Rating: 4 out of 5.

4.5 stars

I love this book series and reading how Zoey and Gage find their HEA was so fun. Zoey is broke and needs to hang on until her BFF and only client Hazel’s new book comes out. Until then, she hunkers down in Story Lake and tries not to go crazy. Ever since his brother’s engagement, Gage has not stopped thinking about finding the perfect wife to start the perfect family and life together. Zoey is pure chaos and Gage is as steady as they come. They could not be more opposite and are looking for completely different things, but sparks fly whenever they get close to each other and it’s hard to ignore.

Once again we have plenty of family shenanigans and I love seeing how much the family and their friends are there for each other. Especially when things go badly. Family ties are tested quite a bit in this book, and we find out if they will stretch or finally break. The found family and close-knit community in the book is stellar and I literally laughed out loud on several occasions. If I could ever find a real town even half as goofy as this one, I’d move there in a heartbeat.

Zoey has a habit of beating herself up for her lack of organization and inability to perform simple tasks. Help comes in the most unexpected way and she gets not only a new lease on her personal life, but her professional one as well. I also liked seeing Zoey stop listening to the negative voice in her head and give herself some grace. We could all learn a lesson there as we are often our worst critics. I liked seeing Gage finally chill out a bit and he made some wonderful personal growth throughout the book. He challenged his preconceived notions and found that he could be adaptable under certain circumstances.

I listened to the audio of this book and the narrators were phenomenal. I loved their ability to portray the humor, snark, earnestness, and love of the characters. They brought the story to life and I could close my eyes and almost see the story play out in my mind’s eye. I hope they narrate the next book in the series too.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hambright PR, Bloom Books and Sourcebooks Casablanca. All opinions are my own.