What do you think?
Rate this book
Come Back to Me
A fixer-upper cabin. Two strangers. One summer we’ll never forget.
For the past five years I’ve saved every dime to buy the dilapidated cabin sitting on the outskirts of Maple Ridge, Colorado. Even then, it’s not enough. Just when I think I’ve got to say goodbye to my dreams, a tall, handsome cowboy from Texas strides into town. He may talk funny, but he’s saying all the right words to not only get my heart swooning, but get my body revved up too.
Leo Moretti was only supposed to be my date for my best friend’s wedding. Until he makes me an offer I can’t refuse. Buy the cabin with me and help me fix it up. Then return to his family ranch in Texas at the end of summer.
As each day passes, working alongside him in the summer heat, sweating, swimming in the creek, wishing on the stars, we can’t deny our instant chemistry. It’s electric. It’s intense. It’s reckless.
It’s the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime. Nothing or no one can keep us apart.
Until it does.
Family obligations. A country at war.
In a whirlwind, steamy summer romance in 1969, my life—and future—is altered forever.
For the past five years I’ve saved every dime to buy the dilapidated cabin sitting on the outskirts of Maple Ridge, Colorado. Even then, it’s not enough. Just when I think I’ve got to say goodbye to my dreams, a tall, handsome cowboy from Texas strides into town. He may talk funny, but he’s saying all the right words to not only get my heart swooning, but get my body revved up too.
Leo Moretti was only supposed to be my date for my best friend’s wedding. Until he makes me an offer I can’t refuse. Buy the cabin with me and help me fix it up. Then return to his family ranch in Texas at the end of summer.
As each day passes, working alongside him in the summer heat, sweating, swimming in the creek, wishing on the stars, we can’t deny our instant chemistry. It’s electric. It’s intense. It’s reckless.
It’s the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime. Nothing or no one can keep us apart.
Until it does.
Family obligations. A country at war.
In a whirlwind, steamy summer romance in 1969, my life—and future—is altered forever.
- GenresRomance
127 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2023
2 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 30, 2023
Come Back to me has a great plot but the overall execution of the story was kind of terrible. The story begins in the “now” and we are transported back to 1969 where Giana and Leo meet and fall in love. With this great love comes the heartache in between until we get to the HEA (if you want to call it that)
Here is a list of my grievances for the story:
-The sex scenes- I lost count of how many because after the first one I just skimmed through them they didn’t add a lot of value to the story for me.
-The story is too short to allow you to connect to the characters emotionally. For me what makes a book a 5 star read is whether or not I can connect and feel what the characters are going through. This could of been one of those stories that leave you a blubbering mess but that connection just wasn’t there.
-The ending… magically we find out Leo lived then bam their spouses are dead and after 40 years apart they are meeting again at the cabin to, as the reader can only assume is to spend their remaining lives together.
This ending felt really unfair to both characters that they didn’t get more time together. I would of much rather a pregnant Giana left her husband after that letter to be with Leo- they were soulmates after all and there is so little detail into either of their lives but from an earlier chapter it sounded like her husband knew she still pined for Leo. There were several other paths this story could of taken and it would of been a much more enjoyable read.
Here is a list of my grievances for the story:
-The sex scenes- I lost count of how many because after the first one I just skimmed through them they didn’t add a lot of value to the story for me.
-The story is too short to allow you to connect to the characters emotionally. For me what makes a book a 5 star read is whether or not I can connect and feel what the characters are going through. This could of been one of those stories that leave you a blubbering mess but that connection just wasn’t there.
-The ending… magically we find out Leo lived then bam their spouses are dead and after 40 years apart they are meeting again at the cabin to, as the reader can only assume is to spend their remaining lives together.
This ending felt really unfair to both characters that they didn’t get more time together. I would of much rather a pregnant Giana left her husband after that letter to be with Leo- they were soulmates after all and there is so little detail into either of their lives but from an earlier chapter it sounded like her husband knew she still pined for Leo. There were several other paths this story could of taken and it would of been a much more enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2023
It's 1969 and Maple Ridge, Colorado has so far remained fairly sheltered from the realities of the Vietnam War. For Giana, an independant young waitress, all she sees in her immediate future is double shifts so that she can buy the delapidated cabin she adores.
As her best friend Nettie's wedding to Pete approaches, she's thrown a curve ball in the form of his Texan cousin Leo. Visiting for the wedding, infatuation takes them over and soon he has committed to spending the rest of the summer with Giana, renovating the cabin they've now purchased together.
But the summer can't last forever, and soon obligations to both family and country will separate the two lovers. What will become of two star crossed lovers after the summer ends?
This novella is an origin story for Author Leanne August's upcoming Maple Ridge series. It's a dual timeline, dual point of view instant love story and as with many first loves, there is a lot of passion = many spicy scenes in the book 🔥
Personally I enjoyed Giana and Leo as a couple. They're young, with a full summer ahead where they can simply enjoy each other and dream of a different future. We know from the first few lines in the book that Giana is looking back on that summer from 40ish years in the future, and it does set the tone to wonder what happened to them both individually and as a couple.
Without giving away any spoilers, I had a good cry towards the end and felt a huge range of feelings for the characters as we learnt their fates. For a novella, I'm impressed that I was connected to the characters in such a way!
Thank you to @authorleanneaugust @netgalley & @xpressotours for providing this ARC. My review has been written willingly and all opinions are my own.
