Part of Your World

Alexis is driving back to Minneapolis when she ends up in a ditch in the small town of Wakan trying to avoid hitting a raccoon. Just great! The tow truck company she called will be awhile but in the meantime one of the locals stops to help her out of her predicament. She decides to stop at the local bar for a quick bite to eat before she heads off home again., Daniel Grant was the guy who stopped to help her, he and his ancestors are a part of the fabric of this small town. He runs his family B&B and is a very talented carpenter. He is also the town Mayor, which is not as arduous as it sounds with a population of 350 people for most of the year., Alexis being in the local bar raises lots of interest for all the single guys. They’ve either grown up with, know of or have dated every woman in town so Alexis is fair game as far as they are concerned. Daniel swoops in and saves her from them all with his witty banter and general warmth., Alexis has recently gone through a break up. After lots of therapy she has come out much stronger and more aware of what she wants/deserves in a future partner. One thing she does now is that she is not interested in dating or relationships. This is how she ends up spending the night in Daniel’s bed. Let me put some context around this…, ‘Daniel somehow managed to be charming and completely down-to-earth while also exuding pure sex. It was the most baffling combination. And one I wasn’t capable of refusing.’, Daniel truly is a genuinely lovely guy and Alexis probably can’t explain it herself but there is a connection there. A pull towards each other that even after a few hours of conversation over a grilled cheese sandwich they find themselves naked together. Alexis knows she will never return and she really needs a night like this. Daniel does not disappoint, he is attentive, intuitive and gives her a night she will never forget., After Alexis leaves, Daniel is left wondering if it was all just a beautiful dream. This gorgeous, intelligent and articulate woman – who he thinks is waaay out of his league has left her mark on him. He cannot stop thinking of her and he will do anything to spend more time with her. And then she calls him.., Alexis’ path in life was carved out for her before she was born. Her family has generations of surgeons that have come before her but she defied the norm a little by becoming an ER doctor. Not a career deemed as anything of significance to her father. She constantly fails to meet the high expectations set by him and her recent break up with a surgeon he considered a son to him has not helped. Now she is the sole Montgomery doctor left at the hospital and he expects her to step up., As you can see, Alexis’ world and Daniel’s are so far removed from each other but despite all of this she finds herself driving to see him most weekends. They are developing feelings for each other, big, huge, deep feelings that can never be any more than that. His life is in Wakan, and hers in Minneapolis – both anchored by the generations that came before them., ‘This relationship would never expand. It would never take a deep breath and pull in those around us. It wouldn’t fill its lungs with my people and my life. It would just be this. Only this.’, Honestly, my heart was breaking for this couple. Alexis has one true best friend, Bri (you are going to love her) and other than that no one else is in her cheer team, apart from Daniel. He makes her feel seen, he believes in her, he cares so much for her and put simply, all he wants is Alexis. She is so torn up over what she feels for Daniel, she is being pulled in so many directions and is drowning in the weight of expectations thrown upon her., ‘Nothing could convince me this woman wasn’t made for me to love. I think my soul recognized hers the second I laid eyes on her. Our bodies knew it the very first night. The power she had over me terrified me. But it also gave me clarity.’, Okay, so with all of this heavy angst there are also equal amounts of fun, laughter and swoon 🙂 There is Chloe the goat, Kevin Bacon the pig, Hunter the dog and all the wonderful townsfolk of Wakan. The banter between Alexis and Daniel was so adorable and I laughed so much. I really hope we get more stories from the wonderful secondary characters in this story., Well this was my reading highlight of the month, all those wonderful book feels that I love were here in abundance, I never wanted this to end!, ‘I love you’ he whispered. ‘We are together. This isn’t over. And even if you leave, it won’t be over because you’ll take the love with you and it’ll bring you back.’

