TITLE: Secretly Mine
AUTHOR: Stephanie Rowe
SERIES: Birch Crossing
SERIES ORDER: 5
RELEASE DATE: 10/17/2023
GENRE: Small Town Romance
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (I’d give it 10 if I could)
BLURB:
She's back in town with no time for the rebel who stole her heart long ago…but now he's playing for keeps.
Fifteen years ago, Dash Stratton married the spunky girl next door to protect her, a secret they've both kept for a decade and a half. Now, she's back for the first time since that day, and she needs a divorce. Can Declan convince her that the man of her dreams is the one she's been hiding all this time? He has thirty days to change her mind, or lose her forever.
When Leila Kerrigan inherits a sprawling lake house, the last thing she wants is to return to her hometown to sort out the will. But when she arrives and learns she must live in the house for thirty days before selling it, she realizes it's a chance to recover from the freefall her life is in.
But all hopes of a quiet, restorative hideaway are ruined when Leila discovers that her co-heir and roommate for the next month is the town bad boy she married fifteen years ago…and hasn't seen since. Dash is tall, muscled, moody, and ridiculously attractive. A virtual stranger…who is much too tempting for a woman who has no heart left to share.
Leila has thirty days to sell the house, persuade Dash to set her free, and heal secrets she has held for too long. But the accidental single dad has secrets of his own…and he's not willing to lose Leila a second time.
MY REVIEW:
DISCLAIMER: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was not my first Stephanie Rowe book I read, bit was my first book in her Birch Crossing series, and I can tell you I fell head over heels for Leila and Dash! Their story made me laugh, cry, and swoon!
I read a lot of books where the heroine is the sassy one, but hardly ever do I read one where the hero is. Dash has the weight of the world on his shoulders and yet when he’s with Leila, he turns into this massive goofball and I couldn’t help laughing at and with them!
Their love story is heartbreakingly beautiful! I’ve never wanted to cry so much while reading a book before!
I also fell in love with this town, with it’s meddlesome centenarians and close-knit community. I can’t wait to go back to the beginning to where it all began!
Thank you Stephanie for the advance copy!