3.5 stars
I believe this is my first book by this writer. It's clear she's been doing this for a minute judging by the polished quality of her work. She has nice prose and her writing flows well, with natural dialogue and just the right amount of description. Very few typos and no major editing gaffes. She also does her research, which is another sign she knows what she's doing.
(However, I regret to inform Ms. Toler that her friend can't trademark 'hoe bath,' as the term likely predates her conception 😁.
I also regret that remembering how old I was when I first heard it reminds me how old I am NOW 😑.)
Anyway.
Overall, there was a lot to like here for me despite feeling at the end as though the book missed the mark just a little.
The tone of the story was just a little too somber for too long, perhaps? But what didn't quite work for me was that I wanted more emotion from Cole and Emalee and expected more angst than what was delivered. Part of it was that there were too many players here and I get that this was a set up for Bailor and Joe's stories, but it was still a lot of background noise.
And two sick parents was a bit much for me. But there is obviously a lot more to this little saga...and I know where Joe is. Or I should say, with whom.
The book was in two parts, perhaps 60% past and 40% present, ten years later. I would have liked it if the latter chapters had focused on the h and H, but again, set-ups for future stories.
Not a lot of steamy scenes but what existed was tastefully done. I always like it when the story takes precedence over a lot of inane filler I've read thousands of times over.
I liked this. It's the first thing I've read in ages that I didn't skim, and I'll definitely be watching for the other brothers' stories.