Heathen & Honeysuckle

Pacific Shores #1

by Sarah A. Bailey

Then:
Leo Graham knows nothing new ever happens in the small town of Pacific Shores. That is, until he runs into his new neighbor. Golden haired, honey-eyed, and sharp-tongued, Darby Andrews. The mischievous surfer is immediately smitten with the innocent girl-next-door, and vows to dedicate his summer to bringing out her wild side. As Leo and Darby’s budding friendship turns into a burning love that neither of them could’ve expected, Leo is determined to protect it at all costs. Until he finds the girl of his teenage dreams ran away in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye.

Now:
Darby Andrews is Crestwell, Kansas’s golden child. She’s always been a rule follower, save for one secret summer spent living with her grandmother in California; the consequences of which still haunt her a decade later. Darby’s always done what she was told, including agreeing to marry the man hand-picked by her demanding father. While perfect on paper, Darby knows what love is, and her engagement to Jackson Montague isn’t it. When the boy who’s heart she broke all those years ago shows up on the cusp of her nuptials claiming to have received a letter she never meant to send him, and an offer to run away, Darby’s left with a choice: remain the good girl she’s always been, or become the wild spirit she’s always wished to be.

Genres: Romance, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers, Sports Romance, Second Chance Romance, Found Family, Sports

384 pages, Paperback

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Sarah fell in love with reading as a child, starting with the Magic Treehouse Series. She quickly learned that books can take her to all the places she always dreamed of going, and allow her to live endless lifetimes in the one that we are given.
Sarah believes that a good, fluffy romance novel can make even the darkest days a little bit brighter. She believes in love stories readers can root for, the kind that will make even the skeptics believe in all that cheesy stuff like soulmates. She longs to produce stories that readers can pick up, and regardless of what’s weighing them down in life, feel a little lighter when they finish.
Sarah was born in California and raised in Southern Oregon, and still considers herself a Pacific Northwest gal at heart; right down to being a coffee snob, collecting hydro flasks, adamantly believing in Sasquatch, and feeling like rain-drenched forests are a form of therapy. Sarah now resides in North Carolina with her husband, Mike, and their dog-baby, Rue. When she’s not writing, she’s likely reading, and if she’s not reading, odds are she’s out searching for a decent cup of coffee, or a rainy pine forest.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tell me it's not my fault." THE DOUBLE MEANING OF THIS 😭😭😭
"We'll heal together."

This was such a good read & I really enjoyed the dual timeline. The way the story unraveled was EVERYTHING. Leo is legit perfection.. honestly maybe even a little toooo perfect 😂

I am excited to continue on with the series... I am really enjoying Sarah A. Bailey's writing!

I do think my only downfall with this was that it was a tad too long. I started to get a little bored at times, but in all - this was a great read!

"Dare me, honeysuckle."
"I dare you, heathen."

-sports romance
-right person / wrong time
-second change
-runaway bride
-road trip
-dual timeline
-it's always been you

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 4 out of 5]

* Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!*

First read rating: 4 stars.
Second read rating: 4 stars.

Powerless by Elsie Silver and this book are like first cousins.

____________
Apparently this book has ''I've always been yours.'' and ''What letters?'' and it's a second chance romance? *swoons*

I can't say if I will be able to finish this book in one day, but I will try my best. *fingers crossed*

[Carol Li · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first review I've ever written on Goodreads, but I have such strong negative feelings towards this book that I can't hold back. I really hated it. I would give it 0 stars if I could.


In general I like romance (it won't sound like it based on this review but I swear I do) and believe it can be done well. What I can't stand is being beaten over the head with this flowery, overly saccharine writing style that eventually becomes nausea inducing. By the time I was 30% through this book I wanted it to be over.

Listen, I know, this is a romance book, but can Leo or Darby just talk like a normal human person for once? It feels like there's never any actual emotional climax because the reader is constantly being inundated by stuff like: 'I was destined to find you' 'a piece of my soul' 'an angel and her demon' 'she's the source of warmth for my incandescent soul' 'stars aren't just born in your eyes; I think they die there too, exploding flashes of brightness that soar throughout eternity' 'two shattered souls healing together, bound by golden light' (FYI, my eyes are glazing over just writing this). By the way, that's only like 5 examples out of 800. You're supposed to want to read more, not throw up. There's power in bringing out the so-called 'big guns' 3 or 4 times in a romance novel for dramatic effect. It doesn't work if it's constant.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*



The way pregnancy loss/abortion was handled in this story was really infuriating. It was one thing for Darby to blame herself for a miscarriage when she was only 6 WEEKS pregnant (it was actually very realistic that she didn't know she was pregnant) and after a CAR ACCIDENT. If that wasn't ridiculous enough, it turns out that was the biggest reason she didn't contact Leo for 10 years - because she had guilt (phrases like 'I destroyed us, Leo', 'I brought it on myself'). While I don't wish a miscarriage on anyone, I really feel like this was an overly emotional dramatic device used to make Darby feel guilty about something that is pretty natural especially so early in a pregnancy and after a trauma. There was zero chance Leo was going to blame her for that. To me this is a crazy plot hole and I can't believe as a reader you're just supposed to go along with it. It really cheapened the story for me and I already felt the story was terrible.