Alexis is driving back to Minneapolis when she ends up in a ditch in the small town of Wakan trying to avoid hitting a raccoon. Just great! The tow truck company she called will be awhile but in the meantime one of the locals stops to help her out of her predicament. She decides to stop at the local bar for a quick bite to eat before she heads off home again., Daniel Grant was the guy who stopped to help her, he and his ancestors are a part of the fabric of this small town. He runs his family B&B and is a very talented carpenter. He is also the town Mayor, which is not as arduous as it sounds with a population of 350 people for most of the year., Alexis being in the local bar raises lots of interest for all the single guys. They’ve either grown up with, know of or have dated every woman in town so Alexis is fair game as far as they are concerned. Daniel swoops in and saves her from them all with his witty banter and general warmth., Alexis has recently gone through a break up. After lots of therapy she has come out much stronger and more aware of what she wants/deserves in a future partner. One thing she does now is that she is not interested in dating or relationships. This is how she ends up spending the night in Daniel’s bed. Let me put some context around this…, ‘Daniel somehow managed to be charming and completely down-to-earth while also exuding pure sex. It was the most baffling combination. And one I wasn’t capable of refusing.’, Daniel truly is a genuinely lovely guy and Alexis probably can’t explain it herself but there is a connection there. A pull towards each other that even after a few hours of conversation over a grilled cheese sandwich they find themselves naked together. Alexis knows she will never return and she really needs a night like this. Daniel does not disappoint, he is attentive, intuitive and gives her a night she will never forget., After Alexis leaves, Daniel is left wondering if it was all just a beautiful dream. This gorgeous, intelligent and articulate woman – who he thinks is waaay out of his league has left her mark on him. He cannot stop thinking of her and he will do anything to spend more time with her. And then she calls him.., Alexis’ path in life was carved out for her before she was born. Her family has generations of surgeons that have come before her but she defied the norm a little by becoming an ER doctor. Not a career deemed as anything of significance to her father. She constantly fails to meet the high expectations set by him and her recent break up with a surgeon he considered a son to him has not helped. Now she is the sole Montgomery doctor left at the hospital and he expects her to step up., As you can see, Alexis’ world and Daniel’s are so far removed from each other but despite all of this she finds herself driving to see him most weekends. They are developing feelings for each other, big, huge, deep feelings that can never be any more than that. His life is in Wakan, and hers in Minneapolis – both anchored by the generations that came before them., ‘This relationship would never expand. It would never take a deep breath and pull in those around us. It wouldn’t fill its lungs with my people and my life. It would just be this. Only this.’, Honestly, my heart was breaking for this couple. Alexis has one true best friend, Bri (you are going to love her) and other than that no one else is in her cheer team, apart from Daniel. He makes her feel seen, he believes in her, he cares so much for her and put simply, all he wants is Alexis. She is so torn up over what she feels for Daniel, she is being pulled in so many directions and is drowning in the weight of expectations thrown upon her., ‘Nothing could convince me this woman wasn’t made for me to love. I think my soul recognized hers the second I laid eyes on her. Our bodies knew it the very first night. The power she had over me terrified me. But it also gave me clarity.’, Okay, so with all of this heavy angst there are also equal amounts of fun, laughter and swoon 🙂 There is Chloe the goat, Kevin Bacon the pig, Hunter the dog and all the wonderful townsfolk of Wakan. The banter between Alexis and Daniel was so adorable and I laughed so much. I really hope we get more stories from the wonderful secondary characters in this story., Well this was my reading highlight of the month, all those wonderful book feels that I love were here in abundance, I never wanted this to end!, ‘I love you’ he whispered. ‘We are together. This isn’t over. And even if you leave, it won’t be over because you’ll take the love with you and it’ll bring you back.’