As her best friend Nettie's wedding to Pete approaches, she's thrown a curve ball in the form of his Texan cousin Leo. Visiting for the wedding, infatuation takes them over and soon he has committed to spending the rest of the summer with Giana, renovating the cabin they've now purchased together.
But the summer can't last forever, and soon obligations to both family and country will separate the two lovers. What will become of two star crossed lovers after the summer ends?
This novella is an origin story for Author Leanne August's upcoming Maple Ridge series. It's a dual timeline, dual point of view instant love story and as with many first loves, there is a lot of passion = many spicy scenes in the book 🔥
Personally I enjoyed Giana and Leo as a couple. They're young, with a full summer ahead where they can simply enjoy each other and dream of a different future. We know from the first few lines in the book that Giana is looking back on that summer from 40ish years in the future, and it does set the tone to wonder what happened to them both individually and as a couple.
Without giving away any spoilers, I had a good cry towards the end and felt a huge range of feelings for the characters as we learnt their fates. For a novella, I'm impressed that I was connected to the characters in such a way!
Thank you to @authorleanneaugust @netgalley & @xpressotours for providing this ARC. My review has been written willingly and all opinions are my own.
March 26, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️
💭I am not okay. But in the best way possible. My heart is still trying to recover from this one if I'm being honest. 🫠
Giana's main goal for the summer is to make money to buy the cabin she's been dreaming of owning. The moment Leo laid eyes on herz he knew he would do anything to give her the world. This was an insta-love but in the sweetest way ever.
Their whirlwind romance was one for the ages. The universe did everything to keep them apart. But if this book teaches you anything, it's that soulmates WILL FIND A WAY.
This one hit me hard. It was sweet and STEAMY, & heartbreakingly sad but also so full of hope and healing. It is worth every second.
Read if you like:
Insta-love
Second Chance
Writing Letters
Southern Charm
Small Town
IT WAS ALWAYS YOU😭
This was a BEAUTIFUL debut novella. I cannot wait to read more from Maple Ridge. Thank you so much to the author for my gifted eARC. All thoughts are my own.
🌶️🌶️
💭I am not okay. But in the best way possible. My heart is still trying to recover from this one if I'm being honest. 🫠
Giana's main goal for the summer is to make money to buy the cabin she's been dreaming of owning. The moment Leo laid eyes on herz he knew he would do anything to give her the world. This was an insta-love but in the sweetest way ever.
Their whirlwind romance was one for the ages. The universe did everything to keep them apart. But if this book teaches you anything, it's that soulmates WILL FIND A WAY.
This one hit me hard. It was sweet and STEAMY, & heartbreakingly sad but also so full of hope and healing. It is worth every second.
Read if you like:
Insta-love
Second Chance
Writing Letters
Southern Charm
Small Town
IT WAS ALWAYS YOU😭
This was a BEAUTIFUL debut novella. I cannot wait to read more from Maple Ridge. Thank you so much to the author for my gifted eARC. All thoughts are my own.
December 16, 2023
I'm not sure how this author managed to totally break my heart and then put it back together again in less than 150 pages, but she did. This story, set in the summer of 1969, tells the magic of first love and the devastation of lost love. It's a beautifully told novella that pulled me right in and didn't let go.
Giana has spent five years saving up the money to purchase a dilapidated cabin to make her own. When Leo shows up to be her date for her best friend's wedding, he makes her an offer she can't refuse. They'll purchase the cabin together, fix it up, and spend one amazing summer together. That summer turns into something that they want forever, but some things just aren't meant to be. Sometimes, dreams aren't enough when there are family obligations and a country at war.
This is an insta-love story, but oh my, how it reminds you of your first love. It's a whirlwind romance full of steam and then heartbreak, but it will put your heart back together again (although not in the way that I wanted!) This is an origin's story for the Maple Ridge series, and I will definitely be adding that series to my TBR.
Giana has spent five years saving up the money to purchase a dilapidated cabin to make her own. When Leo shows up to be her date for her best friend's wedding, he makes her an offer she can't refuse. They'll purchase the cabin together, fix it up, and spend one amazing summer together. That summer turns into something that they want forever, but some things just aren't meant to be. Sometimes, dreams aren't enough when there are family obligations and a country at war.
This is an insta-love story, but oh my, how it reminds you of your first love. It's a whirlwind romance full of steam and then heartbreak, but it will put your heart back together again (although not in the way that I wanted!) This is an origin's story for the Maple Ridge series, and I will definitely be adding that series to my TBR.
March 27, 2024
Review
Blurb…
A fixer-upper cabin. Two strangers. One summer we’ll never forget.
Tropes
~insta love
~small town
~he falls first
~cowboy
~it’s always been you
~just one summer
~emotional read
⭐️4.5/5
🌶️2/5
Review
This is the short spicy emotional read. If your looking for a book that you absolutely fall in love with the characters but breaks you this is for you. Make sure you have tissues cause you’ll be bawling.
This has to be one of my favorite books this year! It absolutely broke me. I feel so in love with Gianna and Leo’s story.
This is a book that I’ll never forget, it’s ingrained in my mind forever.
SPOILERS
His dad would have been fine. His mom 👋🏼. I didn’t like her at all. And Micheal should have gone away and never came back. 😭 I’m so absolutely heartbroken they didn’t have the life they wanted!
Blurb…
A fixer-upper cabin. Two strangers. One summer we’ll never forget.
Tropes
~insta love
~small town
~he falls first
~cowboy
~it’s always been you
~just one summer
~emotional read
⭐️4.5/5
🌶️2/5
Review
This is the short spicy emotional read. If your looking for a book that you absolutely fall in love with the characters but breaks you this is for you. Make sure you have tissues cause you’ll be bawling.
