Rylan and Calista had been in each other's lives since they were six years old: as rivals, teammates, friends, and lovers. Everyone knew they belonged together. Both professional soccer players, things changed dramatically when Calista's career ended due to an injury. She returned to her small hometown of Lake Starlight, Alaska to lick her wounds and start over. Three years later, Rylan is back in Lake Starlight for their friend's wedding and he makes it known that Calista is still his one and only. He has just three weeks to get Calista to open up, to give them a second chance, and make her believe they belong together forever. Having read Piper Rayne's Greene Family series, I already knew and loved Rylan and Calista. I was happy to return to Lake Starlight (and nearby Sunrise Bay) and so many characters who were familiar to me. While I love a second chance romance, I did find myself frustrated with Calista at times because there was truly nothing keeping she and Rylan apart - other than her own issues and insecurities. Love was not the problem, but it was a case of sometimes love not being enough. Despite wishing that Calista would have been more forthcoming with Rylan from the start, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them find their way back to one another.
Widowed at 21, after just one year of marriage, Brinley knows that it's time to move on. It's been four years, but family and friends still treat her with kid gloves. Enter Van Adler, who answers her ad for a roommate. Forced by his Coast Guard Commanding Officer to take eight weeks of leave, Van arrives in Lake Starlight, secures a bartending job, and a place to stay. Van's background was heartbreaking and while his appearance (tattooed and muscled) might have screamed bad boy, he was anything but. Kind, compassionate, and patient, Van was the stuff of book boyfriend dreams. While they initially both withheld information - Brinley let Van assume she was divorced; Van did not share that he was there temporarily - I loved how over time they did share the truth, without there being third act bombshells. I enjoyed seeing Van encourage Brinley to follow her passion without guilt over family expectations, and Brinley slowly moving past her grief and embracing life again made me want to cheer for her. Van's background had him feeling so unworthy, as if he had no value and nothing to offer, so I appreciated that Brinley took steps to fight for him and their HEA. This felt like a stronger and emotional story than the first book in the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Twyla has been dumped by her cheating fiancé and relocates from Connecticut to California for a break from all the pitying stares. Taking a job to house/pet-sit, she finds herself living across the hall from none other than Chase Andrews, her professional football player brother's teammate. Reticent and anti-social, Chase was the grumpiest of grumps. When Twyla convinced him to take in a stray kitten, it kicked off a friendship of sorts and the two began spending time together. Their mutual attraction led to a friends with benefits arrangement which (obviously) led to some very real feelings - although neither was brave enough to admit their hearts were now involved. What I loved about Chase was that, despite that grumpy exterior, he had the softest of hearts. His actions always belied his words and while he would grumble and complain, the big bear of a man would do absolutely anything for Twyla. He loved her sunny disposition and these two opposites definitely attracted. If you enjoy a grumpy-sunshine romance on the lighter side, You'll love Twyla and Chase.
