July Tate and Joe Anderson were sixteen and deep in love twenty years before, until Joe mysteriously disappears and July never hears from him again. Twenty years later, July owns a wildly popular restaurant in her hometown of Galway, North Carolina, and Joe shows up.
Joe came from an abusive family, and his father didn't like to stick around where his wife and son could make friends. So one night, he drugs Joe and they move to Germany. Joe writes July letter upon letter, but never gets a response. He gives up.
Now they're both 36. Joe's parents are both gone, he's created fantastic financial opportunities for himself, and he finds out all the letters he wrote July were kept by his mother--never sent. He has never stopped loving July, so he decides to move to Galway, go back to school for social work, and find July.
July is floored to see Joe. His leaving wrecked her, and she can't go back. But oh boy the sizzle and love have never left, and most of the book is the two of them dancing around each other; trying desperately to figure out what they mean to each other and if they can start over again.
This was a great romance. I loved the small hometown; the characters are well drawn out and wow what a circle of friends July has in Galway. Rosie and Angus from the first novel are characters, so if you read their story, you get a peek into their lives after their novel ended.
There are sensitive subjects in this novel: domestic abuse, stalking, depression, eating disorder, and disowning parents of a young gay teen. However, they are handled very well and shouldn't make anyone uncomfortable reading this romance.
I throughly enjoyed this romance, and I will probably go back and read the first, and I just know there's more to come!
This will be available on August 20, 2024 in the U.S., so add it to your TBR so you've got something to look forward to at the end of the summer.
A big thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC. I dove into this and read it in a few days.
Rating: 4/6 for a novel about love that never dies; a reminder that while love stays, it does change as we age and that's a good thing. Some spicey scenes but nothing over the top. A body positive romance!