It’s so hard for me to find contemporary romances I actually enjoy because so many of them end up feeling really bland to me because they lack emotional stakes and conflict. I need some kind of driving force involving external conflict or inner turmoil to keep me turning pages, and that seems to be something that more and more authors are afraid to include these days. Maybe that’s because, these days, any semi-flawed or unlikable character or situation involving any kind of nuance ends up getting you cancelled on TikTok., PART OF YOUR WORLD, however, is that one book in one hundred that actually manages to write a successful rom-com that doesn’t feel patronizing, unrealistic, or– worse– pandering. It includes so many of my favorite tropes that it felt like it was written for me: small town vibes, reverse age gap, class differences, STEM heroine (she’s a doctor!), cute animals, strong female friendships, and loads and loads of family d(tr)auma to unpack and dread and scream over., Alexis meets Daniel when her car gets stuck in a ditch. He helps tow her and then they meet again when she stops at the local bar for a bite. They end up hitting it off but she’s a little put off by how young he is, and how their lives are totally different. (Read: she’s loaded.) But they end up deciding to be a sort of exclusive-friends-with-benefits thing, which I wouldn’t have minded if ALL THE SEX SCENES WEREN’T FADE TO BLACK (rude), but obviously they both catch feelings and obviously, both of them have extenuating factors that come into conflict with their budding romance. Daniel is about to lose his family house because his drug-addicted mother owns it and she wants to sell it all to run off with some guy. And Alexis is being put under incredible pressure by her manipulative and uptight family and her emotionally abusive ex., The conflict drives the story and keeps up the tension, adding edge to what would otherwise be a pretty sugary-sweet insta-love romance wish fulfillment fantasy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. While I was composing my review in my head, I was actually going to talk about how *some* fluffy books manage to sell that fantasy without being too annoying. But then all that other stuff in the book came into play and I ended up being even more impressed than I already was. I only really have three complaints: (1) if you’re going to tell me this dude is the Alexander the Great of having sex, you have to give us SOMETHING. Otherwise it feels like a taunt. (2) It kind of felt like the whole thing with Daniel’s mom was just kind of resolved off-page, which was weird, because it felt like the book was playing her up to do something awful. (3) Could have done with 90% fewer Princess Bride references., But overall, this was a lovely book. Just as good as the last book by this author that I read and thank goodness I have two more of hers on Kindle to read. PLUS, the next book in this series is going to be about Bri and she is absolutely the coolest and I can’t wait for her story., Thanks to FLINN and Anniek for reading this with me! Make sure to check out their reviews! :), 4 out of 5 stars

This is a beautiful story about two people in two different worlds, one from wealth and privileged and another from a family who has history with the small town he lives in. They meet at the side of the road and later again in a VFW. There is an attraction between them that is too powerful for the both of them not to get involved with each other yet there are secrets to spare the other hurt. Alexis is coming off of a relationship that was verbally abusive and yet he continues to pursue her even after she found him cheating on her. Her parents are a complex couple of doctors that are dysfunctional that would never accept Daniel. She finds that Daniel and the town he lives in is full of unexplainable happenings that make her fall in love with him that much more. They have an age gap of 10 years and that seems to bother Alexis a little in the beginning, but she seems to get over it. The biggest problem they have is the duty they have to their families. After all the secrets are out in the open, they have to decide what their priorities are to each other and their families. What I love about this book is that as Alexis and Daniel love grows, they are open to the dynamics of how those around them treat others and how grace doesn’t cost them anything by just by being kind to others. Yet they are able to grow and make each other better from their love.

This is a beautiful story about two people in two different worlds, one from wealth and privileged and another from a family who has history with the small town he lives in. They meet at the side of the road and later again in a VFW. There is an attraction between them that is too powerful for the both of them not to get involved with each other yet there are secrets to spare the other hurt. Alexis is coming off of a relationship that was verbally abusive and yet he continues to pursue her even after she found him cheating on her. Her parents are a complex couple of doctors that are dysfunctional that would never accept Daniel. She finds that Daniel and the town he lives in is full of unexplainable happenings that make her fall in love with him that much more. They have an age gap of 10 years and that seems to bother Alexis a little in the beginning, but she seems to get over it. The biggest problem they have is the duty they have to their families. After all the secrets are out in the open, they have to decide what their priorities are to each other and their families. What I love about this book is that as Alexis and Daniel love grows, they are open to the dynamics of how those around them treat others and how grace doesn’t cost them anything by just by being kind to others. Yet they are able to grow and make each other better from their love.