After visiting Colorado, I can see why this series has won a Colorado Book Award in the romance category. It's a celebration of all things small-town and Americana with a charming cast of characters.
I shared the following when I reviewed Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other and Cole and Laila are Just Friends, and as this book follows those two, I'll adopt the same refrain again: This is more of a crossover title that fits the genre of what the author terms "pop culture-infused rom coms." That being said, while this book does not reference faith either explicitly or implicitly (faith on the whole absent is in this book), it does fit the bill for those looking for a fun and clean read. As such, I will be reviewing it strictly as a rom-com. Please check Goodreads for trigger warnings.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Book Synopsis
Wes left Addie at the altar two decades ago . . . and that was supposed to be the end of the story.
When her life crashes and burns in a flurry of secrets and redacted information, Addie Atwater-Elwyn hightails it home to the tiny mountain town of Adelaide Springs, Colorado--back to living with her dad, back to working a low-paying job, back to a life of disappointments. Growing up, nobody expected their local girl to become a high-ranking CIA analyst, married to a gorgeous CIA operative. But that was Addie's life until she lost . . . well, everything.
Now she's trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life with a little help from old friends. But there's one old friend she knows her life is better without--Wesley Hobbes, her childhood sweetheart who left her standing at the altar when they were eighteen years old. Truth be told, Addie would be perfectly content never seeing Wes's stupid face ever again--which makes it very inconvenient that he's now a beloved senator and presidential frontrunner, his face everywhere she looks. But that has nothing to do with Addie personally. He might make history, but in her book, he is history.
So, when the unwelcome Wes appears back in their hometown, no one rolls out the red carpet--not Addie and not an entire town that was forced to pick sides (and unanimously chose Addie) decades ago. Senator Hobbes certainly won't win the popular vote in Adelaide Springs.
Wes, meanwhile, is sitting on a few secrets of his own, including the political scoop of the decade: he'd seriously rather gouge his eyes out than spend another minute in politics, much less ever go anywhere near the White House. Addie knows there has to be more to the story, and her curiosity is clouding her judgment. You can take the girl out of the CIA, but it's not so easy to shake the CIA out of the girl. Of course, it's not just curiosity (and the acknowledgement that his face isn't so stupid after all) that's been reawakened inside her. But after more than two decades, it's too late. Wes and Addie already had their chance. Right?
Source: Amazon
Book Thoughts
After reading the first two books in the Adelaide Springs series, it was wonderful to finally know the story behind Wes and Addie. It seemed that their absence in the earlier books always hinted at something grand, and in a way, getting to meet them both in this last book was both fitting and satisfying. I was grateful that both mysterious characters made their long-awaited appearance, so that readers could understand the motivations for their behaviour and disappearances. Even better than that was seeing how they were able to take responsibility for their past actions against each other. With Wes and Addie being in their 40s, it was refreshing to see how they worked to clear up any miscommunication between them instead of descending into assumptions. Of course, it wouldn't be a Bethany Turner book without the pop culture nods along the way to evoke that shared nostalgia as well.
This book is marketed as clean fiction, so there are few faith references, with the exception of one scene that briefly alludes to it. Otherwise, it's a continuation of a charming small-town series with plenty of appearances by and references to the previous couples we've met in Adelaide Springs. One of the things I've liked most about this series has been the intergenerational nature of it, with a focus on the older characters that have guided and mentored the younger ones. This book does address heavier and potentially controversial topics, so readers might want to explore some trigger warnings beforehand. Those who have followed along on this journey in the series will be interested in discovering the answers to what happened between Wes and Addie all those years ago, with a dose of the inner workings of an American political campaign.
Book Summary
- Format of book: 📱
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Recommendation: 👍
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