And of course leave it to the author to make Dane the most ridiculous caricature of an evil controlling father, down to forcing his daughter to marry a business associate (is this the most unrealistic thing about the book?) and threatening to sell his own elderly mother's house 😂. He says things like 'tramping around like a fucking whore' (seriously, have I mentioned that this guy is a villain? Just needed another gentle reminder from the author that this guy is the archetype of a villain with no humanity). I can appreciate that Dahlia wants to keep her baby; that is her choice. But for the most evil, unrealistic character in the book to try to force his daughter to have an abortion? This really felt like a villainous caricature painted by an anti-abortion activist, and not even in a subtle way. I don't have any stats on how many women are forced to have abortions but it's probably a lot less than women that are pressured to keep them/have no access. The entire last 25% of this book just screamed 'pro-life' to me. This might have been a political stance the author was taking, but man, a little sprinkle of subtlety would have helped. Did I mention that he wanted her to have an abortion and he's evil? Abortion=evil? Anyone?

As an aside, it was absurd how evil Dane was considering Grandma Diane was his mother. Just one more ridiculous thing out of a thousand.

In summary, only read this book if you have time to bang your head against a wall for an hour after. I would recommend this book to someone I strongly dislike and whose time I would want to waste with more dialogue about wolves and ghosts.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely SPEECHLESS 😱 this was amazing SO AMAZING 🥹🩵 just read it okay!!!

[Katie Beasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely fantastic yall! I went in thinking this was going to be a small town beach romance and ended up being completely caught off guard in the best way of the emotional rollercoaster I read. Leo & Darby went through SOOO much to find each other. I loved the small town beach vibe where they first fell in love. The setting. The main character being from opposite sides of the track. Their instant connection. But then Darby had so much more she was going through. She was using that summer as an escape. I absolutely LOVED the way that Leo helped her find her confidence. I loved how he made her feel. My heart broke from their separation. But then I was beyond hopeful and at the edge of my seat when they met again like 10 years later after she had ghosted him. I loved that Leo showed up no questions asked. I loved the tenderness they showed each other even just as friends at first and how that slowly morphed into what they were before and even MORE than that. It was like Darby had been living in the shadows and then met the sun again. Leo reawoke her. UGH this was one of the best second chance romance books I have ever read! The angst was beyond angsty. The spice was ridiculous. And the LOVE. OMG the love.

Darby has been sent to visit her grandma for the summer so that her parents can work through some things with her sister. Darby decides to take this summer as a moment to just be. Be outside of her comfort zone. Live a life she might not be able to with the walls that her parents have put around her life. And then she meets Leo. Who pushes every boundary and limit she has ever known. He is beautiful and reckless and she trusts him. She feels this instant connection with him. What they share is beyond anything she could have ever imagined. But then her real life breaks the glass of this illusion. And so she does what she has to do to protect her family. She breaks Leo and her heart with it. Fast forward 10 years and Darby finds herself about to be married to someone she barely knows. Someone who gives her a ton of clues as to what this marriage will be. How did she get her? How did she lose her way so badly? But then Leo shows up. Like an angel to save her. They end up leaving together and he proposes they go on a road trip cross country. Back to where it all started. She can have time to think about what she really wants. They can be friends. But she doesn't want to be friends. She is too scared to want but she can't help it. He has become this amazing man now not the boy that she remembers. She is scared her will never forgive her once he learns the truth, but she wants to trust that what they have is beyond the past. That they are unshakable. She is ready to give him her heart again fully. Is he there with her? Will he forgive her?

Leo wasn't expecting to meet the woman of his dreams the summer he turned 17. But there she is. Sassy and beautiful and here for the summer. Darby. He finds her beyond intriguing. He finds himself nonstop thinking about her. Wanting to touch her. And provoke her. And push her to do things that she maybe wouldn't normally do at home in the shelter of her family. They share a connection he has never felt before. He finds himself planning beyond the summer. He thinks Darby is there with him in these thoughts but then he wakes up after they share an amazing night together and she is gone. No number to contact her. Just like dust in the wind. Fast forward 10 years later and he gets a letter in the mail from her. He doesn't even question his decision when he jumps on a plane and flies to save her from this life she has found herself in. Marrying a man she doesn't love. Marrying a man that isn't him. He decides right then and there that even if they are only friends he won't let her walk out of his life again. So he rescues her. Proposes they do a cross country trek so she can hide away for a bit and figure out what she wants. How she is going to respond to what has happened. Along the way he tells himself this woman broke his heart, but he doesn't seem to care. He still feels this connection between them. And when her walls finally lower he knows she feels it too. So they explore it. He knows she is his endgame but needs to get her there too. She says she hid things from him. Things that will change how he feels. Which just means he needs to make her understand how he feels because this feeling is unchangeable.