This has to be one of my favorite books this year! It absolutely broke me. I feel so in love with Gianna and Leo’s story.
This is a book that I’ll never forget, it’s ingrained in my mind forever.
SPOILERS
His dad would have been fine. His mom 👋🏼. I didn’t like her at all. And Micheal should have gone away and never came back. 😭 I’m so absolutely heartbroken they didn’t have the life they wanted!
June 26, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book.
THIS BOOK. I did not expect this trope but I absolutely loved it. I wish I could reread this. A couple that I will root for forever.
THIS BOOK. I did not expect this trope but I absolutely loved it. I wish I could reread this. A couple that I will root for forever.
May 7, 2023
Absolutely fucking heart broken. I loved this story from the very beginning and felt everything they felt. And I’m so mad at the ending I might just explode. This is a beautiful story of love and how it never dies. I’m going to be recommending this books to everyone!!! The only thing I could change is I think she should have put the dates on the chapters
April 4, 2023
Although this is only a novella and quite a fast paced read the story felt much longer.
Spanning forty years it’s told in dual POV and moves between the past and present a lot. I found it interesting to see them in the different time periods and the decades lost made the heartache even harder.
Giana and Leo’s love story was the kind of second chance romance I love. Definitely recommend.
I received an arc of this book
Spanning forty years it’s told in dual POV and moves between the past and present a lot. I found it interesting to see them in the different time periods and the decades lost made the heartache even harder.
Giana and Leo’s love story was the kind of second chance romance I love. Definitely recommend.
I received an arc of this book
May 9, 2023
This story will take you on an emotional rollercoaster and it’s very much worth it. Leo and Giana story now have a special place in my heart.
April 13, 2024
ARC REVIEW
LeAnne is a gem, this book is a gem it’s all a gem!
I loved Come Back To Me, it was such a sweet, swoony and truthful novella.
There are time jumps in the book but I think the time jumps add to everything. LeAnne delicately portrays the loss of a love one. Giana and Leo don’t know where they’re life will go but the way they persevered and never stopped loving each other is perfect!
Even with all of the hardships in their relationship and life, they still find time for each other. The book covered themes such as dreams, believing, resilience, perseverance as well as all the romance. In some way it’s a story of hope and shows that everyone should just live life and hold onto hope because your dreams will come.
I love that the novella was in Dual POV, I truly love books with dual pov and thing LeAnne used this tool perfectly. There are time jumps but in some other books I’ve read, they are really confusing. However, the way LeAnne has written them makes everything make sense and adds to the story.
It’s such a sweet, hopeful and swoony story. Don’t let the cover fool you….
A lot of the times I don’t think about the title of the book because it just makes sense when I start reading it but I love how you must read on to understand why Come Back To Me is the title. It just shows that she has given so much thought into the title.
This book is practically perfect and I can’t wait to get to know the future generations of Maple Ridge!
LeAnne is a gem, this book is a gem it’s all a gem!
I loved Come Back To Me, it was such a sweet, swoony and truthful novella.
There are time jumps in the book but I think the time jumps add to everything. LeAnne delicately portrays the loss of a love one. Giana and Leo don’t know where they’re life will go but the way they persevered and never stopped loving each other is perfect!
Even with all of the hardships in their relationship and life, they still find time for each other. The book covered themes such as dreams, believing, resilience, perseverance as well as all the romance. In some way it’s a story of hope and shows that everyone should just live life and hold onto hope because your dreams will come.
I love that the novella was in Dual POV, I truly love books with dual pov and thing LeAnne used this tool perfectly. There are time jumps but in some other books I’ve read, they are really confusing. However, the way LeAnne has written them makes everything make sense and adds to the story.
It’s such a sweet, hopeful and swoony story. Don’t let the cover fool you….
A lot of the times I don’t think about the title of the book because it just makes sense when I start reading it but I love how you must read on to understand why Come Back To Me is the title. It just shows that she has given so much thought into the title.
This book is practically perfect and I can’t wait to get to know the future generations of Maple Ridge!
May 30, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a debut novella which I was able to read rather quickly at just over 100 pages. I enjoyed the pacing of the first half but I felt like I had whiplash after Leo left and the last portions of the book felt rushed. I understand there were 40 years to get through, but it felt off compared to the first part of the story.
I really enjoyed how these two characters came together and getting to know them. I’m not usually an insta-love type but I fell hard for Gigi and Leo. The spice level was great and my heart really hurt in those last pages. I’m glad that there was a HEA after everything, but I do not dig the wasted years trope at all. I will say it was much better than the alternative, though!
Overall, I think this was a debut and I’m looking forward to what the author comes up with next.
This is a debut novella which I was able to read rather quickly at just over 100 pages. I enjoyed the pacing of the first half but I felt like I had whiplash after Leo left and the last portions of the book felt rushed. I understand there were 40 years to get through, but it felt off compared to the first part of the story.
I really enjoyed how these two characters came together and getting to know them. I’m not usually an insta-love type but I fell hard for Gigi and Leo. The spice level was great and my heart really hurt in those last pages. I’m glad that there was a HEA after everything, but I do not dig the wasted years trope at all. I will say it was much better than the alternative, though!
Overall, I think this was a debut and I’m looking forward to what the author comes up with next.
