Alchemy Unfolding

by M.L. Broome

Who loves a steamy reverse age gap romance with a sexy as sin surfer? Who doesn't? Come meet Josh, your next book boyfriend.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Thank you, John Lennon. You certainly have me pegged.

I had a plan for my life and it did not include walking in on my boyfriend schtupping his secretary.

What’s a girl to do? If you’re saying to relocate across the country, ding-ding-ding—we have a winner.

My new plan was no plan at all. Just work and fun in the San Diego sun. I wasn’t looking for love but it found me, regardless—in the form of a gorgeous, golden surfer.

The only issue? He’s thirteen years younger. Oh, and his friends hate me.

And, because the universe has a warped sense of humor, my ex just transferred to my San Diego hospital, gunning for a second chance after his illicit tryst went south.

So many choices, so little time. Do I follow my heart and veer into unknown territory or return to the path I’ve always known?

Genres: Romance, Sports

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2020

About the author

M.L. Broome is a bohemian spirit with a New York edge. Her small-town contemporary romances feature smart and sexy heroines over the age of thirty-five, and sizzle with angsty, slow-burn goodness.

Raised on a steady diet of stories, she grew up believing all men should be like Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre—enigmatic yet unflappable in their devotion. Hence, her own brand of book boyfriend was born.

When M.L. isn’t holding one-sided arguments with her characters (she likens it to herding cats), she loves losing herself to nature on her North Carolina farm, one her rescue fur babies by her side.

Her favorite things? Dressing up and kicking back with a glass of wine and a stunning view, soaking up all the experiences that make the soul and senses tingle.

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Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for a arc copy for a honest review 


Alchemy Unfloding is an age gap I don't read many age gap stories this book did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading this journey that that Addy goes through along with Josh it had me rooting for them to have they happy ending. 5 star read 


Happy Reading 📚

Lisa 

[Eleanor Aldrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

♥ ♡ ♥ REVERSE AGE-GAP ROMANCE ♥ ♡ ♥

This was my first reverse age gap romance and it didn’t disappoint. Broome managed to captivate me, pulling me into her world where the main character, Addy, struggled through healing and overcoming the damage caused by her past and an unfaithful boyfriend.

This book takes you on a journey with a steamy hot surf instructor who shows Addy life isn’t as limited as she believes it to be. Through patience, steamy moments, and some tough love, Josh is able to help Addy find herself.

The question is, when she finally does figure out who she is and what she wants, who will she choose? Her steady but unfaithful past or her exciting but uncertain future?

A definite must-read if you are into age gap romance or McDreamy surfers!

[Smiler The Avid Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

With each book in the series I was holding out for more.

Even though the books are well written, the characters are so immature. Constant making assumptions and miscommunications. The fmc is only five years younger then me in this book but seems so immature…constantly turning her phone off so the mmc can’t actually communicate with her. Don’t get me wrong I love angst and second chances but the characters are constantly saying one thing and doing another. ….’I love you so much, you’re my soul mate’… but then….I’m not going to give you the benefit of the doubt OR I’m going to not tell you about something important. They were their own worst enemy, again doing one thing and saying another and no speaking at all. I understand the author wanted real situations and there’s no such thing as perfect, but it’s repeating the same behaviour over and over that was most difficult for me.

Also we never got to understand why Josh didn’t invite Addy to the club opening….yet she was good enough to ask for a lift home. It really upset her, but yet it wasn’t mentioned again after.

I was determined to finish the series. I was hoping for something different, I don’t know why. That’s not the authors fault at all, the characterisation is how they are speaking to her whilst she writes. It does make for great angst, but when the main characters seem so emotional stunted, immature and make the same mistakes over and over it becomes frustrating. E.g Addy felt insecure over and over and over about Chantelle, but Josh was constantly reassuring her over and over and declaring his love for Addy, but then wouldn’t invite her or make plans that included Addy and Chantelle would constantly be around. It was just repeating itself with the friends interfering and constant blanking, miscommunication and misunderstandings.