This book was just beyond brilliant. The connection was instant and long-lasting. I liked the twist on how Darby was raised. I found myself wondering how many people still live like that where they find themselves in arranged marriages. This book made me feel so many things. I was loving the banter. The side characters- I know ALL of these books are going to break me then build me back up. I was elated when Leo showed Darby how to live when she was younger and then again when she was older. I was broken when Darby was made to make an impossible choice. I felt her pain. It was palpable. But then I felt hope. Hope when Leo showed up and wouldn't let her go. Hope when they got the happily ever after they both deserved. I can't recommend this one enough!!

[Megan Coggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audacity of this book to be so sweet and yet emotionally soul wrenching in one full swoop.

Do I now have a thing for blonde cali surfer dudes?
I think I do.
Leo: boy/man perfected

Darby: her story.. hurt my heart.

The alternating timelines worked.

What an insane level of soulmate/fate at play

And can I just say Sarah A Bailey has a way of writing so poetically beautiful without it feeling forced or cringey.


“You’re my ‘it for me’ person. You were my first love. Then, the one who got away. Now, you’re my ‘it was always you.’ And it doesn’t matter what happened in between, because you’re gonna be my forever person too.” He cups my face, bringing his mouth to mine. “You’re my once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, Darby.”
😭😭😭

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5✨️ 3/5🌶

〰Heathen and Honeysuckle〰️

I’ve seen this one floating around, and after so many of you said this was one of your top reads of the year, I can say that I now see why: Leo and Darby have a magical love. Their story is heartfelt and a rollercoaster of emotions, but much like the ocean, it's also deep, lyrical, profound, endless, and even turbulent. 

Their story is told in dual timelines and begins at 17, when Darby's parents ship her off to stay with her grandmother in the small beach town of Pacific Shores for the summer. She meets Leo, and after their adorable intro, she is captivated by the generous man, a surfer with piercing blue eyes. These two go from bff's to more than youthful love, until Darby mysteriously returns to Kansas. Leo is left behind as he makes every effort to get in touch with Darby.

Cut to a decade later, Darby is about to tie the knot, when Leo, shows up with an unexpected letter and a promise, and gives Darby a choice. For her to choose herself and their love or not. Darby holds secrets, heartbreak, and the real reason why she left. Will their love be enough for two broken hearts to be one once again? 

Leo throughout this story is a dream, a green flag, at 17, he's a little rebellious, but such an old soul and has experienced so much. He had great communication, and was caring and gentle toward Darby. Leo, now older, even yummier, and a little wiser, is the ideal blend of possessive, modest, amiable, and magnetic. Darby, at 17, is always the sunshine girl, a people pleasure. She's been brought up strict and told to stay in line, but her time in Pacific Shores changes her as she experiences freedom,self-confidence, friendship, and happiness. But now, 10 years later, she finds herself so engulfed in toxicity and manipulation that her spark has been scorched out, her way home was enchanting and heartbreaking.  

Darby and Leo story is not only a read you CAN'T miss this summer, but one that’ll make you want to dip your toes in the sand. I can't wait for every book Sarah writes, because this is a GEM and she's made me a fan of hers for life. If you want a book with The Notebook vibes, then just grab your tissues, check your TW, and go fall in love with the Heathen and his honeysuckle.

[Jill (readinginpjs) · Rating 5 out of 5]

second chance + dual timeline is of my very favorite things to read, and this one did not disappoint!

✦ tropes & stuff:
2️⃣ second chance
⌛️ dual timeline
🚘 road trip
👰‍♀️ runaway bride
🌊 pro surfer mmc
💫 first love + it’s always been you
🌳 small town
💞 dual 1st person pov

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

🎧 audio+ebook | ⭐️: 4.75 | 🌶️: 3 |

Sarah Bailey’s writing had me hooked from the first pages!

I LOVED the banter between Darby & Leo, and I especially loved the past chapters.

Leo is IMMEDIATELY down so so bad for Darby, and always looking out for her, while also pushing her out of her comfort zone, and supporting her in standing up for herself 🥹

They truly balance each other out, & help one another grow and heal. I loved the analogy of his “ghosts” and her “wolves,” & how together they can take some of the load off.

There were a few twists I definitely saw coming, but I didn’t mind that so much.

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of the audio. I immersive read and I found 2 main things - I felt the female narrator sounded much older than her character, & the male narrator at times gave a totally different emotion/tone to a line than how I would have read it in my head (which was maybe how the author intended, but didn’t make sense to me for the story).

