First published 2013
Samantha Castle watches her two younger sisters prepare for their weddings while she questions everything about her own path. She has spent years chasing an acting career in New York, working with agents and navigating the theater world. Now she finds herself drawn back to the North Carolina coast where her family lives. The pull feels stronger than professional ambition. Ethan Cole complicates her decision. She had a crush on him as a teenager, and those feelings resurface when she sees him again. Ethan returned from Afghanistan as a wounded veteran who lost his leg in combat. He works as a doctor now but has closed himself off from love and relationships. The war took more than his physical wholeness. It stripped away his faith in lasting connection. Samantha must decide whether to return to New York and her old dreams or stay in North Carolina and build something new. Ethan represents possibility, but he resists her interest. She refuses to give up easily. Around them, couples celebrate engagements and weddings, but Ethan remains convinced that love leads only to loss.
Genres: romance, contemporary-romance, military-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance
Setting: Afghanistan, North Carolina
Period: Contemporary
384 pages · Mass Market Paperback · MIRA
Content warnings: war