Some might say why keep reading the series then..…I love the writing style so much…..the flow, the pace, everything except the characters making the same mistakes and following the same pattern of mistakes.

Edited to add…I just wish that after each miscommunication they actually discussed why they were upset….instead we got ‘you know I love you’ and other huge declarations, rather than actually talking through the issues properly. Each time it happened nothing was actually resolved, they just moved on to the next time it happened again. That’s what was missing for me.

[hopelesslyinlovewith_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am completely in love with this beautiful age gap book! M.L. Broome really knows how to bring all the feels and her writing is so good!

Addy is an almost 40 year old nurse that just catches the man she’s been with for 4 years cheating on her with his secretary. But she finds she doesn’t really have any emotion about it so she decides to make a drastic change and moves across the country to California where she meets an amazing man named Josh surfing on the beach one morning after a rough night out at the club. He’s only 26. But Addy has issues with their age difference (as do his friends) but Josh wants her regardless.

Josh is a really great guy! He’s so romantic and I swooned over and over through it all! There was quite a bit of drama and heartache but it had a perfect HEA!

[Sara | sara.reads.too.much · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

I love age gap romances, they're some of the most entertaining books I've read, and I plan on discovering more of them!!

This book right here is a rollercoaster of emotions, I went for a ride and a half with this one because there was D.R.A.M.A for days!!

The one thing I didn't love about the book is that (without spoiling anything major) when Josh and Addy get together, Addy's character changes a lot and I just didn't enjoy her character as much as I did in the beginning of the book.

I totally recommend it if you're looking for some high drama and lots of entertainment because this book has definitely got that!

[Melanie Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of age gap romances, and while I did enjoy this one, there were a few things that bugged me. The MMC came across as a bit immature, especially when it came to dealing with his friends. Honestly, his friends were awful, and instead of putting them in their place, he just kept them around. The FMC frustrated me at times too—whenever there was miscommunication, she never asked questions or tried to clarify things. I know that’s also on the MMC, but since she’s older, I expected her to handle those situations better.

[Katie Mettner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alchemy Unfolding is a well-written age-gap romance that will keep you rooting for this couple until the very end.

Addy is done with her life in New York. She's done with her uncaring boyfriend of four years and her mother who has controlled her for far too long. At 39, Addy sees her life slipping away and after her breakup, she decides to take a traveling nurse position in San Diego and start a new adventure. Her first stop? The beach. There, sitting on the warm sand, her life changes when she brings her camera to her eye and sees the man who looks and surfs like a God.

Josh is everyone's dream book boyfriend...mostly. He's young at 26 but he knows what he wants out of life, which isn't something Addy is used to. He's waited to meet the right woman to start his life with and he believes that woman is Addy. He just has to convince her of it. That's going to be harder than it sounds, though. Addy is VERY hung up on the fact that she's older than him and he'll tire of her eventually.

I would like to say that Addy overreacted about the age difference, and she did a bit, but it was driven by Josh's friends who were not kind to her. They were excellent at finding the edge of that insecurity and picking at it until the wound started to bleed again and remind Addy why it was a bad idea to have such powerful emotions for a man so much her junior.

While there was a lot of miscommunication, and many times a simple discussion could have solved the problem rather than running away, Addy was facing life changes that had her heart and head in turmoil. She was ill-equipped to deal with the power of Josh's love when she was so used to her ex who had none. Speaking of her ex, he showed back up in her life just to make things even harder for Addy. I think the only good that came from that was her ability to call her mother and talk to her, really talk to her, and learn that some of the things she's believed all these years about her mother weren't true.

In the end, it's up to Addy to decide if she can not just learn to love Josh, that part was easy, but learn to trust Josh. Trust in his love and that he has her best interests at heart. M.L. Broome made us work for every bit of joy and happiness we got throughout the book, but she made up for it in the end. Love isn't black and white. Love is what happens in the grey parts when we don't know if we should follow our heart or our head. For Addy, Josh taught her how to get out of her head and learn to trust her heart and his.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this a 3 stars. I enjoyed this story but it’s also a book I likely wouldn’t read again. That being said, thought it was a cute age gap romance.

The story centers around Addy, a 39 year old recently single travel nurse, and Josh, a 26 year old local surf instructor. Josh is extremely in tune with his emotions for his age and he recognizes immediately that he wants to seriously pursue Addy. Addy struggles with the age gap, I don’t blame her, and has to deal with constant ridicule from Josh’s friends. Where I got frustrated was that Josh was aware that his friends were meddling in his relationship and he didn’t draw a line (or a meaningful line) until the damage was almost irreversible. I don’t get why he wouldn’t have cut them off or at least gone low contact with them earlier after knowing how they were talking to Addy and putting ideas in her head. Also, Josh continually gets frustrated with Addy because she never lets him hear him out. I get that, to an extent. But buddy you traveled to Hawaii and didn’t tell her where or why you were going. She just got out of a serious long term relationship where her previous partner was lying and cheating on her. I feel like he should have been overly transparent with her to avoid any misunderstandings. Instead, he was very vague about his whereabouts and it back fired big time. I don’t blame Addy, even if he wasn’t caught at the club, traveling to Hawaii and planning to move without mentioning to the woman you love are huge red flags (even if his intentions were somewhat pure). Wish they didn’t abuse the miscommunication trope as much as they did but it made for a light entertaining read.

[Escape to the pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written age gap romance with enough content to keep the story interesting.

I enjoyed this story for the most part, but did find that it overly focused on the age gap element of the story, like all the time. That was certainly the main theme and I admit Addy constantly running away from Josh and not trusting him did get rather wearing over time.

Josh was extremely in touch with his emotions and feelings and I did like how committed he was to staying with Addy, but his, at times childish behaviour did frustrate such as his relationships with his friends and constantly keeping Addy in the dark. Addys response always seemed to be the same though, end relationship, call best friend, drink vodka.

The underlying story about her relationship with her mother seemed to not really go anywhere, full on angst at the beginning then it petered away to nothing by the end and they are almost best friends.

Overall an interesting story that will keep the pages turning but be prepared to get frustrated at times.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed but...

I enjoyed the idea of reading about an older woman, younger man love story and this book had great moments but I was left feeling disappointed. Josh was so vague about his plans and kept Addy in the dark quite often about his future. Of course, she then thinks he is like her ex and is hiding something such as an affair. I felt the misunderstanding s were over the top and Addy seems more immature than anything. When we are introduced to Addy, she is written as not caring she broke up with her ex and had known he was cheating even before she caught him in the act, that it was a relief to start over. Then this thing with Josh happens, and suddenly she is an emotional basket case that runs to the bar to drown her sorrows? The drama doesn't match up to what we are led to believe initially.

[Lisa Tetting · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had my emotions all over the place. Addy was such a damaged soul. She spent a majority of the book getting in her own way. I was so angry with her for allowing Josh’s stupid friend to get in her head and come between them. Of course, they fed off of her insecurities and it worked.

Josh was such a great guy. From the beginning he was all in. He knew what he wanted and it was Addy. The poor guy spent countless weeks trying to convince Addy to love him.

Thank goodness for happy endings. I would have been too angry if the book had ended any other way.

This story was good and kept my attention throughout. The drama within the book was well written making me hate Frank and his silly sidekick, “Little Red Yoga Hood”. Nice character building.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say from the start I thought this one was going to be a 4-5 star. The start of the book was great. I loved Addy and Josh. She seemed like she had found her strength in moving out of state and taking a new job while leaving her cheating ex behind. As the book went on Addy's hang-up on the age difference just overtook the story. It was thrown in our face constantly. Also, Addy's getting mad at Josh all the time without finding out what was going on. Both put a damper on the sex scenes when they did happen. I was rooting for Josh to dump her. Did the book have potential? YES! But some rewriting needs to be done. I gave it a 3 because of this and how much I loved Josh.

[Rebecca Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

M.L. Broome beautifully depicted the daunting question, should age define who you love? From the very beginning of the book, Addy's world is shook, causing her to make the brave and bold decision to move out west and start again. Fate doesn't wait long to introduce Addy to the hunky surfer Josh, who has a heart of gold and the face of a God. Addy is torn between the infamous question, can an age gap work in love? This book is beautifully written with a roller coaster of emotions to satisfy all your romantic needs. The perfect summer read!

[Melanie (words.aremagic) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Addy has a life that she is content with, but when she finds her boyfriend Clint is cheating on her she decides to start living the life she wants. She moves across the country to San Diego and discovers her love for the ocean. The ocean also presents her with Josh, a beautiful, younger surfer who makes her feel alive for the first time. Addy’s struggle to accept herself and what she wants is endearing, exhausting and sometimes even heartbreaking. Addy’s story will take you through all of the drama.

[Shaztwirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dizzying

If jumping to conclusions were an Olympic sport...
This story was actually painful (and not in an emotional way) although actually quite well written. Sweet ending, though.

[Kim Lowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hit a lot of my shelves. Wow. She’s thirty-nine, and he’s a vegan twenty-six year old surfing model. You can just stop there. She is living the dream, right?

Welp, not so fast.

Some of how this book was written and plotted was jarring, confusing, and frustrating.

There were a lot of Britishisms in this all-American cast book. Heroine’s friend says “bloody hell” and “shagging,” heroine refers to “shag,” “shagging,” and “wanker.” She also says “I’ll wager” when Americans all say “I’ll bet.” On the picnic, she refers to the cans as “tins.” Her cellphone is a “mobile.” She describes herself as “grand.” Asks her friend if she’s “mad” instead of crazy. The “beef was squashed” isn’t an American cliche.

There are also obvious continuity errors. The heroine at the hero’s place makes “a beeline for the bathroom.” Two paragraphs later she eyes the hero as, “he strolls down the hall and into what is presumably the bathroom.” His eyes are both sea green and azure blue and turquoise waters and sea blue and blue and aqua. Sea colored, ocean colored, blue-green, impossibly blue.

Then the editing…

“When it’s just Josh and me, the years between us doesn’t exist.” — don’t
“…every which way since Sunday.”— but Sunday
“…closing the distance between up.” — us
“Just you and I.” — me. You and me.
“Here is comes.” — it

The surrounding cast is where most of the conflict arises. Ironically it’s also where most of the conflict is resolved. That’s just frustrating. The heroine, for all that she’s in her thirties, is quite immature. She jumps into the relationship, but continually backs off. For two people who are hot for each other, it’s also weird that they’re always asking each other what they are doing there? Well, he lives there and she’s visiting you! He’s always pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. But their friends. His friend Frank is an asshat. Her friend Maggie is super effective, saying gems like “don’t fuck up a future reminiscing with the past,” but where is her husband? She’s married and always going out to clubs. Mmm, okay. Just make her friend single. Oh, and we find out 55% of the way in that Maggie is her boss, not just a co-worker.

Speaking of clubbing, this chick drinks. A lot. Like a lot. And it’s not for any other reason but drowning sorrows. I guess that fits her wont to run from the hero and their relationship but…it was frustrating. Like, COME ON! SHEESH.

While she keeps calling them friends, he calls her his “greatest challenge.” He says she’s “worth it” when he just met her. Also, “I've never said those words to another woman. Just you. It's always been you.” Always? Really? “Nothing has been accidental with you, my beautiful Adelaide. I knew from the moment I saw you stumbling across the sand that I would make you mine. You’ve always belonged to me. My heart recognized you immediately.” Y’all, he was on a surfboard, surfing. But whatever.

Great title, but it wasn’t really alchemy unfolding. It was the heroine kicking and screaming the hero being bizarrely mature and old soul-ish one moment and way immature regarding his friends the next. Oh but the title isn’t even them. It’s him and the ocean… “You’re exquisite out there. You’re one with her. It’s like alchemy unfolding.”

Let’s wrap up this review, because I could go on and on (like the heroine…). We get this:

(Hero) “Yes, you do. But the idea that I love you scares the hell out of you.”
(Heroine) “I think we should call it friends. It’s safer, protects my heart.”

…a full 10% of the book after she tells him she’s crazy about him. She just blows hot and cold.

Then her ex shows up. Omfg… yeah. And she wants to see his new tattoo. Just kill me now.

The age difference goes on way too long. At one point he even tells her he can’t love her enough to overcome it. Wow, that’s heartbreaking. To put this guy in that situation. Especially as she readily admits he sees her more than anyone else ever has. She’s just too all about “turning her heart back off.”

“Why didn’t you love me, Addy?”
“I do love you, but this situation isn’t about love.”
“That is all this is about. Believing in me. Believing in us.”

Ouch.

Of course it works out. But at a point where I’m wondering whether it should. There is an epilogue.

You might wonder at my rating. Overall, I really liked the story. The telling of it needed a good editor. And the main character needed a slap upside the head. Because I would have loved to see where it could have gone if she’d grown a set and found a little consistency towards the hero.

[ThEAnGrYrEaDeR55]

I feel bad but something in me just can't finish the book. I won't rate it so it doesn't mess with the others reviews it just does not interest me in anyway. I got 25% into and noped.

The FMC walks in on her boyfriend of 4 years fucking his secretary (Why does a doctor have a secretary at a hospital?). She politely kicks them out.

When he shows back up later with her rich mother, who apparently runs her life, she says she quit her job as a nurse at the same hospital as the boyfriend in New York to move to San Diego because her dead dad talked about it all the time. She also says she's known forever that her doctor boyfriend fucks any nurse under 30 and she just put up with it. She tells him to be happy and politely kisses him on the cheek.

She's 39 fucking years old. She let her mom decorate her house and buy all her clothes. She let her boyfriend cheat on her for years until she catches him in her own bed. Apparently, that's too much.

She meets a younger surfer guy on the beach. Follows him back to his house. They have coffee. He hits on her, she thinks about jumping him. He drives her home. Later, she sees him again at the hospital after his friend is injured. They flirt. His friend is a complete asshole and insults her then tells her she's robbing the cradle. She's embarrassed so she blows Josh off.

She's on a downward spiral not knowing who she is. Drinking, clubbing, making bad decisions. She runs into Josh again at a bar and drinking heavily. Runs outside. Kisses him. Blacks out. He has to take her home, change her, wash her clothes. He makes her breakfast. She doesn't know what an Acai bowl is. Apparently, he's a vegan surfer who doesn't drink.

She freaks out when she realizes he's 26 and she's about to be 40.

I'm sorry this was just too much. Too silly. Too immature. Too unbelievable. And I'm not into reverse gaps especially where one acts 21 and the other acts 50. They have nothing in common except he's hot.

[Sarah Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'll read better romance novels, and you'll also certainly read worse.

Addy is a New York nurse who moves to San Diego on a 12-week contract and meets the incredibly hunky surfer Josh. She's pushing 40 and he's still in his 20s, and none of his terrible friends will let her forget that fact. Without ruining the story, I'll say at the least that it's fairly predictable but pleasant enough to read.

What I liked: You don't often see reverse-age-gap stories, and the idea is nice. The steamy scenes are x-rated and pretty saucy, and the story itself is pretty cute. Some loveable characters flit in and out (Josh's dad, Addy's friend from the hospital), and the way scenes formulaicly run from "Everything's going great" to "Everything is ruined" is believable enough. Like I say, the whole story is pretty cute.

What I didn't like: Importantly, this book does not pass the Bechdel Test. It also needed a second or third read-through, and badly. It feels very cheap for how many missing words and accidentally wrong words are peppered through the book, which is always a red flag for me. Also, for some reason everyone in SoCal talks like they're from England? (Count the "Bloody hell"s and "shagging"s you find!) Addy herself is not written to think or behave like a 39-year-old, outside of repeating it to anyone who will listen ("He's too young! I'm 39!"); next to nothing about her is dated as someone pushing 40, so that was a hard buy. The rest that was bad was just eye rolling romance-novel-bad. Things like, "For some reason I loved you when I first saw you, even though I didn't know you," and "This perfectly beautiful moment was ruined by your ex-girlfriend walking in!" Also, Addy's inner monologue is just. I hope no one actually talks like that to themselves, is all I'll say.

At the end of the day, it's a quick read that's pretty hot in places and cute-ish overall, but it's not something I'd personally recommend to anyone.

[BookAddict · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angst lovers, hold on to your hats. This one will make you feel like a yo-yo doing Walk the Dog, Around the World, and some tricks that haven’t been invented yet. But holy wow, is it ever worth it! We get an older woman/younger man with a hero who is kind-hearted and truly good to the depths of his soul, and the swoon factor is off the charts.

Addy Perkins is an ER nurse who realizes she needs a change when she arrives home to find an extra person in the bed she shares with her boyfriend of four years. She chooses San Diego as her next place to land and meets young, stunningly handsome surfer, Josh Gibbs, on her first visit to the beach. Her heart is still bruised from being cheated on and their thirteen-year age difference doesn’t sit well with Josh's friends, so Addy and Josh have more than their share of problems to overcome.

This is a new novelist for me and I’m so glad I took a chance on her. When she had me laughing during the first scene I knew it was shaping up to be a terrific read, and I wasn’t disappointed. Addy and Josh's story is funny and heartfelt, steamy and electric, and so darn angsty I got lost in the emotions.

Everything about this book is excellent, from the storyline and writing to the characters who are so authentic and relatable they'll own your heart in no time at all. If you love finding writers you can follow throughout their careers, Broome is a guaranteed bet, so start reading Addy and Josh's story today!

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this arc for an honest review.

I really liked this book. First, you have Addy finding her boyfriend of four years having sex with his secretary. So she does the most normal thing, packs up and leaves the East Coast to the West coast. San Diego is where she lands and gets a job as a nurse. One morning she is on the beach watching the surfers and notices one out of all of them who seems to just glide over the water. She is later surprised when Josh is walking towards her and then begins to have a conversation with her. She continues to be shocked as a young man as he would want to spend time with her.
Josh has people around him who he thinks is his friend, maybe some began that way but now most see him as a meal ticket. Either through his modeling or some of the endorsements, he does. One is his so-called best friend Frank and a girl that just hangs around. Frank continues to call her Mrs. Robinson once they do begin to date and it takes Jake a long time to finally wake up to what she had been telling him. There is also one moment where Josh is confused because her old boyfriend has shown up suddenly. Each has some issues to deal with and there are some tense moments when you think that this won’t work. Read this story though and see what happens. A really good book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars.

[Mars · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book the FMC acts very immature and when she meets the MMC they start to act like they’ve known each other or at least dated for a while but no and their conversation topics were just weird for someone who just met the other person.

Josh says “I've never seen you lacking a witty comeback.” This could’ve been a different line or something because thats more of what you would say to someone you’ve known for some time

26% of the book Josh says “I've never said those words to another woman. Just you. It's always been you.” You’ve known each other for two minutes, maybe this could be rephrased

her conversation with Melissa from chapter 11 says “You don’t believe him?” “Am I stupid to believe him?” must be because English is not my first language but I did not understand what you meant by that, coulda better said “Id be an idiot if i did” but that’s just me.

I did want to commit and finish the book but phew

[B.B. Florine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, Steamy, Age-Gap Romance
I haven’t read very many age-gap romances, but this one drew me in right from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down. Broome’s writing is excellent and Addy’s inner monologue had me chuckling more than once. Her character has quite a few confidence issues that cause obstacles for her and Josh, along with other outside influences that test their relationship, in the form of nasty exes and jealous friends. It was kind of a roller coaster ride, but that just made the hea all the more satisfying. Can’t wait to read more from this author. Would recommend to contemporary romance readers.

[tabz_talks_tales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

Ml Bloome was my first foray into romance. I thought that maybe it was just her Moments trilogy that I loved since I’ve not read any romance since. But she’s done it again!

This story takes what is still widely regarded as a taboo and tells it to piss off. It’s a reverse age gap story where the woman is significantly older that her partner. It puts the whole thing into a beautifully romantic and tender context instead of vilifying or making it into a dirty cougar type situation.

I adore this author and her take on uncommon romances. This was beautifully written and well plotted out! I throughly recommend it to all the romance lovers out there!

[Blair Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me all in knots. Loved how it started, hooked me right away. Loved Josh's honesty and genuine heart. Abby and her dumb decisions got on my last nerve. Wanted to punch her multiple times. She is emotionally stunted and listens to the wrong people. Age is nothing but a number and other people's opinions about you are none of your business. Can't fault a book for having a character that evokes strong emotion, even if it is a negative one. One of the signs of a good author. Really enjoyed this story. Even if Josh's friends are terrible.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Hayley Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential. The storyline was really good but the characters let it down for me.

I liked Josh's simplistic way of love, if you wanna be with someone then why not? But his constant lying and sketchy behaviour got old after a while. Addy was way worse; her insecurities were understandable but it was infuriating when she would just decide that Josh didn't mean what he said even though he was literally saying it to her face.

Despite that, it was very well written and I would be willing to read more from the author.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this read! I couldn’t put it down. It’s an honest love story between Addy and Josh with many ups and downs that had me laughing and crying. After wasting four years on her ex, Addy moves to San Diego where she meets Josh. He’s sweet, gorgeous, and 13 years younger. Whenever they are together, she tries to forget their age gap but his friends are against their relationship and keep trying to sabotage them. Addy tries to stick him in the friend zone but Josh isn’t having it. Loved their connection and Josh is just the sweetest.

Tropes:
Age gap (13yrs)
Miscommunication
Nurse
Surfer
Pregnancy
He fell first

[Deb Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Older woman…younger man

I absolutely loved this story of Addy and Josh. Josh knew immediately he wanted to marry Addy the minute he saw her. Addy had just escaped a 4 year relationship with a doctor who cheated on her constantly. This relationship with Josh had a yo-yo effect on Addy…which got old…BUT she finally came to her senses, got past the age difference and gave Josh the chance he desired with total love and trust!

[Marissa Gramoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Fantastic book with all the feels. Super steamy read about a surfing sex god and a woman who can't figure out if he is the real deal. Josh and Addy stole my heart and haven't given it back. I don't usually like romance just from the female point of view, but Josh was so expressive I loved watching him through her eyes. Look forward to reading more from this author!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love It!

This is a beautiful history, lots of ups and downs, and sometimes I wanted to scream at Addy for being so guarded with her feelings! Felt related too.. if you are looking for a book that is romantic, sexy and that sometimes makes your heart wrench and have all sort of emotions then this it is.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, if Josh just isn’t the epitome of perfect. Addy’s insecurities drove me nuts but with her past I can somewhat understand. I just wish we got to see her really get over it and trust him before we just got the HEA. Still - a great read and a great hero. Looking forward to more from this author!