📖 Heathen & Honeysuckle by Sarah A. Bailey
📚 book 1 • Pacific Shores series
💜: contemporary romance
🎙 narrated by: Yvonne Roberts & Curtis Michael Holland

*Connect with Me*
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[S L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cliche

I also hate every time he calls her honeysuckle

[Haily Volk · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐️
2🌶️

THIS BOOK WAS A MASTERPIECE!! When I tell you that this is by far my new favorite read of the year… I’m not joking yall!! I love Leo and Darby so much!! This was my first Sarah A. Bailey book and definitely won’t be my last. I can’t wait for wicked & wildflower!! Can October 15th get here any faster 😍

We met Leo & Darby when they are in high school. Darby Andrews is visiting her grandmother in Pacific Shores for the summer. She does have a controlling father & mother that encourages her to stay away from all boys until she is married. She has a purity ring. A summer romance begins and they start to fall in love. Until one day when someone in her family needs her, she abruptly leaves without saying goodbye. 10 years later, it’s now Darby’s wedding day with a man her parents set up to marry. She doesn’t love him and her heart still belongs in Pacific Shores. So when a letter written by Darby ends up in Leo’s hands. He immediately goes to her!!

I am so in love with the second chance trope in this! If you want a good second chance that makes you feel, go pick this book up now! The then & now chapters, all of the missing pieces get put back together in the end! Their love for each other never went away and that’s what warms my heart. Literally she calls me and he comes because she needed him. Can’t get any better than that! I absolutely loved how they helped each other. The way he made her come out of her shell and be the person she was. I love them so much! They will always have a piece of my heart!!

Tropes:
🤍Runaway Bride
💚Second Chance
🤍Dual Timeline
💚Surfer Boy
🤍Summer Romance
💚Good Girl x Bad Boy
🤍Roadtrip
💚Forbidden Romance

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

y'all lied 😂😂😂
jk reading is subjective, but for me, this shit was a snoozefest

it was cute, yes, but that was all it had going for it. second chance is very hit or miss for me, and I had no idea this entire book was one 3 or 4 day road trip and flashbacks. like hello??? nothing happens

leo was very sweet. drop everything and be there for a girl he hadn't seen in 10 years. swoon. and I honestly really enjoyed their flashbacks to when they were 17.
and I will say that one spice scene that lowkey came out of nowhere on the roadtrip was so hot 😂😂😂 I was shook lol

but darby was a gutless dumbass. her reason for just up and leaving leo and never speaking to him was ridiculous 😂 and for her to stay in the position she was in for TEN YEARS AFTER? when she was a full blown adult??? girl bye

and then for them to just fully reconnect and essentially get back together after 4 days? yeah no talk about unrealistic

idk this was such a miss

• second chance
• roadtrip
• runaway bride
• childhood lovers to strangers to lovers

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading book 3 in the series now so I’m reposting my thoughts on book 1 mostly to remind myself.

3.5 / 5 Stars
I felt a LOT of things reading this book and to me that is a good thing. Sometimes I read and it truly goes in and out of my brain never to be thought of again and I certainly will be thinking of this book again. This is a second chance romance about Darby (the titular honeysuckle) and Leo (the titular heathen – who, if you ask me, got the raw end of the deal with that nickname). They fall in love as teenagers, something mysterious happens to make Darby leave, and they reconnect ten years later when Darby is a runaway bride at her wedding. And we jump back and forth between present and ten years ago.

My two biggest gripes with second chance books is that 1) I need to feel like the characters have changed in some way so that they actually stand a chance of working this time around and 2) the reason they broke up has to not be dumb or insurmountable. And in the case of this book, I feel like we just barely passed on both 1 and 2.

This book started off really strong. If I had any Canva skills and even an ounce of patience, I would have been making a beautiful, aesthetic Instagram carousel of Leo’s quotes. Some of them hit HARD. And then some of them feel repetitive and childish. For every quote that slammed my heart (in a good way), we got a “suck, honey” which made my eyes roll back into my head. Like sir, are you using WORD PLAY in the middle of sex? Pardonne-moi?

The characters both spoke in big declarative statements and on the nose metaphors which I think worked really well when they were teens because teen brains function that way (at least mine did). But I wish that Darby and Leo’s thought processes and language skills matured over those ten years. And maybe they were mentally stuck at 17 years old but the things they said started to feel repetitive. And it also started to feel like tell instead of show.

I felt like Leo’s character was really well developed. You could see how his traumas shaped him and how Darby impacted his life. Darby felt a little flat. I think it is because she spends a lot of time in the present crying. Which, don’t get me wrong, I am a big cry baby so no hate here, but I wanted to read about her getting angry or frustrated or anything else so that her character had a little more umph.

Darby’s parents, especially her dad, were almost cartoonish in how horrible they were. I thought we’d see him twirling his mustache and tying her up on some train tracks at some point. I don’t remember if there was a content warning in the beginning of the book but he should have his own section in a content warning. The villains in books don't need pages upon pages of backstory but I think knowing anything about why he is the way he is (even if it is that he is truly just a psychopath) would have made him feel a little more dimensional.

I will not spoil the reason that Darby left but I will say that it was a big frustration for me. We don’t find out what it is until around 85% of the way into the book. Because of that, 1) you have to listen to Darby talk about how horrible it is over and over (which again feels repetitive) and 2) there is not a lot of time for the characters to process the reason so that part felt rushed and it also felt very surmountable (oh we wrapped this up in two paragraphs? Why was it such a big deal then?).

