raised in Washington, and currently residing in Florida, K.K. lives for laughs with her little dude, the great outdoors, watching football, dancing the night away, and her eclectic taste in music.<\/p>\n

K.K. also loves connecting with her readers and attends signings when she can! You can find upcoming event dates and other information at: www.kkallen.com.<\/p>\n

Connect with K.K. Allen:<\/p>\n

Newsletter\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Website\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Facebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Goodreads\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Intagram\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon Review 3 \u201cno regrets\u201d stars An angsty friends-to-lovers, almost-second-chance romance that is sexy and heartfelt, I enjoyed this one. This is the first book in the Camp Bexley, which spins off from book #4 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1548,25,9,24,29],"tags":[1407,1380,48],"class_list":["post-65720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-age-gap","category-friends-to-lovers","category-romance","category-second-chance-romance","category-steamy","tag-camp-bexley","tag-k-k-allen","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Weight-of-Regret.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-h60","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/65252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}