Having read the prequel through a bookfunnel promo I was excited to read this 1st book in a new series by Charlie and it didnt let me down.

Oliver and Lane - second chance at love, having grown up and matured they have decisions to make.

I think I'd love to live in Heather Bay - it sounds idyllic and peaceful. Looking forward to continuing books in this series, hopefully the characters we have met all get their stories as well. ( )

A contemporary m/m with a second chance romance of childhood sweethearts.

Oliver Campbell hasn't been back to Heather Bay since he left for school. Since he ended up in a massive fight with the love of his life, Lane Turner and they split up.

Lane Turner has never been able to move past Oliver Campbell. His first friend, his first love and his first heartbreak. But when Oliver returns to town to renovate his newly inherited home, all the feelings come back.

I'm not a huge fan of second chance romance but I was pleasantly surprised by this. I felt like nine years was a bit too long to forgo speaking to each other when they'd been such good friends, let alone dating, but it was tolerable.

I really liked Lane and Oliver together. The connection between them was electric. There was so much chemistry when they were together they pretty much jumped off the page. I loved the history between the two and how they just fell into their friendship so easily. The little anecdotes into their school years were amusing.

That said I was annoyed by the drama in their relationship. I would've liked for them to sit down and actually talk about how things went wrong instead of the skimming over it they kind of did. There was supposedly a fight and then they just never speak again for nine years. It felt unrealistic. I mean, why didn't Oliver keep in touch with the rest of his friends? His entire life was in Heather Bay - how could he possibly walk out on all of it with no communication? Plus his mother was still there. If she encouraged it (Oliver going away for uni) - didn't she also encourage him to speak to Lane? I mean advising your kid to reach for their dreams is great and all but it doesn't mean much if they're miserable af.

The other thing that irritated me was the mention of Oliver's partner at the start that apparently died? It was either entirely unnecessary or needed a hell of a lot more detail. I mean I'm glad it was completely ignored and had no bearing on the plot - but also it had no bearing on the plot so why bother including it at all?

I loved the friendship group the gang has and I'm glad I decided to begin with the first book. I almost didn't but I love found/chosen families and this was perfect. I don't think I would've missed anything by not starting with this book but it sets up the various relationships and friendship group.

Overall an easy relatively low angst read with lots of romance, steam and laughter. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. ( )

Another great read of exactly what is working best for me now; I think my new jam is love declarations at 75% of the book with just fluff of them making it work together for the rest. Oliver and Lane got a great second chance here, and I really enjoyed the town of Heather Bay, all their friends, and the house reno/decorating stuff too. So glad to find another new (to me) author that I’m looking forward to reading more of with a nice little backlist. ( )