All of that being said, will I be reading the next book? OF COURSE. I, too, am a heathen who needs to know what happens to Dahlia (Darby’s sister who truly should have the biggest daddy issues in the world).

Thank you to Page & Vine and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Re-release Publication Date: June 10, 2025

[bgroww · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Sarah Bailey read and oh my gosh ?!?
I have no words. But also.. AHHHHHH! Leo is a fucking heartthrob. And Jackson?! That son of a bitch!

I don’t have anything intellectual to say but this book is so fucking good. I could not put it down. Finished it in 2 days. 😭🩵

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

You want a man who yearns? Read this book.

[Grace Harper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soooo this started out strong, but unfortunately it didn’t continue that way. We got an angsty prologue of a love letter written by the fmc 2 weeks before her wedding. It was addressed to her past lover, and as far as she knew, it would remain unsent forever. This book gave us dual timelines and dual pov. I was feeling somewhat invested in the storyline to begin with.

Butttttt as I got closer to the halfway mark, I got very bored and was cringing a lot more over the writing/dialogue. From this point on, I feel like the story really just started to lose me. I kept putting it down and going to read other things. It took me like 3 weeks to finish this. At the 80% mark I considered dnf’ing, but I still kinda wanted to know how it was going to end. Tbh, I wish I just dnf’d lol. I was absolutely dragging myself through the last half of this book.

— The nicknames were beyond obnoxious. Besides the fact that they were very cringe, they were also extremelyyy overused. That is the one thing I HATE about some of the books I’ve read in the last year. What is with these weird ass, random nicknames that are used in every single sentence? Like it’s okay to call them by their actual name sometimes.. or idk just call them just something simple like ‘baby’? These authors are trying too hard to be different and it’s not working.

— The 🌶️🌶️ was unnecessarily aggressive..? It made no sense for these characters to have that kind of dirty talk. Like it made me feel weirdly uncomfortable because it was so extreme for no reason? I skimmed every single spicy scene because of this.
Idk so weird, I've neverrrr felt like that about spice in a book, but it's because it did not work with these inexperienced characters or this storyline.

Overall, I thought this story started out interesting and it touched on some good topics, but I don’t think it was executed well.

[Jamie Engel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I am convinced Sarah laced this with something because WOW!! This was so beautiful and emotional and I was immediately hooked from the beginning. This will not be my last Sarah book!

Leo and Darby’s story was literally everything! It was so heartfelt and so full of emotion!
Leo is the definition of a green flag! He has such an old soul and I love how patient and caring he was with Darby.
And all the shit Darby had to endure…I have never felt so much for a FMC. Her story literally makes my heart hurt but I’m glad it all works out in the end. Even if it took 10 years.
The letters!!! 😭😭 Her Grandma!!! Ugh it’s rare for a book to make me feel so many things and this one def did and might be one of my favorite reads this year!! Immediately diving into the next one!

Overall: 5
Spice: 2

Tropes:
Good Girl x Bad Boy
Second Chance
Forced Proximity
Surfer MMC
Runaway Bride
Roadtrip
Dual Timeline

[danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

the crying started and just didn't stop??

[Liz | Bookslizreads90 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to @sarahabaileyauthor , @pageandvinebooks , and @luvbooksclub for the #gifted copy of this book! I'm absolutely blown away by this book. It is an actual masterpiece. I was up all night reading because I didn't want to put it down. The dual timeline had me on the edge of my seat the whole time because I had to know what happened between Leo and Darby. Their love story is definitely one of my new favorites. I was not ready for the emotional rollercoaster that this put me through, but it was so worth it! Sarah wrote the perfect man - Leo Graham! This book is going to be hard to beat. That being said, I'm so excited to read the rest of the series because the found family and friendships in this book were some of the best that I've read 🥹🫶! Now onto Wicked and Wildflower! 🌼 🌸

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes:
Small Coastal Town
Second Chance Romance
Forbidden
Dual Timeline
Good girl X Bad Boy
Surfer MMC
Summer Romance
Runaway bride

♾️⭐
2🌶️

Hands down one of my top reads of the year. If you love second chance romance this is an absolute must read. If you don't love it, I still highly suggest picking this book up because Sarah's writing is absolutely breathtaking

This story is about Darby & Leo. They meet when Darby goes to live with her grandma during the summer in Pacific Shores, this is where she meets Leo and his group of friends. Darby lives a very controlled life by her father & really comes to discover herself through the summer, and she also falls in love. When someone needs her near the end of summer she quickly goes back home with the promise to return.

10 years later, she's about to marry the wrong man when her sister intervenes & Leo shows up unexpectedly. He helps her escape & they rehash all their trauma between one another.

This book is a masterpiece, and am extremely emotional journey. Lots of heartbreak, and jaw dropping spice.

One thing to mention is that I'm usually turned off by high school age. Sarah wrote it tastefully & beautiful. I was incredibly impressed that she took something that is usually an ick for me and made me love it.

Please please please, I beg you add this one to your TBR.