July 28, 2023
i was hooked from the very page and didn’t want to put it down. it was late, though, when i started reading it, but you can bet i picked it back up as soon as my eyes opened the next morning to finish it!
any book that can make me laugh out loud AND make me ugly cry gets 5 stars from me! my only complaint would be the simple fact that it’s a short novella - because i wanted MORE of gigi and leo’s story!
any book that can make me laugh out loud AND make me ugly cry gets 5 stars from me! my only complaint would be the simple fact that it’s a short novella - because i wanted MORE of gigi and leo’s story!
April 16, 2023
Honestly, I like it but not even best, short chapters, nothing happen, so I like it. Not really love it. Unfortunately, I had put 1 rates, because nothing really happen, only w Leo in military, not know what really happen to him , it seems a little bit rush for this book. I don’t like it. No slow burn. Spicy scene is 3.5 rate. Sorry. I’m being honest… 🤷🏾♀️
September 3, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book.
THIS BOOK. I did not expect this trope but I absolutely loved it. I wish I could reread this. A couple that I will root for forever.
THIS BOOK. I did not expect this trope but I absolutely loved it. I wish I could reread this. A couple that I will root for forever.
May 26, 2023
"Because that's how our love was. It was hot and passionate. It was intense and electric."
So this was a nice little predictable story and a quick read. Both of our main characters are in their early 20's, and somehow still act like they are in high school. So I struggled a bit with the characters. The story starts out in the present day (no idea when) and Giana is reflecting on her life and the one love she had this epic summer. It then transitions back into the summer of 1969. I really struggled with the characters because they felt more high school seniors than adults. Giana has no desire for a relationship because she's fiercely independent and then Leo comes to town and it all shifts for her.
I struggled some with the timeline because it would be like a day and then all of a sudden 4 weeks and then at one time it was 2 years that had passed. It just wasn't very clear until someone said something, which made understanding the development of the relationship complicated, because it all felt even more rushed than insta-love usually does. The book taking place during Vietnam only becomes significant in like the last 3 chapters of the book; it's not even really mentioned until then. For me it just read like a plot point that was able to cause some type of extra conflict and drama for the story.
Both of our characters are virgins, which, cool and all, but I would have expected a little more awkwardness initially. And that didn't exist. We just jump into the steamy scenes like they are both extremely experienced. So that was hard to wrap my head around also. It was also weird that the language shifted so dramatically during these scenes compared to how they talked any other time. I just felt like some of these things could have been handled differently for a more authentic story.
Overall, this book kind of reads like The Notebook summer. They have this intense time together with nobody else, and then some big complication tears them apart. The story was highly predictable, but I mean it is still a cute little romance if you just want a sweet small town story. Most of the issues I had were personal. I think the story is really cute. It could have benefited I think from being a full novel instead of a novella, just so the timeline didn't feel so rushed. But if you want a quick and sweet read you should give this one a shot.
So this was a nice little predictable story and a quick read. Both of our main characters are in their early 20's, and somehow still act like they are in high school. So I struggled a bit with the characters. The story starts out in the present day (no idea when) and Giana is reflecting on her life and the one love she had this epic summer. It then transitions back into the summer of 1969. I really struggled with the characters because they felt more high school seniors than adults. Giana has no desire for a relationship because she's fiercely independent and then Leo comes to town and it all shifts for her.
I struggled some with the timeline because it would be like a day and then all of a sudden 4 weeks and then at one time it was 2 years that had passed. It just wasn't very clear until someone said something, which made understanding the development of the relationship complicated, because it all felt even more rushed than insta-love usually does. The book taking place during Vietnam only becomes significant in like the last 3 chapters of the book; it's not even really mentioned until then. For me it just read like a plot point that was able to cause some type of extra conflict and drama for the story.
Both of our characters are virgins, which, cool and all, but I would have expected a little more awkwardness initially. And that didn't exist. We just jump into the steamy scenes like they are both extremely experienced. So that was hard to wrap my head around also. It was also weird that the language shifted so dramatically during these scenes compared to how they talked any other time. I just felt like some of these things could have been handled differently for a more authentic story.
Overall, this book kind of reads like The Notebook summer. They have this intense time together with nobody else, and then some big complication tears them apart. The story was highly predictable, but I mean it is still a cute little romance if you just want a sweet small town story. Most of the issues I had were personal. I think the story is really cute. It could have benefited I think from being a full novel instead of a novella, just so the timeline didn't feel so rushed. But if you want a quick and sweet read you should give this one a shot.
March 23, 2024
“He takes my chin in his hand, stilling me along with the whirling thoughts racing through my mind. “I followed my heart. It led me home. You’re my home.”
This book ya’ll! My friend Jamie said to me one day when I was looking over her bookshelf, “You have got to read this! It made me bawl! It was so good.” So naturally I knew I had to give it a try. Not only that but the Author is someone I follow on Instagram and is a total sweetheart!
So, let’s get down to what I thought about this book!
The Plot:
I absolutely adored the plot! The book starts out in the Now, with the main character Giana is reflecting on her Cabin and a man who helped her renovate it over 40 years before. A man she loved. We’re swooped into 1969 (which I loved!) to when Giana and Leo first meet and they instantly connect and fall in love. And helping Giana buy and renovate a cabin she was in love with was Leo’s Grand Gesture. But as fate has it, their love story only could last for so long. And let me warn you, this book will rip your heart to pieces but then put them back together at the end. I bawled, just as my friend had warned me!
The Characters:
I enjoyed the character development in this book. It’s a Novella so everything was a fast pace for a reason. And so Leo & Giana’s romance was quick pace as well. But they were both full of determination and wanting to enjoy their summer together which made for a Swoony romance. I also enjoyed the friendships and side characters as well as the small town setting.
