SLOW BURN

This book has a lot of relationship building between Harlow and Jake. I enjoyed that Jake was all-in from the start. I'm totally a sucker for the guy trying to win over the girl, and this delivers on that front. The emotional build is there, but it was a bit heavy for me. I get that Harlow was recovering from an abusive relationship, but her expectations of the already-amazing Jake were a little over the top. She needed to take some agency in the decisions she made that got her where she was. It felt like Jake had to walk on eggshells around her expectations.

I also didn't quite understand why Jake waited so many years for Harlow. From my understanding, they didn't talk that much during high school. I'd be more on board with Jake's feelings if they'd been really good friends and had developed even a minimal relationship, but his obsession over Harlow when women would likely have been interested in him all those years didn't land for me. Why Harlow? He watched her painting and such... sure, but I needed a stronger backstory. Jake seemed amazing and it seems like another amazing woman would have entered his life and scooped him up.

The author put a lot of thought and emotion into this story, and I am glad I read it. It certainly evoked emotions in me, which is the point of reading a story. It was much more complex than the average romance these days. If you like emotion, recovery, and working together to overcome challenges, then this story might be a good fit for you.