“Darling Molly,
I just might have to marry you. Again.”
This is a book 2 in the Maysen Jar series and I would suggest you read book 1 before you read this one. First of all, book 1 is fabulous. Besides that, the main characters are introduced and are actually a pretty big part of the first book. For me, reading Book 1 established the foundation for this story and ensured I was fully invested in the story of Molly and Finn.
This is a second chance romance for a divorced couple with two kids, so for those of you that hate that trope this book will most likely not be for you. I’m not usually a fan of this type of story, but I got pulled into Molly & Finn’s story in book 1 and my heart broke for them and I just ached for them to find their HEA. Therefore, I had no problem diving into this book.
”Where had we gone wrong? How could we be this good and lose it all? How could we throw this away?”
That’s the million dollar question I think so many people ask. What went wrong? Where did we go off course? How did we end up without each other when we were so consumed with love in the beginning?
The letters in the mailbox are the catalyst for Molly and Finn to start facing the hard truth of where it went wrong. Was it Jaime’s death? Trying to get a new business off the ground? The stress of kids? Taking each other for granted? The letters are from Finn to Molly and he wrote them over the course of their relationship. From the day they met, to the day they were over and each letter reveals Finn’s deepest thoughts at the moment. Thoughts that he wasn’t willing to communicate with Molly at the time.
- “Watch out, Molly Todd. I just might have to marry you.”
- “There isn’t a person in the world that I’d want to share my cake with besides you. And tomorrow, when we blow out the candles, I’m wishing for you.”
- “You get twenty-four hours of space. That’s it. There is no version of my future where you aren’t by my side.”
- “It doesn’t feel like I can do this right now, but I’ll look to you. And the right words will come.”
- “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met”
- “I’m failing you.”
- “You hurt me. You fucking hurt me.”
- “How could you?”
- “I’m ashamed of you. I’m ashamed of myself. You quit me. And I quit you.”
Be forewarned that Molly had a one night stand with another man during their separation. “I got drunk at a friend’s bachelorette party. I had sex with another man. The next day, I told Finn the truth. I told him how I was at rock bottom. That I loved him and desperately wanted to revive our marriage. I begged him for forgiveness.
He told me to get a lawyer.”
As this book takes place 6 years after their divorce, that issue is only discussed in past tense. Why Molly did what she did and how Finn felt. Neither one able to forgive her actions.
”How many times had I wished to go back in time and change my actions? How many hours had I spent loathing myself? I’d been living with so much regret. So much guilt.
Until I forgave myself for being human and flawed and impulsive, the past would haunt me. It would haunt us.”
The journey of Molly and Finn was euphoric and heartbreaking. From love to loss to betrayal and so many points in between, the emotions were absolutely wrung from me. I shed a tear as they discussed how Jaime’s loss affected their marriage (Jamie was the brother in law from Book 1) and reliving their feelings due to Molly’s betrayal was just gut wrenching. But there were also many joyous moments and heartwarming places were my heart did a little extra pitter patter.
The cast of supporting characters is wonderful. Jimmy and Randall (from Book 1) are still being cantankerous old farts, and I loved them.
”Hey.” Jimmy had just shoved another bite in his mouth and with his shout, little crumbs went spraying. “Where are you going?”
“Find your own ride home. Maybe Brady can drive you on his plastic tractor.”
”It’s good to see you’re all taking my death so seriously,” Randall said as he joined our group. “You’re all standing on my grave. Laughing.”
“You’re alive!” Poppy cried, throwing up her hands. “You wanted us to have a memorial service for you while you’re still alive. Of course we aren’t taking this seriously. It’s a million degrees outside. We’re standing over a tombstone that isn’t even complete because—again, you’re alive. And we’re not standing on your grave. Because, I repeat, you are alive.”🤣🤣
“I was doing this for you,” Randall told Poppy. “So you wouldn’t have to sit through a memorial service after I’m gone. I don’t want you all crying over me.”
And that was why we loved him so much. That was why we’d miss him so terribly when his time did come. Randall had the biggest heart of any person I knew, even when he hid it deep.”
🥰💕
There is a little bit of suspense because who the heck is actually sending those letters??? 🤔🤔🤔 Man, that baffled me and in the end, my super awesome detective skills..........failed me. Lol. 🤷♀️
The author’s writing evoked strong emotions in me as this is not a fluffy one-dimensional romance but rather a story that has actually been experienced by many individuals. Yes, I like to read romance novels to escape life. But, I also like to take journeys that are hard and emulate real life experiences and at the end of the day bring hope for a bright new beautiful future. This story delivers all that and more. When I closed this book I thought, good for them. They took the difficult road and faced up to their flaws and their part in the destruction of the marriage, learned from their mistakes and are better for the difficulties they persevered through. I adored both Molly and Finn and I was so proud of them for fighting through the uncomfortable mess of emotions to find their even better HEA.
This was a story I have been eagerly anticipating since I finished book 1 and it completely exceeded my expectations. Bravo, Deveny Perry!!
“Someday, I’m going to tell him all the funny stories. The ones about you and me. About Poppy and Cole. About Jamie. I want him and Max and Kali to know how blessed we’ve been and how much I love you. Because that’s our story.”
It wasn’t perfect. But it was ours.”
Quotes:
“I’m not much for PDA myself. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d take a heartfelt letter over sucking face in a restaurant any day of the week.”
“A letter? I think the most I’ve ever written to a woman was a question on a sticky note. Does that count?”
She giggled, the melodic sound stealing my breath. “No, a sticky note doesn’t count.”
“I took you for granted.”
She blinked up at me. “What?”
“You. I took you for granted. I’m sorry for that.”
“I started keeping my problems from her, and she started hiding her true feelings from me.”
“I was wondering if you wanted to take a small woll around the block with me.”
“A woll?” she asked.
“Yeah. You walk. I roll. We woll.”
She giggled and stood, setting the binoculars aside. “Then let’s woll.”
“We lost Jamie and life went on. But we didn’t heal. We buried our pain and our fears because it was too hard to talk about.”