by Lucy Score
Part of Knockemout, book 1
First published 2022
Naomi flees her wedding to rescue her twin sister in Knockemout, Virginia, but Tina vanishes with Naomi's car and money, abandoning an eleven-year-old daughter Naomi never knew existed. Now Naomi finds herself trapped in a hardscrabble town with no resources and a sharp-tongued niece to raise. Knox, the local barber with a beard and a basset hound named Waylon, lives by one rule: avoid complications. He takes his coffee black and his life simple, settling disputes with fists when necessary. Drama, especially the kind that comes with romantic entanglements, stays off his agenda. But when Naomi's world collapses in front of him, Knox can't walk away. He tells himself he's just helping her get back on her feet, then he'll return to his quiet existence. The plan works until Naomi keeps finding new trouble, and that trouble escalates into real danger. What started as temporary assistance becomes something neither of them planned for in a town where nothing stays simple for long.
Genres: romance, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Knockemout, Virginia
572 pages · Kindle Edition · That's What She Said Publishing