The Steam:
Now this is where I might differ from others and that’s ok! We each enjoy our own spice levels for different reasons. For me, I’m a closed door kind of gal. And this book was wise open. Which again, if you like that sort of book you’ll love this! But I found myself blushing and skipping pages because I didn’t want to be in the room with them if that makes sense. Things get heated with this couple and they’re very lust driven, which just isn’t my thing. Did it take away from the overall plot and reading experience? Not at all!
That is why I rated it a 4 star, because I had to skip some of the book due to spice but again that’s just me and my sensitive heart.
Please read this if you enjoy:
❤️ First Love
🤠 Insta Love
❤️Small Town Setting
🤠 Cowboy Hero
❤️ Independent Female
🤠Spice
❤️A Novella
🤠 Cabin Renovation
❤️ Set in 1969 and Now
This book ya’ll! My friend Jamie said to me one day when I was looking over her bookshelf, “You have got to read this! It made me bawl! It was so good.” So naturally I knew I had to give it a try. Not only that but the Author is someone I follow on Instagram and is a total sweetheart!
So, let’s get down to what I thought about this book!
The Plot:
I absolutely adored the plot! The book starts out in the Now, with the main character Giana is reflecting on her Cabin and a man who helped her renovate it over 40 years before. A man she loved. We’re swooped into 1969 (which I loved!) to when Giana and Leo first meet and they instantly connect and fall in love. And helping Giana buy and renovate a cabin she was in love with was Leo’s Grand Gesture. But as fate has it, their love story only could last for so long. And let me warn you, this book will rip your heart to pieces but then put them back together at the end. I bawled, just as my friend had warned me!
The Characters:
I enjoyed the character development in this book. It’s a Novella so everything was a fast pace for a reason. And so Leo & Giana’s romance was quick pace as well. But they were both full of determination and wanting to enjoy their summer together which made for a Swoony romance. I also enjoyed the friendships and side characters as well as the small town setting.
The Steam:
Now this is where I might differ from others and that’s ok! We each enjoy our own spice levels for different reasons. For me, I’m a closed door kind of gal. And this book was wise open. Which again, if you like that sort of book you’ll love this! But I found myself blushing and skipping pages because I didn’t want to be in the room with them if that makes sense. Things get heated with this couple and they’re very lust driven, which just isn’t my thing. Did it take away from the overall plot and reading experience? Not at all!
That is why I rated it a 4 star, because I had to skip some of the book due to spice but again that’s just me and my sensitive heart.
Please read this if you enjoy:
❤️ First Love
🤠 Insta Love
❤️Small Town Setting
🤠 Cowboy Hero
❤️ Independent Female
🤠Spice
❤️A Novella
🤠 Cabin Renovation
❤️ Set in 1969 and Now
March 29, 2023
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
2.8/5 ⭐️
❗️Disclaimer: This review isn’t to tell the author that they are bad or not. This review is simply based on my own personal opinion of the book. I do suggest you give it a chance before you form an opinions about it and decide whether you like it or not.❗️
Come back to me was a good debut novella. It is 127 pages long and has the following tropes.
Tropes found in this book:
Insta-love
Kinda Second Chance
Love letters
It has always been you.
Small Town Romance
Things I liked
- I liked the writing.
- I liked the main characters a lot and how much they loved each other even after 40 years.
- I liked the side characters, they really helped the story.
- The spice was good. I would say 2 🌶️
- I really liked the small town setting.
Things I didn’t like:
- I didn’t like how fast paced it was. It didn’t really make me feel anything for the characters and they’re struggles.
- I wish the book was longer so that I could connect to the characters.
- Nothing much truly happen until the end with Leo and that made me force myself to read the first 50% of the book. It was good but not something that maintained my attention like how i would have wanted it to.
- I didn’t particularly liked the ending. I like that they ended up together and it was cute but I didn’t like that they weren’t together sooner. It didn’t feel right to me.
There are other things I didn’t like but I won’t go into detail since they are spoilers. Overall this book was a good debut novella but there were some things that could have been improved. If you want a quick read and you like the tropes mentioned I would say give it a chance and read it.
2.8/5 ⭐️
❗️Disclaimer: This review isn’t to tell the author that they are bad or not. This review is simply based on my own personal opinion of the book. I do suggest you give it a chance before you form an opinions about it and decide whether you like it or not.❗️
Come back to me was a good debut novella. It is 127 pages long and has the following tropes.
Tropes found in this book:
Insta-love
Kinda Second Chance
Love letters
It has always been you.
Small Town Romance
Things I liked
- I liked the writing.
- I liked the main characters a lot and how much they loved each other even after 40 years.
- I liked the side characters, they really helped the story.
- The spice was good. I would say 2 🌶️
- I really liked the small town setting.
Things I didn’t like:
- I didn’t like how fast paced it was. It didn’t really make me feel anything for the characters and they’re struggles.
- I wish the book was longer so that I could connect to the characters.
- Nothing much truly happen until the end with Leo and that made me force myself to read the first 50% of the book. It was good but not something that maintained my attention like how i would have wanted it to.
- I didn’t particularly liked the ending. I like that they ended up together and it was cute but I didn’t like that they weren’t together sooner. It didn’t feel right to me.
There are other things I didn’t like but I won’t go into detail since they are spoilers. Overall this book was a good debut novella but there were some things that could have been improved. If you want a quick read and you like the tropes mentioned I would say give it a chance and read it.
