Where to begin. This story just tore at my heartstrings, one moment I’m mad at Elena for choosing Chad, then the next I’m crying when she leaves Adam to go back to Chad. Life changing story in some of the best and worst of ways. As in most if not all of Jaxson’s books it is told in both past and present times so you get to know them as teenagers hanging out at parties and as grown ups trying to survive. Some would say its a second chance at romance but I like to say its a chance at first love with the one you were meant to be with from the beginning even when only one of you knew you loved the other.

Back in high school, Elena and Adam are best friends, but with Adam secretly being in love with her and Elena being with Chad. Chad, who is a star baseball player on his way to the big leagues, and Elena, not really sure what she wants out of life, is kind of along for the ride. It’s just Adam and his mom at home, when he has a home. Adam will do anything for Elena. He is always there for her when Chad does something to upset her. After graduation, they both go their separate ways and don’t speak to one another for years until one day Elena show up on his door steps in tears, due to Chad cheating on her.

In their time apart, Elena works at a real estate office and wrote and published a book in her off time, hoping she would be able to write more and hit it big. Meanwhile, Chad gets injured in baseball and she ends up helping him recover. During a drunk evening, she writes ten pages and sends them to her agent who demands more. She stays in writer’s block territory for a long time. Adam never left their small town just went through a lot while battling some demons that still lurk under the surface.

When you start finding out what he went through in the years apart, that has lead to some of those demons, your heart just aches for him to find love with someone-even if it’s not with Elena. The little things he does for her shows how much he has always cared for and loved her. When she finally tells him she loves him, and realizes that she always had, she tells him that it should have been him from the beginning and he tells her no, it wasn’t time and they would not have worked.

Throughout their journey to HEA they have some demons to work through, both alone and together. The side characters you meet add extended family to the story. Charlie’s words of wisdom to Elena are golden.

Kindle Edition Publication Date: March 5, 2019 Pages: 354 Adult 18+ Romance, Addiction