Leah Omar

This small-town romance features a number of tropes. Carrie is a shy, introverted heroine with self-esteem issues and a long-time crush on one of the town's golden boys. Dax is a widower with an adorable daughter and a determination not to risk his heart. Throw in the fact that Dax lost his wife to cancer and Carrie is nearly one year cancer-free and you have a whole novel full of complications.
I really like Carrie. She is dealing with past trauma but does come into her own. It is not that show more she remakes herself but that she finally becomes her true self. Her one failing is that she lets Dax jerk her around emotionally too many times for my liking. He's kind of a dick. I get that he is dealing with emotional trauma but his push-pull with Carrie had me wanting to kick him to the curb or slap him upside the head.
To be honest, the relationship that interested me the most was the one Carrie had with Malik, her best friend, confidante, and emotional support human. If only he wasn't gay. Then we could have had a "friends to lovers" romance.
Sweet with an engaging heroine and a welcoming community. I liked it despite the less than engaging hero. show less

Recently divorced Ari and her college friends have had a gathering of the girls every year until lately. It's been two years and she has planned for them to meet up and share a cabin at a camp that she went to with her family as a girl. There will be activities, time to reconnect, it will be fun. Right? When Ari arrives early at the camp to get things ready, she meets Lor. He's from Ireland and has the accent to prove it. He is helping his sister run the camp for the summer. There is an show more almost instant connection between them, but Ari is there to be with her friends, not have a summer romance. Right?

I really loved this book. While there was a fun romance, I was more impressed with the storyline involving Ari and her girlfriends. Their friendship was going through a rough patch. They had all grown and changed from when they first met. Sometimes when this happens, the friendship changes as well and not always for the best. Ari knew they needed this time together and I loved how these friends reconnected by doing camp activities like kayaking, camping, campfires, camp contests, and more. They found out that the friends they thought they didn't know anymore were still people they loved. They learned that they could still support one another through tough times because they had experienced their own tough times. I also loved how Ari came to love herself again and gained the confidence to put herself out there and demand to be seen by her employer and people who had taken her for granted for too long. I recommend this book if you want to read about friendships and a second chance at romance after divorce. You won't be disappointed. show less

My sincere thanks to Bronzewood Books and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for giving me the opportunity to read The Lives Between us by Leah Omar. I give my unbiased opinion of the book in the following review.

The Lives Between Us is the story of Dax and Carrie. Dax was Carrie's big crush back when she was young. Now he is back in their home town with his young daughter after losing his wife to cancer. Cancer is something that Carrie is also familiar with because she went through her own cancer show more battle and is in remission. When Carrie's best friend Malik encourages her to make a list of things that will push her to live her best life after cancer, approaching Dax is right at the top of the list.

This book is full of a lot of big feelings with Dax's struggle with grief being at the forefront. The author does a thorough job of showing Dax as he experiences highs and lows in his daily journey toward being brave enough to live his life and allowing his heart to grow. Carrie has her own big feelings too. She has a mother that was difficult to grow up with, some low self-esteem, and that crush on Dax that was what her teenage dreams were made of. When it looks like some of those dreams are about to become reality, Carrie is both excited and scared. Reading about Dax and Carrie's journey to happiness from dual points of view was definitely a rollercoaster ride. At times I wanted the story to move along faster, but at the conclusion I realized that the story rolled out in a way that was quite realistic. I loved it and couldn't quit reading. That doesn't happen nearly as often as I'd like these days. 5 stars show less

My sincere thanks to Leah Omar for giving me the opportunity to read Between Shadows and Light. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Between Shadows and Light is the fourth book in a series of standalone romances that take place in Wheaton, Minnesota. In this story we follow Birdie and Liam.
Birdie is a nurse at the Wheaton Nursing Home where Liam's grandparents reside. Birdie's lives with her mom who has been hired to try and turn the failing nursing home around. Liam show more shows up for the summer after losing a big-time finance job in New York City. He can't wait to get back to New York but wants to help Birdie and her mom figure out a way to save the home so that his grandparents don't have to move away from their family and friends. Birdie is drawn to Liam but doesn't want to risk getting involved if he is going to be leaving, but can she resist the growing attraction between the two of them?

I really liked this book. Some parts of it hit really close to home because my mother lives in a nursing home and is suffering from dementia like a few of the characters. I also live very close to the area described in the book and know how difficult it is for smaller communities to keep important facilities like nursing homes afloat. Finding a place for a loved one who needs special care is difficult. I also know how hard the nurses and other staff work at nursing homes. Staff numbers go up and down and the work is not for everyone. It is so important that the workers know that they are valued. The romance between Birdie and Liam endured a few bumps in the road but had a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to more from Leah Omar and am curious who may be the next character to get a happy ever after in Wheaton. show less