[Sandy (Sandy.Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Y’all… Heathen and Honeysuckle by Sarah A. Bailey was everything I could’ve wanted and more. The writing was top-tier, the emotions were raw, and I tabbed SO many lines. But what really made it a five-star read for me were all the elements woven into the story.

If you love books with…
• Dual POV and dual timeline
• Yearning so intense it practically hurts
• Two broken characters healing and growing together
• An MMC who is hopelessly down bad (and shows up on her wedding day 👀)
• Emotional, top-tier writing you’ll want to highlight everywhere
• Side characters who steal your heart and make you desperate for their stories

…then you need to pick this one up.

This is the first in a series, and I am already counting down until I can get my hands on the next book. The whole cast is elite, and I know every story is going to wreck me in the best way.

[carliereadssss · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read by Sarah.. and I’m changed forever. Leo & Darby have my heart indefinitely. Their story is one for the books. I can’t express how much I loved this book. It made me feel every single emotion. Happiness, anger, confusion, joy, (a few tears fell down my legs, Leo is #daddy), and overall had me remembering why I love reading so much.

Start this series as fast as you can. You will NOT regret it.

[Saraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I never really got used to “honeysuckle”, this was a disgustingly adorable and wholesome small town second chance romance and I loved every second of it 🥹

[Bre · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️
I’m usually a sucker for a second-chance romance (it’s one of my comfort tropes), but this one just didn’t land for me.
The structure—especially the dual timelines—was more jarring than seamless. Instead of feeling like a braid that wove the past and present together, it felt like two different threads that kept slipping through my fingers. Add in a cast of characters whose nicknames and similar names kept tangling in my brain, and I was constantly pausing to ask myself, wait… who are we with right now?
Thematically, the book leans heavily into religious tones—purity culture, shame, guilt, church life, the whole package. While I think the intended message was ultimately about letting go of those burdens, the way it played out on the page was difficult for me personally (religious school kid here 🙋🏻‍♀️). It hit some raw spots, and instead of feeling freeing, it just felt heavy. Totally a personal-preference thing, but it definitely impacted my reading experience.
There were also some tropes that I just don’t vibe with (without spoiling, I’ll just say the whole “soul-deep, no-one-else-ever” type dynamic made me more squirmy than swoony). I know some readers eat that up, but for me it tipped into the creepy/weirdly possessive zone.
To be fair, there were moments in the back half that I did enjoy—the story had little sparks where I thought, okay, here we go! But they were overshadowed by the parts that didn’t click, and now, sitting down to write this, I can’t really recall the things I liked.
Overall? This was a miss for me. But based on how many people are loving it, I’m clearly in the minority—so if you’re a fan of deeply emotional, religiously-tinged, angst-heavy romances, this could still be your jam. Just wasn’t mine.

[drew :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️, 3 🌶️

firstly thank you so much @sarahabaileyauthor for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. overall I really loved this book! it took me a little bit to get invested and into the story but after like the first 20% I was really loving it. darby and leo was so cute and I loved the alternating timeline with seeing the current story 10 years later and the past story. I loved seeing darby and leo reconnect after 10 years and overall was adorable but also spicy 🤭. leo the man that you are. I def recommend this one and you should definitely read if you love the following tropes:

-good girl x good boy
-small town
-pro surfer
-second chance
-forbidden love
-angsty and emotional
-spicy!! 🌶️

this is now available on kindle unlimited but also available as a paperback!

[Medollga · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars rounded up 🔥

this was incredibly dramatic for no reason, but so sweet🥹😍 and the hero is over the top swoony ❤️

[Tai · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6✨ Would’ve been 5 stars if they had more time together on page after getting back together.

One things for sure, and two things for certain: I would’ve never, not EVERRRR left Leo Graham. I would’ve told him everything, and we would’ve rolled out at dawn to go pick up Dahlia. But, there wouldn’t be a story had it happened that way so moving along… This book made me cry real tears at the amount of vulnerability displayed. The fact that Leo truly believed he wasn’t good enough to be loved or to have people stay. My word. I try my best to veer away from second chance romances, bc I don’t always feel like the journey is worth the reuniting and recommitting at the end. (Frankly, it’s never enough time spent back together imo) but this book was really good despite my reluctance and I loved the MC’s relationship. The flashbacks from their summer together had me smiling from ear to ear even though I was always so anxious to get back to the present.


Anywhooo…

MMC: Leo/Heathen♥️😩 (“bad boy” turned pro surfer) • One of the best written guys everrrr. An amazing son, brother, friend + boyfriend. There were times his responses were borderline too perfect & cheesy but I ate it up - crumbs included. The amount of loss he dealt with throughout his life was heartbreaking, and I’m so glad he eventually ended up with his ‘golden girl that chased his ghosts away’.


FMC: Darby/Honeysuckle💖 (good girl then a teacher turned florist) • She was everything Leo needed, and he was everything she needed. She was naturally funny, kind, and accepting. I loved her coming out of her good girl shell when they were kids, and her overall character growth during that summer. I hated how so much of her life was controlled, micromanaged, and manipulated by her father. & I respected her so much when she walked away from the wedding.