May 17, 2023
Come Back To Me
(A Maple Ridge Novella: An Origin Story)
By : Leanne August
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/5
I was lucky enough to received an ARC copy of "Come Back To Me" by Leanna and all i can say is what an absolutely beautiful story! LEANNES has written an amazing love story that takes place in the summer of 1969 in a small town. This Novella will give you first time love, small town, insta love, spice and some heartache only to end with a beautiful HEA. Giana is the spunky and sweet MFC and an absolute sassy ,take life my the horns kinda woman that knows what she wants, and Leo our MMC is a smooth talking but very sweet souther boy that found the girl he falls hard for all during a summer in 1969. There love story is written beautifully and while they do face some hardships ( the Vietnam war was going on at this time) the HEA is well earned and it did have me shedding some tears. ❤️
I really love the insta love/ small town trope with this and felt it fit well with the story line. Giana and Leo had a perfect mix of sweet and spice to the relationship and Leanna did a great job of making the love between them seem very authentic for the era the story was based in.
I really enjoyed this Novelle and do recommend it for a shorter read with a lot of love to it.
Read if you like:
-Small town
-First Love
- Insta Love
- He falls first ( and hard 😍for the MFC)
- Summer of 1969
- Origin Story
- HEA
I will also list some Triggers to be aware of
- Mentions of War ( The Vietnam War)
- Mentions if Death
- Excplicit spicy scenes
(A Maple Ridge Novella: An Origin Story)
By : Leanne August
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/5
I was lucky enough to received an ARC copy of "Come Back To Me" by Leanna and all i can say is what an absolutely beautiful story! LEANNES has written an amazing love story that takes place in the summer of 1969 in a small town. This Novella will give you first time love, small town, insta love, spice and some heartache only to end with a beautiful HEA. Giana is the spunky and sweet MFC and an absolute sassy ,take life my the horns kinda woman that knows what she wants, and Leo our MMC is a smooth talking but very sweet souther boy that found the girl he falls hard for all during a summer in 1969. There love story is written beautifully and while they do face some hardships ( the Vietnam war was going on at this time) the HEA is well earned and it did have me shedding some tears. ❤️
I really love the insta love/ small town trope with this and felt it fit well with the story line. Giana and Leo had a perfect mix of sweet and spice to the relationship and Leanna did a great job of making the love between them seem very authentic for the era the story was based in.
I really enjoyed this Novelle and do recommend it for a shorter read with a lot of love to it.
Read if you like:
-Small town
-First Love
- Insta Love
- He falls first ( and hard 😍for the MFC)
- Summer of 1969
- Origin Story
- HEA
I will also list some Triggers to be aware of
- Mentions of War ( The Vietnam War)
- Mentions if Death
- Excplicit spicy scenes
March 26, 2023
📚 Come Back to Me
📝 LeAnne August
📌 Book 21/50 for 2023
𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: Romance ❤️
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
🔔 Publishing March 30, 2023 🔔
✨ This was an eARC gifted to me via @netgalley. The following review is my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions. ✨
𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖
This debut novella by indie author LeAnne August is heartbreaking and intense, 100ish pages packed with the sweetest love story ever. I’m usually not a fan of the insta-love trope, but August did a phenomenal job of making you feel the passion and rawness in the relationship of Leo and Giana, allowing the reader to be swept away to this free spirited and carefree world that is a summer romance. The novella jumps from present, then to past and back to present, and coupled with the incorporation of letters toward the end, the reader is privy to just enough information that you feel the emotion Giana feels like a sucker punch. Honestly, when I started reading I didn’t expect this to be my cup of tea, but this is one of those tender stories that has an impact that lasts. I’m excited to see more from August. 🤍
•
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 ⤵️
Insta-love ❤️, summer of 1969 ☀️, closure 🚪, small town 🏘, southern boys 🤠
📝 LeAnne August
📌 Book 21/50 for 2023
𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: Romance ❤️
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
🔔 Publishing March 30, 2023 🔔
✨ This was an eARC gifted to me via @netgalley. The following review is my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions. ✨
𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖
This debut novella by indie author LeAnne August is heartbreaking and intense, 100ish pages packed with the sweetest love story ever. I’m usually not a fan of the insta-love trope, but August did a phenomenal job of making you feel the passion and rawness in the relationship of Leo and Giana, allowing the reader to be swept away to this free spirited and carefree world that is a summer romance. The novella jumps from present, then to past and back to present, and coupled with the incorporation of letters toward the end, the reader is privy to just enough information that you feel the emotion Giana feels like a sucker punch. Honestly, when I started reading I didn’t expect this to be my cup of tea, but this is one of those tender stories that has an impact that lasts. I’m excited to see more from August. 🤍
•
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 ⤵️
Insta-love ❤️, summer of 1969 ☀️, closure 🚪, small town 🏘, southern boys 🤠
August 13, 2023
This was a beautifully heartwrenching novella. It really pulls at your heartstrings. I did not know this was an insta-love trope which I really do not enjoy, strangely it worked perfectly for Giana and Leo. This novella is an origin story for the Leanne's upcoming series Maple Ridge.
It was definitely a super sweet book with a lot of spice considering the length of the novel. I was invested in their story from the start, once I picked it up I didn't stop until the end.
I was surprised that I felt so much emotions for these characters in such a short span on time. I was in a complete chokehold at a certain point and my heart just broke entirely. Giant and Leo are seriously swoon worthy they are so perfect together and their little nicknames for one another are to die for.
