{"id":68353,"date":"2023-01-26T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=68353"},"modified":"2023-01-25T01:15:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T06:15:48","slug":"release-arc-review-letting-go-at-40-lakeside-cottage-4-by-l-b-dunbar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=68353","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Letting Go at 40 (Lakeside Cottage, #4) by L.B. Dunbar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Letting Go at 40 by L.B. Dunbar is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The fourth and final book in the Lakeside Cottage<\/i> series, this is the long-awaited story for Anna and Mason. A love-after-loss, unrequited love, friends-to-lovers romance, it was everything I was hoping it would be, with so many feels, and I loved this story!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Free in KU<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

She didn’t think it could ever happen again. Love that is. And it definitely shouldn’t be\u00a0happening with him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anna Kulis has lost her husband. Their love was a perfect kind of love; a once in a lifetime experience. She never intended to find love again. Never expected to have this attraction stirring inside her. And she never thought her emotions would run wild for the one man she shouldn\u2019t be attracted to – her late husband\u2019s best friend.<\/p>\n

Mason Becker has a secret. As a renowned ladies\u2019 man, he\u2019s been in love with his best friend\u2019s wife for twenty-five years. After his friend\u2019s untimely death, and a period of grief, Mason finds himself in a compromising position with the one woman he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d ever have. And that night leads to complications – namely, a desire for more.<\/p>\n

Letting go can be one of the hardest tasks for the heart.
\nOpening up to a second chance at love can be even harder.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

The fourth and final book in the Lakeside Cottage<\/i> series, this is the long-awaited story for Anna and Mason. A love-after-loss, unrequited love, friends-to-lovers romance, it was everything I was hoping it would be, with so many feels, and I loved this story!<\/p>\n

Mason and Anna\u2019s love story was hinted at in the first book of the series, when Anna\u2019s husband announced that he was dying, and his friends gathered around to support the couple through his illness, and after his death. Mason was there for all of it, helping in the most practical of ways, and staying on to support Anna and her children. Though Anna was in no condition to even think about another man, there were hints that Mason felt more for his wife\u2019s friend, and we\u2019ve seen glimpses of that over each of the books in the series.<\/p>\n

Now, we get to see all of those little moments in detail, as this book takes us back to the events of the first book of the series, showing us Mason and Anna\u2019s story from the beginning, over the course of three years as Anna crawls out from under her grief, and Mason finally gets his chance to be with the woman he has loved for decades.<\/p>\n

Anna is more than a friend. She\u2019s the closest thing I\u2019ve ever had to commitment. I\u2019m dedicated to her, to <\/i>us, to the potential of what we could be if she\u2019d only let me in. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mason is a wonderfully complex character. In the past he\u2019s been a bit of a player, and there are mentions of him having a daughter that he has little to do with, but there is SO much more to him than we know, and I loved this chance to explore him further and really get to know him. My heart ached for all that he was going through, and it made all the ways that he was there for Ben, Anna, and their children, all the more amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t lose you next.\u201d
\n\u201cSweetheart.\u201d His quiet groan is a plea \u2026 \u201cNo one else is leaving, Anna. Especially not me.\u201d He squeezes me tighter. \u201cI\u2019m not going anywhere. I\u2019m here for you as long as you need me.\u201d
\nDid I need him? I swore I never would. Oh, how my feelings have changed.
\nI very much want Mason in my life. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The romance is a slow burn, which is absolutely needed to be. Though Mason has loved Anna for years, they\u2019re both grieving, and as their friendship shifts and changes over time, there\u2019s all the expected guilt, shame, fear and heartbreak that they need to deal with. It\u2019s a bit of an angsty ride, which makes sense for their situation, but there are glimpses of what they could be if they both just let go.<\/p>\n

\u201cMason, we can\u2019t keep doing this.\u201d
\n\u201cDoing what?\u201d
\n\u201cWinding each other up, only to walk away.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat if I don\u2019t want to walk away?\u201d What if I want to hold tight and never let go?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dunbar writes with so much emotion, and I felt so much while reading this book! Though the love between them feels natural, it\u2019s not an easy situation for either of them, and I could understand where both of the characters were coming from, and the challenges they faced. And while Anna is figuring out how to move on, Mason is figuring out how to let go of the past and fight for the life that he wants. And watching the two of them move closer and closer together was so beautiful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe things you do to me. My body. My heart \u2026 You could shatter me, but fuck do I want to be broken by you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The love story is emotional, passionate, real, raw, and beautifully swoony, and through it all, I loved that Ben, and his relationship with both Anna and with Mason, was respected and cherished. I could feel Anna\u2019s torment, and I thought Mason absolutely shone as the romantic hero fighting for his girl with the utmost respect to her and her past, and I loved seeing these two finally get their happy ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnna. I\u2019ve loved you from afar for over twenty-five years. And now, I\u2019d like to love you up close.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The characters from previous books all appear, and it was so good seeing them again. There\u2019s a fantastic dynamic to this group, which has become closer and more important as the series goes on, and I loved seeing them all happy, together, and living their HEAs.<\/p>\n

I have loved this series, and this book finishes it off on a huge high. This is a beautifully written story with all the feels, and I absolutely loved it!<\/p>\n

5 stars!<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Lakeside Cottage<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

Living at 40 (#1)<\/strong> (Logan & Autumn)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon US<\/a><\/p>\n

Learning at 40 (#2)<\/strong> (Zach & River)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon US<\/a><\/p>\n

Loving at 40 (#3) <\/strong>(Archer & Jenna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Letting Go at 40 (#4) <\/strong>(Mason & Anna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"Inn to You (#2.5)<\/strong> (Noah & Tessa)
\nReview<\/a>
\nFree: Available from Prolific Works<\/a><\/p>\n

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About L.B. Dunbar<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever. Along with her #sexysilverfox collection, she’s made Amazon Top 10 in Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. She is also a USA Today Bestseller. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver\u00a0fox.<\/p>\n

To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.<\/p>\n

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Website\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Goodreads\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Facebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Facebook Group<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Instagram\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 TikTok\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Bookbub\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Verve Romance<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

  Letting Go at 40 by L.B. Dunbar is live! The fourth and final book in the Lakeside Cottage series, this is the long-awaited story for Anna and Mason. A love-after-loss, unrequited love, friends-to-lovers romance, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,52,49,25,9,1036,29],"tags":[59,956,1275,48],"class_list":["post-68353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angsty","category-drama","category-feeeeeeels","category-friends-to-lovers","category-romance","category-single-parent","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-l-b-dunbar","tag-lakeside-cottage","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\/Letting-Go-at-30.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-hMt","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68353","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=68353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}