⚠️ + Info:
-Dual POV
-Flash backs, letters, + alternating timelines
-No cheating/sharing/OWD
-Separated for 10 years (H had atleast one other partner, h stayed celibate)
-Miscarriage
-Talks of abortion
-Parental neglect
-Death of loved one(s) x 3
-OMD: h’s fiancé/ex-fiancé Jackson • Leo’s able to put him in his place in Chapter 47😩🔥
-Side characters: Grandma Diane who ended up being very supportive of the H & h’s teenage love affair, the H’s friends: August & Zack/siblings: Elena & Everett, and the h’s sister Dahlia (I love how big sissy intervened by mailing that letter and helping her escape, lol do I wish all this could’ve happened 10 years sooner? ABSOLUTELY.)
-HEA: Engaged & then a glimpse 15 years later married w/ a daughter. 💖

Last rant: Overall, this was good but I had some questions left unanswered like what was the whole August/Elena/Zack stuff when they were younger? Did Leo wear that ring while sleeping with other people or that other woman… that’s weird if so. Did they ever use the plan B? Did Darby and grandma have conversations after she left, and if so what was said?! Lastly this would’ve been so much better had we seen their wedding/honeymoon or something. -___-

[Sav | SavtheBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I tell you this is by far my new favorite book of the year... I am not lying.

This dual timeline, second chance romance, has my whole heart.
Darby (Honeysuckle) finds herself being sent to her grandma's house in California for the summer. There are some things going on back home that her parents are trying to hide from her. As she gets settled into her grandma's she finds herself running into a local surfer boy... Heathen, as her grandma called him. Leo Graham. The boy who sweeps her off her feet that summer and who she left heartbroken.

Years, and multiple letters that were never sent, later. Her sister sends one she found to him. Her final letter to the love of her life, that she is not marrying. Darby is set to marry a man she has never loved but the marriage will help her family... until he shows up to help her runaway. Heathen. The boy she has never stopped loving. The boy who promised to always keep her safe.

Listen.... the way I vibed with Darby and all of the things she went through. This book hit so close to home and I loved it so much. If you don't read this you are literally missing our big time. This one will change the chemistry in your brain and I'm not even being dramatic LOL

Tropes
-childhood lovers to strangers to lovers
-runaway bride
-road trip
-secret(ish) tattoos
-their own little language (the hand squeezes *cries*)
-unsent letters
-touch her and d*e
-the MIRROR SCENE
-he f*cks her on the hood of his car after telling off her horrible dad LOL ( i convinced you there right LOL)

infinity/5 stars
2/5 spice

[𐙚 moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I squeeze her hand four times.
I’ll. Keep. You. Safe.

I squeeze his hand again, four times.
You’re safe with me.

Having to comply with the wishes of her parents, Darby is getting married to the man her father chose for her. A man she doesn’t love and can’t love. A man who is not the one she remembers as Heathen — the one to whom she wrote a last love letter after ten years of separation.
When she finds out that he received this letter and he’s in her town to see her, she’s left with two options:
1. Be the good girl she was raised to be, even if it means being chained to a man she would never love.
2. Drop everything and rejoin the person she loved deeply when she was a teenager — the one with whom she could be Honeysuckle again.

𐙚 Summer teenage love
𐙚 He fell first and harder
𐙚 They are meant to be, even after 10 years of separation
𐙚 Green flag MC
𐙚 Toxic/controlling family

“Leo,” she breathes. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Looking at you like what, Honeysuckle?”
“Like you know exactly what my soul feels like, and you’ve been incomplete without it all this time.”
I do. I have.

I fell in love with this book.
I tried to read it once a few days ago without giving it my all. I was ready to not read it, but Kindle didn’t want to return the book, so it stayed in my library.

After reading the summary again, I realized it was literally the type of story I love. And yeah, I loved it. I was so close to missing a beautiful book like this one — a book that made me happy, giggle, and hurt.

I wasn’t expecting to feel that much for this book and its characters, but here I am.

“Stop looking at me like that, Honeysuckle.” His voice is rough.
“Like what?” I ask, suddenly breathless. His full lips part on an inhale as his tongue snakes out to rake across them. Maybe it’s whatever I’ve been drinking, but I realize I very much want to know what that lip feels like between my teeth.
“Like you’re wondering what a piece of my soul feels like.”

Reading about their love at seventeen in one chapter, and then seeing them ten years later in another, was so good. It was just well done — the kind of writing that makes you inevitably understand the characters, feel for them, and hurt for them when you remember that something happened to keep them apart for ten years.

But then, you see them falling in love again. And it was so damn good.

Darby is unfortunately convinced that she has to live a certain way to be a good person. She’s manipulated by her parents into living her life as a good daughter — but she’s not really living as herself. She can’t make her own choices.
When she encounters Leo, she starts to spark to life. She experiences friendship and love.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he whispers.
“Like what?”
“Like I own all the pieces of your soul. Like you’ve been incomplete all this time without them.”

It was so good to see her becoming more than what she was expected to be. I really loved her.