I would've loved for a certain part to go differently and for their second chance to happen earlier, I felt like they missed out on so much of this beautiful love story. I really loved Leanne's writing style and I am super looking forward to the next in the series.
If you're looking for quick beautiful, sweet second chance romance pick it up!
✨️Thank you to @netgalley & @authorleanneaugust for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review. (Sorry for the late review)
It was definitely a super sweet book with a lot of spice considering the length of the novel. I was invested in their story from the start, once I picked it up I didn't stop until the end.
I was surprised that I felt so much emotions for these characters in such a short span on time. I was in a complete chokehold at a certain point and my heart just broke entirely. Giant and Leo are seriously swoon worthy they are so perfect together and their little nicknames for one another are to die for.
I would've loved for a certain part to go differently and for their second chance to happen earlier, I felt like they missed out on so much of this beautiful love story. I really loved Leanne's writing style and I am super looking forward to the next in the series.
If you're looking for quick beautiful, sweet second chance romance pick it up!
✨️Thank you to @netgalley & @authorleanneaugust for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review. (Sorry for the late review)
March 25, 2023
❤️I love Giana Russo more than cornbread on a Sunday❤️
It all starts off like a dream come true. So happily ever after and I’m all for it. Leo is so swoon-worthy, swooping in and buying the cabin together and fixing it up with Giana. After they just met too! Gahhhh! ❤️❤️❤️ And their nicknames for one another are just so so so perfect. But family obligations happen and life interferes, while the war is booming, and suddenly life is completely unfair. My heart felt absolutely shattered, tears were falling, and hope was feeling little. I couldn’t read this beautiful, heart warming, earth shattering love story fast enough, I had to know if it would be a HEA or if I would be left in my pile of tissues! But in the end, no matter how many years were lost, it was finally happening, the porch swing was finally getting the use it always deserved, and I felt my heart becoming whole again.
❤️Swoon-worthy romance
❤️Fixer upper cabin
❤️Vietnam war/ drafts
❤️Both virgins bringing the heat
❤️1969 era
❤️First love/insta love
❤️Two strangers/One Summer
It all starts off like a dream come true. So happily ever after and I’m all for it. Leo is so swoon-worthy, swooping in and buying the cabin together and fixing it up with Giana. After they just met too! Gahhhh! ❤️❤️❤️ And their nicknames for one another are just so so so perfect. But family obligations happen and life interferes, while the war is booming, and suddenly life is completely unfair. My heart felt absolutely shattered, tears were falling, and hope was feeling little. I couldn’t read this beautiful, heart warming, earth shattering love story fast enough, I had to know if it would be a HEA or if I would be left in my pile of tissues! But in the end, no matter how many years were lost, it was finally happening, the porch swing was finally getting the use it always deserved, and I felt my heart becoming whole again.
❤️Swoon-worthy romance
❤️Fixer upper cabin
❤️Vietnam war/ drafts
❤️Both virgins bringing the heat
❤️1969 era
❤️First love/insta love
❤️Two strangers/One Summer
April 17, 2023
I received an advance review copy (ARC) for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I'd give this story a 2.7 out of 5.
This is one of those story themes that could have left you sitting in a puddle of tears, yearning for love lost, etc. But I felt the connection wasn't fully there. It may have been the fact that it was a novella so the length didn't give us enough time to build on the characters. A story plot like this needs the readers to be fully invested in the love story and the characters.
The beginning love story is super fast they knew each other for less than a few days and already were ready to buy a cabin together and be madly in love.
As it nears the ending I felt like we just jumped through MAJOR plot lines and BAM we get a HEA (if you can call it that). The title of this book alone had be ready to be pining for a love interest to "come back" but I didn't feel that (and I realllly wanted to).
Follow me on instagram @minnfinnfiction
I'd give this story a 2.7 out of 5.
This is one of those story themes that could have left you sitting in a puddle of tears, yearning for love lost, etc. But I felt the connection wasn't fully there. It may have been the fact that it was a novella so the length didn't give us enough time to build on the characters. A story plot like this needs the readers to be fully invested in the love story and the characters.
The beginning love story is super fast they knew each other for less than a few days and already were ready to buy a cabin together and be madly in love.
As it nears the ending I felt like we just jumped through MAJOR plot lines and BAM we get a HEA (if you can call it that). The title of this book alone had be ready to be pining for a love interest to "come back" but I didn't feel that (and I realllly wanted to).
Follow me on instagram @minnfinnfiction
February 10, 2024
This is the story of Rosie’s grandmother Gigi in The Best Part of Me. How she came across to owning her family cabin and how she fell in love with a man from the very first moment they met. Giana and Leo met at Giana’s best friends and Leo’s cousins wedding. And they instantly felt a connection, a spark. Giana obsessed with getting her hands on this cabin and fixing it up. Leo wanting to get close to her proposes to buy it along with her and make it there’s. They spend the summer fixing it up together and having unimaginable intercourse soon fall in love. But what happens when summer is over and Leo has to go back to his family ranch back in Texas? Well that’s something your have to read to find out. I truly recommend you read this but after you read the first book but read this before book 2 as well because I believe it has to do with what may happen in book 2. But that’s me assuming. Anyways quick and easy read will get through this in a day because I definitely did. 😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2023
3.5
Giana has been saving up for her dream house for years... A grungie cabin thay needs a lot of work. Her summer is going to be spent working her butt off to save up the rest of the money and celebrating her best friend who is getting married.
Leo is in town for two weeks for the same wedding, and the minute he meets Giana he knows he is in love. He decides to stay the rest of the summer... Helping her fix up her dream home.
