This book opens with a young Cade and a young Monroe, our
hero and heroine, on the night they said goodbye.
Immediately, author Laura Trentham establishes that there is
probably
no one else in the world who knows these two like they
know each other, and that probably will never change.
They're products of a small town in the American South,
the kind that winds its way through your DNA and never
fully lets go.
Cottonbloom is split by a river and divided between two
states. The Mississippi side is where the wealthier folks
live (and they're referred to as "Sips), and the
Louisiana side is where the folks who are a little less
flush with cash call home (they're referred to as "Swamp
Rats"). However divided they may appear, Trentham
consistently shows us that these two towns live off each
other and their residents are as intertwined as the water
and soil in the river.
Cade and Monroe spend a lot of time in this book not
clearly communicating, which is a pet peeve of mine (just
speak your mind, people!), but I can recognize that
decades of skepticism leads to mistrust and that needs to
be rebuilt. I loved Monroe and how complicated Trentham
made her, her motivations, and her choices. Cade was the
same way. When they finally surrendered to their happily
ever after, my heart was warmed.
This is the start of a series, with two more on the way,
so if you like small town romances with doses of realism,
and second chance romances that will make you cheer, be
sure to pick up KISS ME THAT WAY.
A river divides Cottonbloom in two: the upscale enclave
on the Mississippi side and the rundown, rough and tumble
side in Louisiana. They’re worlds apart—but nothing can
build a bridge like love…
Cade Fournette never had it easy Cottonbloom. He stuck
around long enough to raise his orphaned siblings and then
hightailed it out West—and never looked back. Even though
he’s made a success of himself in Seattle, Cade never lost
the toughness and the angry edge that helped him survive
down South. His only weak spot: the girl he left behind…
Monroe Kirby came from the wealthy side of town, but that
didn’t protect her from her mother’s drinking—or her
mother’s boyfriend. It was Cade who did that, on a long-ago
hot September night, before he disappeared…along with a
piece of her heart. Now Monroe is a physical therapist who
can fight for herself, and it’s Cade who could use some
conditioning when he makes an unexpected return back home.
Will he and Monroe pick up where they left off and finally
explore their mutual passion—or will the scars and secrets
of the past divide them once more?