4.5 stars. Beautiful story. Set in a small town in north west Washington, the setting is part of the book. The story makes use of the area views, wineries, biking trails, water, and of course tulip farms. Finn is a tulip farmer, Emily is a massage therapist. Sounds simple, but Emily has a deep, heart breaking backstory. (CW for fertility issues, depression and cheating).
When the story opens Emily is breaking up with her fiancé for cheating. But we also find out she has endometriosis and has been dealing with a lot of physical pain and mental health issues. She really, really wants to have a baby and is devastated with her eventual decision to have a hysterectomy at age 27.
8 months later she has moved from Seattle to Perry Harbor to start a new life for herself. She makes new friends, spends time with hobbies she enjoys and is on a mission to enjoy physical intimacy again. She has a belief that she won't ever have a life partner because she can't carry a baby, but can have fun in the short term.
Finn is on a woman and relationship hiatus after a bad experience. He's focusing on his family tulip farm and a new business venture. NO TIME FOR LOVE! But Finn and Emily become fast friends as they train for a trail bike race together and simply can't resist each other.
Some times books suffer when characters don't just TALK TO EACH OTHER. But this is a good example of characters in real life may truly not want to talk to their boyfriend or girlfriend, or even close friends about why they don't believe their relationship will work, they just could not handle the rejection or response to a very sensitive topic.
I think this is Christina Braver's first published book. I really enjoyed it and will check out the rest of the series. I look forward to more from her!