Melissa Toppen

I had moments where I wanted to stream and slap both of the main characters especially Blakely. She wasn't honest with herself until a certain point in the book. She's loyal to a complete fault which frustrated me as a reader. Asher wasn't much better. He traveled the world for six years to cope with his father's death and travel to all the places his father wished he had traveled to. The entire time, Asher said all he thought about was Blakely. My only thought was why didn't he have her come with him after she graduated high school? Why couldn't they travel together? I mean they couldn't mostly because what would be the point of the book then? His travels and not returning home until six years later is the focal conflict of the novel.

One that created numerous trust issues for Blakely including agreeing to marry a man that she never had chemistry with, Tyler. Tyler was safe, dependable, and a slight push-over. He didn't stand up to her. He's nice to a fault. He believes everything she says even when he shouldn't --even when the alarm bells go off telling him otherwise. Blakely stays with him because he pulled her out of her deep depression when Asher left.

Asher does return for his girl...to find her engaged to another man. All of his love and emotions for Blakely returns to him tenfold the first time he sets eyes on her. Everything else fades away. He will do whatever it takes to get her back.

Asher is the type of guy that every girl dreams about...passionate, and loves her with every ounce of his being. He has his faults like Blakely. The guy did stay away for six years! Not a moment of his life where Blakely was far from his mind. Always dreaming and thinking about her.… (more)

This is a romance that starts when they are high school and then the break-up spreads out over years, with missed opportunities to get back together.
In some ways it's reasonable, they are young and have their careers to sort out but the issue I have is while they are broken up he sleeps around, there is even a comment of it being half the state, and she is with someone else. But they both love each other, her I can understand as he broke it off so she eventually moves on but he feels he can't be with her due to events at first then distance and there is no guarantee but he says he will eventually get back with her but in the meantime he'll sleep around.
She's not that type but she would end up with that type of guy, why they think when they eventually sort things out he will suddenly convert to monogamy is a mystery. The reason given is cos she's 'the one'. I don't like this type of 'hero'... At all.
Not for me.
… (more)

This is part 2.
It is a very angst story.
I have read reviews and there seems to be some criticism for the heroine over her insecurity of their relationship.
I have to be honest, I felt for her.

She's had a bad experience with her ex, Hudson lied by omission about his "wife".
Hudson is away a lot and spending a lot of time with Anna.

Anna has made it clear, women speak, that she wants him, others have noticed, others have commented on her history in similar situations, he learns how his girlfriend feels about it, makes a conscience effort to distance himself by spending the night in her hotel room after she cries and begs not to be alone.

He says he slept in the chair, which okay but it's totally unacceptable.
The heroine says
"Hudson continued to hang out with Annabelle in their free time even though he knew it made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was unfair of me to expect him not to, but if the roles were reversed I would have done anything to ease his doubt and worry. He was more concerned with her feelings, with how lonely she was, and how he didn’t have it in him to not be there for her. That he completely neglected me and how I was feeling. Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I’m the crazy jealous one that couldn’t reel in my feelings. But at the end of the day I shouldn’t have to. I should always come first and let’s be honest, Colton, he never put me first."

Yes he's bought them a house but money means little to him so it doesn't really mean much.

I really felt for her.

Regardless of his lack of feelings towards Anna if it bothered her then do as much as you can to help not make it worse.
Very angst.
HEA.
I would have liked a confrontation with Anna, telling her straight where she stood.… (more)