First published 2017
Beth Prudhomme breaks free from her controlling parents in Chicago and moves to Portland, Oregon. She reconnects with her free-spirited Aunt Sunshine and starts teaching high school music. Through her friend Nichole, Beth meets Sam Carney, a tattooed auto mechanic who seems like her complete opposite. Beth is reserved and intellectual while Sam is rough-edged and blue-collar. After an awkward evening out, Beth leaves early and crashes her car. Sam witnesses the accident and rushes to help her, staying by her side until paramedics arrive. During Beth's hospital recovery, Sam visits daily and even brings his guitar to play music for her. Their friendship deepens into unexpected romance. But Beth's strong-willed mother Ellie arrives in Portland with harsh judgments about Sam and old grudges against Aunt Sunshine. When disturbing secrets from Sam's past surface, Beth must decide what matters most to her heart.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Chicago, Oregon, Portland
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books