Early Reviewers

When Layla's husband dies just two months after their wedding, she is completely consumed by her grief.

Struggling to hold everything together, she returns to her small coastal hometown, where complicated family relationships and an unresolved past with her first love, Jacob, wait. But Jacob isn't the same boy he was five years ago, this time he carries a past that Layla is only starting to understand. Yet each time their paths cross, she can't deny the way he still makes her heart race, even when she was certain it had stopped for good.

As buried feelings begin to resurface, Layla finds herself caught between honoring the love she lost and confronting the one she never truly let go of. The closer she and Jacob grow, the harder it becomes to deny the truth—some connections don't fade, no matter how much time or heartbreak stands in the way. Moving on might mean letting Jacob back in. And risking her heart again may be the only way it can ever truly heal.

Perfect for fans of: emotional romances, second chances, small coastal towns, slow burns, and dual POVs.