Novellas are not my favorite, only because I struggle to connect with the characters. And while this insta love went pretty quickly, the heartache felt like it slowed the book down and balanced it out. I don't cry when I read books, but I cried with this one.
This was a heartbreaking story and a very quick read. If you enjoy spice, heartbreaking books, HEA and supporting new authors, make sure to check it out!
Giana has been saving up for her dream house for years... A grungie cabin thay needs a lot of work. Her summer is going to be spent working her butt off to save up the rest of the money and celebrating her best friend who is getting married.
Leo is in town for two weeks for the same wedding, and the minute he meets Giana he knows he is in love. He decides to stay the rest of the summer... Helping her fix up her dream home.
Novellas are not my favorite, only because I struggle to connect with the characters. And while this insta love went pretty quickly, the heartache felt like it slowed the book down and balanced it out. I don't cry when I read books, but I cried with this one.
This was a heartbreaking story and a very quick read. If you enjoy spice, heartbreaking books, HEA and supporting new authors, make sure to check it out!
April 11, 2023
My problem with this kind of book is that even if I like the story, being so short makes it impossible to emotionally connect with the characters.
I think that the story was really good, with a bitter-sweet ending (HEA, but still bitter-sweet), that shows that life doesn’t always go as planned, but with it being so short it shows only the surface of everything, while it would have been really interesting seeing Leo's and Gianna's emotions more in-depth, with a slower pace of events, without the feeling of seeing everything rushed together.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I think that the story was really good, with a bitter-sweet ending (HEA, but still bitter-sweet), that shows that life doesn’t always go as planned, but with it being so short it shows only the surface of everything, while it would have been really interesting seeing Leo's and Gianna's emotions more in-depth, with a slower pace of events, without the feeling of seeing everything rushed together.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 9, 2023
A great quick read. This Novella is the intro to Ms. August’s upcoming Maple Ridge series. The story is told in duel POV’s and duel timelines. The story starts with Giana remembering the summer of 1969 when she met Leo and bought her dream cabin. The story was very emotional: found love, love separated by circumstance, lost love and finally rekindled love. I don’t want to give away any plot, but you will not regret picking this one up. I can’t wait for Author Leanne August to bring me back to Maple Ridge.
Thank you NetGalley, Expresso Book Tours and LeAnne August for the ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you NetGalley, Expresso Book Tours and LeAnne August for the ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 30, 2023
* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.
Since this book is a novella, it’s a really quick and easy read. We get a little bit of a backstory to the two main characters but we really don’t need to know much. Leo is visiting Maple Ridge for the summer and falls in love with Giana. They buy a cottage together and things get spicy. There are some sentences and phrases in the book that I found to be cringy, but the story as a whole is not.
Would recommend if you’re looking for a quick read!
Since this book is a novella, it’s a really quick and easy read. We get a little bit of a backstory to the two main characters but we really don’t need to know much. Leo is visiting Maple Ridge for the summer and falls in love with Giana. They buy a cottage together and things get spicy. There are some sentences and phrases in the book that I found to be cringy, but the story as a whole is not.
Would recommend if you’re looking for a quick read!
March 30, 2023
The book start with some trigger warnings. I crying reading this novella, what Leo and Giana have is true love. First i cringe with the insta love they have but i enjoy they spend time together, war make them seperate and what they have is really heartbreaking. The reunion in the next decades was so hearthwarmer. I love the dedication, hit hard thank you.
Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.
#ComeBacktoMe #MapleRidge #LeAnneAugust #XpressoBookTours #NetGalley #ARC
Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.
#ComeBacktoMe #MapleRidge #LeAnneAugust #XpressoBookTours #NetGalley #ARC
April 2, 2023
I absolutely wholeheartedly loved Come Back to Me.
I hope to read more from LeAnne August In the future.
So far this is one of my favorite novella’s for 2023.
A small town summer love in 1969. 😉😉
I love this couple so much. 💗 The love Giana and Leo have for one another is relationship goals! Leo is a true souther gentleman. Giana was sweet as pie. Who knew kids in the late sixties knew so much about sex as a virgin. Lol
The spice in this books is just enough.
My heart ached so much for them at the end I didn’t expect what came next. 🥹
I hope to read more from LeAnne August In the future.
So far this is one of my favorite novella’s for 2023.
A small town summer love in 1969. 😉😉
I love this couple so much. 💗 The love Giana and Leo have for one another is relationship goals! Leo is a true souther gentleman. Giana was sweet as pie. Who knew kids in the late sixties knew so much about sex as a virgin. Lol
The spice in this books is just enough.
My heart ached so much for them at the end I didn’t expect what came next. 🥹
April 4, 2023
This was VERY different from most romances.
Dual timelines with a now and then. The then is 40 years ago! So when he gets back to the now they are about 60 years old.
Honestly I can't believe I'm about to say this but.... For being a novella and a prequel/origin story there's far too much spice that doesn't really add to the story or help with the characters connection.
I loved the dual pov. Loved the side characters/ friends.
Instalove
Historical timeline
Letters written
Military
Virgin
Congrats on your debut novella.
Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.
Dual timelines with a now and then. The then is 40 years ago! So when he gets back to the now they are about 60 years old.
Honestly I can't believe I'm about to say this but.... For being a novella and a prequel/origin story there's far too much spice that doesn't really add to the story or help with the characters connection.
I loved the dual pov. Loved the side characters/ friends.
Instalove
Historical timeline
Letters written
Military
Virgin
Congrats on your debut novella.
Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews