Just One Week

Castleton Hearts #2

by Chelsea M. Cameron

Emerald Witmer is beyond pissed when her brother begs her to drive all the way across the country to pick up his girlfriend’s sister from college in Arizona and bring her back to Castleton, Maine. She would tell him to go *blank* himself, but then he agrees to pay her, and let’s be real, she could use the money.
She’s not going to think about the fact that the girl she’s going to pick up, Natalie Johnson, was her best friend when they were kids, until Natalie decided she’d rather hang with the cool kids and abandoned Em. Not that she’s still holding a grudge or anything.
All she has to do is manage to get through one week with Natalie, and then never think about her again, but those plans go out the window when she sees Natalie and feels something more intense than her anger at the past: lust.
It’s fine. All she has to do is get through one week. What happens afterwards is a problem for future Em.
What starts as an annoying chore turns into a road trip of redemption when Em realizes how much she misses having Natalie in her life, and things escalate further when they get back to Castleton, and share a kiss. Those feelings Em has been trying to ignore aren’t going to be silenced. Will Em put the past in the past, and let herself fall for the girl who used to be her best friend? Or will she cling to her painful past and reject Natalie completely?

Genres: Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Queer, Friends To Lovers, Lesbian Romance, Contemporary

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times/USA Today/Internationally Best Selling author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She's a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, former cheerleader, and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, eating brunch in bed, tweeting, and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this little Casleton series by Chelsea M. Cameron. When I read the first book of the series Just One Night I enjoyed it, but didn't know it was a series, so I was pleasantly surprised to see some returning characters come back in Just One Week.

So this book follows Emerald (wo we met in Just One Night) and Natalie who was mentioned briefly but never was in the book. Natalie is moving back to Castleton from Phoenix after finishing school and being burned out of a job. While Natalie's sister is supposed to help Nat drive back as Nat doesn't drive, something comes up and Emerald is asked to help. Except Emerald and Nat used to be childhood best friends but aren't at all anymore. Emerald eventually agrees and gets to spend a week stuck with Nat driving back home.

I enjoyed this and I think more so than the first one! I'm a big enemies to lovers fan and I enjoy Cameron's writing quite a bit so they fit together pretty well.

I love road trips personally. Planning is fun but the spontaneity is what makes them wonderful as you can't quite predict what you will pass on the road and grab your attention. And this book really embodied the spirit of that, I had fun reading about what Emerald and Nat were doing.

The tension was really fun in this book. I really felt Emerald's anger and hurt over her ended friendship with Natalie, and watching them rebuild their friendship was touching. I really liked how that played out and the emotions were real. I think the level of angst in this book was a pretty perfect amount, you really did feel the emotions and feelings between the two, but also it wasn't completely overdramatic either. I really enjoyed the balance.

I do have a admittedly nitpicky critique that I guarantee won't affect 95% of readers but my review wouldn't be complete if I didn't add it. So a big plotline of this book is Emerald is driving Natalie from Phoenix, AZ to back Castleton because Natalie doesn't drive. She has been living the last few years in Phoenix for school and work. And she mentions that she primarily got around with public transport or walking. As someone who born and raised up in the Phoenix suburbs, and now as an adult living and working in the city itself, this just... doesn't work really. Phoenix is very spread out as a city, and has notably terribly public transport outside of the light rail in Tempe to downtown. So you'll have to bank like an hour taking busses anywhere more than a couple miles. And ~7 months of the year it is WAY too hot to walk places. Literally everyone I know drives. Or at least drives to the light rail station. So for ME as a specific reader, this plot point raised my eyebrows, but I can guarantee it won't affect most people.

There were also some editing errors I think with wrong names used a few times in the book.

But this was a really fun book. Cameron's writing is really enjoyable to me, and I'm enjoying this series quite a bit. 4.25/5

[Jos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another light summer read for me. The slow burn was decently done but once the characters got together it seemed like there was a rush to wrap it up as fast as possible. The take on the big drama was neat but it didn't have any time to marinate, it just kindof happened and resolved quickly.

I would probably be more disappointed but there are 6 more books in the series and the previous couple did get a couple of moments and updates that added to their story. I suspect there will be more with Natalie and Emerald where it maybe did not make sense to squeeze it in at the moment. It seems like each successor follows a couple of months after the first, so there was probably some constraints with messing with canon.

This was a quick and light read. Something you could easily take with your on a weekend trip and jump into between activities. I will note that the characters are a lot younger than I expected (early 20s) so some of the high school drama was from a more recent perspective that I think contributed to feeling like some of the emotions did not get to peak before being resolved.

[Vita L. Licari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emerald and Natalie were best friends until middle school. When Nat decided she wanted to be part of the cool crowd and left Em behind.
Now Em's brother Wyatt want her to fly to Arizona to drive Nat home in a truck with all her belongings. All she has to do is get through this week. It becomes a fantastic road trip, where they become friends again. Or do they, can Em forgive Nat completely? I read this book in one sitting. This is book 2 of this wonderful series! I can't wait to read the rest! 5 stars!

[Devoncatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet romance

I never had friend or realitives like these women have. Its a nice fantasy but not reality for most lesbians. I'm not sure of reality of having such a tolerant small town either. My only experiences were not as positive, but this is romantic fiction. It's a good read and well written with enough twists and turns to make it fun.

[Teddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the Castleton series but it also stands alone. There was way less drama in this one than the first. Very low angst, which I preferred. It’s a short and sweet second chance romance that will make you smile.

Short summary: Emerald is paid by her brother to drive his future sister in law, Natalie, from Texas back to Maine. Natalie also happens to be her childhood best friend who left her to be popular. Can Emerald forgive her, and if she does, can they stay just friends?

[Lesbian Romance Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

To visit Castleton, Maine and be part of this friend group. It's been fun to see how relationships are developing in Castleton. Picture a road trip but not with your BFF but with your ex-BFF. For a week. Yup, that's how this starts.

[DeStijlx · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not even finished but I'm trying so hard I really am. It really isn't working for me. The thing is, this story has so much potential but the way its written is really off putting. For everyone's sake, I hope this is a one off thing.

Well, I'm going to go try finish it now. 2 stars might be cruel but giving it a 3 is way too generous.

I've finally finished. And just read a little about the 3rd book in the series and now I'm not sure if I should give the author another chance or to skip over it. Because again, the 3rd book seems like such a good story but man I'm not ready to deal with it if its similar to this one.

Now that's I've finished this one too, I think I will change the rating to 3 stars.

[Becca Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

There isn't much plot to this one.

They hate each other. They spend time together. They don't hate each other anymore. Are they moving too fast? Spoiler alert, it's a romance so no.

Also, it's a pet-peeve of mine when a book messes up the character's names. I understand typos happen but if you switch the characters or misspell multiple names that's just bad editing.

[Doug Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice warm-hearted best friends to lovers tale (with a few years estrangement in the middle). There is some angst but the main characters generally act like adults so things do not wander into the melodramatic. A very good read.

Minor typo: at the very beginning of chapter Eighteen (Kindle edition) it appears that "Natalie" is used instead of "Emerald" a couple of times.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book and then left it for a little while before writing this review and I'll be honest, I actually don't remember most of what happened in this book. Despite that, that doesn't necessarily mean I'd rate it any less than four stars purely for the fact that it was an okay book. It was average. It wasn't amazing but it wasn't completely terrible.

Just like book one, the characters vibed off each other quite well. They had a good connection, which I guess is to be expected anyway all things considered. I was quite unsatisfied with Natalie's explanation of everything that happened when they were friends in the past. I'm not sure but I read it and I was like, "Is that literally it?" That one thing caused so much hurt between them and it didn't even seem worth it. Maybe it's just me but I was expecting something a bit more than that so that was a bit of a let down, especially because it seemed like there was quite a build up to finding out what happened and that was it.

Overall, it was a decent book. Would I read it again? Maybe, but most probably from the middle rather than the beginning only because I felt like the start dragged on a bit too long for me BUT it was an okay book in the end.

[Eliza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like if ur looking for a cute and quick read that doesn’t revolve any brain power this is for you.

I don’t know why but Em pissed me off towards the end..... I was gonna give it a 3 stars but I simply cannot. she also reminds me of a ‘nicer' version of her brother.

I did catch some grammar errors ( when she put another characters name in the place that the main character was gonna be and when em was telling her friend group she dating Natalie but instead she said Esme (LOL) anyways I still finished this because it was so easy to read and entertaining for the most part.

I wanted to read the 3rd book because I believe the love interest is butch but at this point my motivation has gone all the way down to 5% (thanks to this book)

[J.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you Natalie or does she Emerald deserve a second chance?

Natalie was confused big time and it took four years to think, What do I do to get out of this mess. I still love the girl I left, Emerald. One problem with that, Em is not so sure herself, maybe. What started out as a rescue plan so that Natalie's sister can have her baby shower and wedding in two different places. It is up to Natalie and a reluctant Em to persuade the sister Gretchen not to go overboard. Good Luck! While driving Natalie back home it will take a concerted effort for both Natalie and Em to reconcile. Enjoy!

[Patricia Vander Kamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful series

Natalie and Emerald were best friends and inseparable in their youth until high school. Peer pressure is an ugly thing. Em was left out and devastated by that abandonment. Years later the Universe conspired to bring them together and true love grew. The secondary characters were also well developed and continued from the first book, Just One Night. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of the next book. A good read. I heartily recommend this and any other works by this author. Thank you Peace

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features Emerald, Paige’s friend who supported Paige’s seduction scheme in the previous book. Fortunately, there were no schemes in this novel. Instead, Em agreed to drive an old friend who’s no longer a friend back to Castleton from Arizona. Natalie doesn’t know how to drive so she needs help moving her stuff back home. Em’s brother is paying Em for her time. So that’s the set-up for this story. The friction between the women didn’t last too long, so this was pretty straightforward with some asides about the characters from the previous book. It was a simple story.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one

This was another good but easy read. This book suffered from the same issues the first one had: unrealistic sex, a few glaring and confusing editing mistakes, lack of anything unexpected, and lack of obstacles that makes the climax feel less deserved than I'd like. But has the same strengths as the first book also: palpable sexual tension, good pacing, and very realistic 3 dimensional cast.

I recommend it for a quick and fun read. Definitely worth the time I invested. Overall it's quick and easy, but forgetable. Now on to book 3!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a predictable story with two-dimensional characters, who were poorly developed. While the trip taken forms the reunion context, it needed far more description to provide a sense of place.

The story rambles on and closer to the final 15% of the book, it feels like the author was tiring of the story--how can the author misname and swap the two main characters? This definitely points to poor proofreading and the need for better editing.

I do like the author's work, she just needs to develop the characters better, show more depth to them, and do much better on the proofreading.

[EvaLovesRomance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit worried with this week trip with Em getting her brothers girlfriend's sister who she had grown up with until something went wrong. I thought if Em is so angry at her old bestie would she dump her somewhere across country?
Well Natalie wasn't acting angry at all more like sorry about her past behavior with Em.
I think it really was dragging the story while on the trip back home but thank god it got better when they got home and Em had forgiven her at last! I also liked that they found out they loved each other too.

I am hooked on the series and loving the stories so far!!

[Searchr.23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first LGBT+ book I've read. And I'm in love. After reading the annotations, I did not expect wow effects, but nevertheless I received it. I read the book just in one day with hungry eyes with high speed. And this MEANS: this literature is of high quality, light and interesting. The love in the book is above the limit of my expectations, so beautiful, sensual and unforgettable. Thank you Chelsea M. Cameron😍!

[Tammy Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

A sweet love story about girls growing up and then separating over popularity and not talking for years. Em has to go get Nat and drive her back to their home town when her sister can't. During the trip things change between them and become friends again, but love is around the corner

[Carolyn G. Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Road Trip

Emerald Witmer is being paid by her brother to pickup her girlfriend’s sister from college in Arizona. Just one problem, the sister is Natalie Johnson, her former best friend from childhood. Can they survive the road trip trip without killing each other? Lots of tension with a side of sexual attraction.

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Story

Sometimes love is right in front of you...you just have to take the time to look for it. The author does a good job of making you feel as though you already know the characters in the book . Well done!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet

Nice sweet love story where best school friends meet again after several years. The friendship had ended when one friend joined the more popular crowd. When they reconnected they fell in love. Nice love scenes and nice ending.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy beach read

I love this series for being so easy to read and the sex scenes are fun and sweet. The editing was off in this one, quite a few times the wrong name was used and it broke me out of the world hence the 4 stars.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book well enough, but it didn't flow quite as well as the first book. The end of the book and the epilogue especially felt like the author was late on deadline, feeling a bit discounted, rushed, and full of typos. But still a fun light read overall.

[Issy Waldrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the series, this time it's Emerald's turn to be in the spotlight, as she's coerced by her brother to help her ex-best friend move back to Castleton. Except, perhaps, it's not all bad blood after all?

As is very much the nature of her books, it is a cute, enjoyable light/easy read that is decently paced and very much feel good at heart.

[Celenia Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Childhood best friends to enemies to friends to Lovers

[debbie mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Thoroughly enjoying this small town romance of women's relationship. Had the feels, the sizzling connections and the passion was hot as hell!

[Carole Damoci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

This is the 3rd book in this series I’ve read and I have very much enjoyed them all. Can’t wait for the next. Already pre-ordered.

[wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

wyatt is definitely a bottom

[M L Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sequel

Not much to say. I loved the first book and I loved this one. I especially like all the characters that crossover from each book.