haletostilinski's Reviews > Coddiwomple

4.5 stars!

I absolutely adored this. Harmon's works have been really strong lately. Like the Spookology series, especially the third book, I find amazing, and this was amazing too. I just loved this second chance romance.

Journey Sutton has been a wildlife photographer for about 13, 14 years, ever since he left the love of his life Cameron Foster and his family behind.

But Journey had to grow up fast when he was about 14 years old when his mother died, and his father checked out for awhile, didn't take care of Journey and his three younger brothers the way he should have.

But the one constant for him was Cam, who he met when they were 14, and who was his best friend before they became more.

They have always loved each other, but sometimes love isn't enough, and also sometimes people are too young to get how to work at a relationship.

And well...when one wants to all the sudden up and leave and communication isn't used the way it should be, you get two people who are meant to be...break up. Even though they remain friends over the years, if distant, they both know that deep down they were the one that got away.

I think they both made mistakes in their break up, even though I do put most of the blame on Journey. Cam was blindsided and while Journey asked him to come with, that's a big ask, especially with such short notice, and when other factors come into it - like Journey apparently not wanting kids and Cam wanting them, and Cam being the opposite of Journey and wanting to stay settled and have roots - they just didn't make it.

But 13 or so years later, they're more mature, and when Journey is back in his hometown for the summer, the longest he's been around for probably more than a few days - because his dad has a stroke and he has to take care of him - they can't help fall back in love...or reconnect, as it were. I don't think they were ever really out of love with each other.

But the same problems are still there, and Cam is scared to get his heart broken again, so they agree to "casual" sex, even though they don't ever really have casual sex, not with each other.

And Journey wants to make it work this time, to compromise and make changes, so it doesn't have to be the be all, end all for either or. It just takes awhile for Cameron to get past his walls, his defenses and his fear to be ready to give them another chance.

I only give .5 off for the fewest of niggles. Just basically that I still had questions at the end. Like, when did they first get together all those years ago? Was it when they were teenagers and then they were together until they were 25? How long were they engaged? And also, I can't quite remember, but I don't the book did mentions if Journey and Cam figured out the issue of children.

Because it seems to me like Journey was so opposed to it just because he basically had to be a parent to his three younger brothers, but he teaches kids photography and seems to like them and maybe be changing his mind? But we don't know if he did for sure. It just would have been nice to know how these two figured out the kid issue.

It just some questions left dangling that I wanted answered and left me feeling a tad bereft at the end, so .5 off for that.

But other than that, I adored this, and seeing these two get that hard fought for HEA meant everything. I loved them, I loved their connection, I loved their chemistry and I just loved this book. It had me sucked in from the beginning and only much needed sleep made me put it down.

Two MASSIVE thumbs up from me. Highly recommend it. I wouldn't mind more of these two, as well, just saying. I couldn't get enough of them. Absolutely loved this! ❤️