And it was so good to know Leo — he’s just so good but so haunted inside. Never feeling like he’s enough, never finding his place.

But when he’s with Darby, he’s at home. He’s at peace.

And yeah, I enjoyed seeing both of them finding peace in their love.
They were so fucking sweet.

Them always squeezing their hands four times to say “you’re safe with me.”
Them having fun together, baring their hearts, Leo being soft with her, doing everything to make her smile and live beautiful experiences. Leo, who fell for her since the first eye contact. Darby trusting him, reciprocating, listening to him, comforting him.

They were perfect together when they were seventeen, and they’re still perfect together at twenty-seven.

What got me were all the sweet words said when they were seventeen, mirrored when they were twenty-seven.

They remembered their conversations, those words that had marked them. And when I read a chapter in the present and saw one of them saying something similar to back then, my heart would flutter and swell with love for them.

This book is really so well written. I and surely will read the other book in the series.

I found a new favorite.

𐙚 Quotes

“I want to bring you with me because you scare my ghosts away, Darby.”

“You taste like honey,” he rasps. I hum against his mouth. “You taste like corruption.”

“You think I’m a bad boy?” he asks, flicking a brow. “In my world, definitely.” “Do you… like bad boys?” “Shut up.” I laugh, shoving at him. “You’re the best kind of bad boy because you’ve got a good soul.” My hand is still pressed against his chest, and as I move it away, he stops me, covering it with his own. He squeezes it four times. “That’s the best thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“You’d wait a whole year just for me to come back?” “I think I might wait my whole life for you to come back, Darby. Something tells me there would be no point in trying to move on from this, because I’d end up searching for you in every place I go, in every person I meet, aimlessly wandering until I find you again.”

“You deserve to be protected, too, Leo. I’ll do that. I’ll protect whatever pieces of yourself you choose to give me. I’ll cherish them.” I lean into him again, tracing his jaw with my mouth. “You were my first kiss. My first date. My first true, real best friend. You make me feel so safe, Leo.” I sigh against his skin. “I want you to be my first everything. I want to give you a piece of me too.”

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he rasps. “The moon wraps around you in the distance like a halo. You’re glowing.” He drags his fingers across my collarbone. “An angel. An angel and her demon.” I close the gap between us once more, feathering my lips over his. “A honeysuckle and her heathen.”

“It represented a piece of you that would always belong to me. If I couldn’t have you. If I never got to see you again. If you…” He sighs. “If you went on to marry someone else, love someone else, give the rest of yourself to another person…” He reaches up to grab the ring hanging at his chest. “I’d have this. I’d have this piece of you, this reminder that at one point in time, you were mine. It’s a reminder that I know what love is. That I have been loved, even if I’m not anymore.”

Darby. My honeysuckle. My first love. My only love.

I love you. I know the future feels scary right now, but I have faith in us. Distance is finite. It can be conquered. But you and I, Honeysuckle, we are infinite. We are destined. Written in the stars. Proof of the divine. We’re meant to be.

“You’re not unemployed. You’re a teacher, and it’s summer break. You’re not homeless. I’m your home.” He leans into my ear. “And you’re not engaged to that man. The next time you want to refer to yourself as engaged, you let me know, because the only person you’re marrying in this life is me.” I swallow as those words cascade over my body, skating along my bones, drenching my soul like a waterfall of intention. I shiver at the seriousness in his voice. “Are we understood, Honeysuckle?”

“You’re my once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, Darby.”

“You’re an angel,” I whisper. “An angel and her demon.” She sighs against my lips. “A heathen and his honeysuckle,” I respond.

[Katie Thayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

all the stars!! ✨

Heathen and Honeysuckle
By: Sarah Bailey

“I want to bring you with me because you scare my ghosts away, Darby.”

She looks at me, those honey eyes swirling with fear and anticipation—but also excitement. I squeeze her hand four times. I’ll. Keep. You. Safe. We jump together, free-falling into the abyss.

“You came,” she whispers, breaking the silence.
“You needed me.”

“I think the best version of me is the one who belongs to Leo Graham. No part of my actions is good in the eyes of the traditions I was raised in, but every piece of me feels perfect in this moment. I feel wild. I feel free. I feel like myself.”

This story is utter perfection! Darby and Leo’s story broke me and put me back together. They loved hard and fell fast for each other. Only to be ripped apart for years. A theme is this book is divine intervention and that’s what brings them back together and we start our walk through their memories and one summer together. I love these two so much, they get all the stars and then some!

Tropes:
Second Chance
First Love
Good Girl/ Bad Boy
Secret Tattoos


Spice starts at: 43%🔥

Spice: 2/4🌶️
Stars: 5/5⭐️♾️

Available on Kindle Unlimited

[Kes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5 star read indeed. Not only is Sarah A Bailey my favorite author, but all these books are just unbelievable. So talented & the characters are so charming. The little tie in at the end with some old friends really made me feel somethin. LOVE THIS BOOK. LOVE THIS AUTHOR. LOVE THESE SERIES.