The icing on the awesome cake
By ficcentral
Wyatt's always been one to live in the moment, spending time with his friends and his sister, navigating a string of casual hook-ups, and never really thinking about the future. But when his parents are killed, the future he'd always taken for granted is suddenly unclear, and he's got some growing up to do if he's ever going to figure things out.
Cassidy can't deny her attraction to Wyatt, but he's her best friend, and he's never had any interest in a girl for longer than a night or two. He's a great guy to have on her side, but he's not right for a relationship. But when her boyfriend is caught cheating on her, Wyatt is the first one to come to her defense, and when he needs her friendship just as much as she needs his, she doesn't hesitate to try and be there for him. Even when the lines between them begin to get a little blurred.
Judging Covers: Isn't it gorgeous? Stock images are just that — stock images. But this design by far beats the few other covers I've seen this couple on. Something about that color and texture overlaying the bottom contrasts perfectly to highlight that sunburst. I probably would have gone with something lighter, pastel maybe, and as this cover shows, that would have been a big mistake. Someone's certainly got a good eye…
The Verdict: Best friends + New Adult + one of my all-time favorite authors? It's like this one was written just for me!
Cassidy, Wyatt, and Wyatt's twin sister Delilah have just graduated from college and are celebrating when everything comes crashing down. They stumble across Cassidy's long-time boyfriend cheating on her, something that's apparently been going on for quite some time, and Wyatt lets his fists fly. But Cassidy's relationship troubles are nothing compared to what Wyatt and Delilah are about to go through.
When their parents are suddenly killed in a car accident, Wyatt and Delilah are crushed. Trying to deal with the loss and everything that comes with it, they decide to spend the summer in Harborside, a small town where their parents had a vacation home and a bar & grill. Cassidy joins them, both to support her friends and because there's not much left for her at home anyway.
Wyatt's immaturity stands out almost like another character in the book, and throughout the story we see him giving into it, facing it head-on, and finally overcoming it. He and Delilah are both dealing with so much more than anyone their age should, and at a time in their lives when they thought the future was theirs to shape. Instead they're dealing with post-college life, the loss of their family, the inheritance of a business they know nothing about, a close family friend who's starting to come off as a bit sketchy, and Cassidy, who had planned on moving to New York once summer was up.
Obviously there's a heavy load of angst in the story, but it's tempered well with hope, selfless friends, and the romantic potential between Wyatt and Cassidy. But most refreshing is the realism with which the characters are portrayed. They act their ages, which often means they're reacting to things emotionally, immaturely, and without any semblance of reason. But they all truly care about each other, so even when things get awful, they never turn their backs on each other. And of course, there's Delilah. To be honest, I sort of expected her to find a relationship somewhere in this story, a secondary plot in which we wouldn't get much insight but would be told about, and I set myself up for that disappointment early on. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I found out that Delilah's story will be told in the next book!
It's no secret that I love Melissa Foster's books. They're all classic romance plots, complete with everything that keeps us going back to the genre, and yet her characters are just different enough, each with unique stories, that not only is each book different from the rest of the series, but they're a fresh change from just about everything else in the romance category. Throwing some New Adult and LGBT into the mix is just the icing on the awesome cake.
***FicCentral received this book from Tasty Book Tours for free in exchange for an honest review.