⭐⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Yes. Everly and Beckett get a well-deserved second chance amidst serious secrets and light-hearted fun.

Everly Davis didn’t leave her tight-knit hometown on the best terms. It’s been ten years, but you don’t forget heartbreak like that. Then again, the anonymous invite to the annual Kiss Lottery in Rose, Tennessee, gives Everly content for her podcast. And she has a bone to pick with that old heartbreak anyway. Beckett Whitfield has never left Rose—and he’s never forgotten Everly. He even named the villain in his latest bestseller after her. Turns out she’s not happy about that. Nothing about their reunion is particularly happy, and after the way they left things, what did he expect? When the Kiss Lottery pairs them together, Everly and Beckett will have to confront old feelings that never went away and the secrets they never shared. But finally telling each other everything might be exactly what they’ve needed all along.

MY THOUGHTS

Based on events later in the book, I didn’t really understand Beckett’s initial animosity towards Everly. That threw me off somewhat, and I kept waiting for that bitterness to pop up again, but it never did. If anyone had reason to feel bitter, it would be Everly.

Other than that, I enjoyed the banter between Beckett and Everly and their chemistry. Oh, and Everly’s confusion about what was happening, that part was endearing. Well, it’s fair to say I was also a bit confused at the start. The gifts and the “roses are red…” notes had me smiling.

This novella packed in Everly’s humiliation in high school, Beckett’s secret, and their reunion without it feeling rushed or incomplete. And let’s not forget the ghost story. I can highly recommend this if you like a steamy second-chance romance.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. See what other readers are saying on Goodreads.

Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: February 11, 2025
Sensuality Rating: Warm
Tropes: Second Chance, Small Town, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Years and Years of Pining