I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Emerson Lowe and popular ice-hockey player Jake McCallister have been best friends since third grade but as their friendship starts to morph into something more a terrible event occurs that heralds the end of innocence for both of them.

Within a week, Jake’s living on the other side of the country and Emerson is left alone to pick up the pieces of her life in a small town determined to paint her as a liar.

Seven years later, Emerson is still living on the beautiful Pacific West island of Bainbridge, helping run her family’s business. The last thing she needs is Jake turning up, bringing with him old memories and opening up old wounds. But Jake—even better looking than Emerson remembers—seems determined to revive their friendship no matter how much Emerson tries to push him away.

Forced to work alongside him for the summer Emerson can’t help but fall for Jake, and soon they’re in the midst of a passionate romance that neither of them wants to end.

But both Emerson and Jake know that if they’re to have any kind of future they must first confront the past—a past that most people want to stay buried.

Short and Sweet

Emerson and Jake used to be best friends until he ends up moving away suddenly. After not seeing each other for seven years Jake is back and wants to try to be friends again and Em just wants to push him away because she knows that if she lets him in she’ll have to relive old memories that she’s been trying to move on from since he left.

Characters

Emerson: Em is such a strong main character I loved her. I liked that she continued to be strong even when she didn’t want to. She has her guard up which is understandable especially after what happened to her which I’ll get more into later.

Jake: I loved Jake too. All he wanted to do was come back to Bainbridge and see Em and try to make things right. He was sweet and he tried his hardest to get close to her without overstepping her boundaries.

Romance

So Jake and Em do have a history they shared their first kiss together when they were 13 and 14. Now fast forwarding to the present Em has her walls up especially when she sees that Jake has returned to the island. When Jake tries to rekindle their friendship he’s met with an Em who just wants to push him away. But Jake didn’t stop and I’m so happy he didn’t because when they finally got together everything felt right. They were meant to be together, they were best friends and they know so much about each other which made it even better. Even though they have a relationship they still have to work on talking about what happened in the past which is still a little difficult. But I’m glad they ended up together they just mesh together so well and they truly love each other.

My Thoughts

~ So when Em was in high school she was sexually assaulted by her ice hockey coach which also happens to be Jake’s uncle. That was the day when Em’s life shattered. No one believed her except her parents and she was ridiculed in school by her peers and called a liar.

~ We also get to see into Em’s personal life which doesn’t seem much better she works at her family business which isn’t doing the best and in the past year her father was diagnosed with MS. Em has to manage all these things in her life and it isn’t easy for her.

~ When Jake finally comes back after seven years Em just wants to know what he’s doing back but she doesn’t want to be his friend again.

~ Jake returning was interesting, we learn about why he left and we get to learn why he returned later in the book. Jake coming back changed things on the island mainly because he’s kind of famous. He still plays hockey and is the #1 draft pick so he’s well known. When he comes back he decides to take a job at Em’s family business to try to get close to her but it also helps pick up business too.

~ I liked Toby’s character. He’s one of Em’s friends and also works at the family business. He has good intentions and he helps Em out a lot.

~ Shay is also one of Em’s friends we don’t see much of her because she’s in another state during most of the book but she’s always supportive of Em and trying to give her the best advice she can.

~ We also get to see some of the towns people like the Walsh brothers who have history with Em and Jake they’re not the best people but they do play a big part in the book towards the end.

Overall

I loved this book! I usually don’t read a lot of new adult but this is now one of my favorites! The progression of the relationship between Jake and Em was perfect. I also liked how Gray touched on the subject of sexually assault and showed how it affected Em’s life. This is such an amazing book and I recommend that everyone picks it up, I plan on reading some of Gray’s other books!