*POTENTIAL SPOILERS! DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST BOOK!

After six years, a lot changed for Salem from getting engaged, married, living someplace else, eventually getting divorced, and of course the biggest life changing event… Salem becoming a mom. Not just any mom, but the mother of Thayer’s child… which she found out she was pregnant after the devastating incident that ended with Forrest. Now Salem came back to Hawthorne Mills to help take care of her mother, Allison a.k.a. Allie, who’s cancer came back, and unfortunately only had some time left before she would inevitably die. Micalea didn’t hold back on the sad, emotional story in this book, so be prepared to read some heavy topic (look up trigger warnings!) 

The way the first book ended definitely dealt with a lot of heavy materials, and left a lot of questions up in the air like, “what ended up happening to Thayer?” , “What would happen now that Salem was back?”, and more. Thankfully through the beginning, Micalea made sure to cover all the answers, and give more insight into Salem and Thayer as well through out the story. Not to mention, this book ended up being Dual P.O.V. So we finally got to read Thayer’s perspective and I loved it! 

With Salem being back home, she dealt with a lot from her mother being sick again, her divorce, and of course being back in the same town with her first one true love, Thayer. When Salem and Thayer finally saw each other after those six years, I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see how each would react. Although Salem was heartbroken after the events in, “The Confidence of Wildflowers”, it was clear that she couldn’t deny feeling a little bit happy to see Thayer. Even Thayer couldn’t get over seeing Salem and how much she had grown into the beautiful woman he always knew she was. Seeing Salem after so much time apart, Thayer hoped for a second chance with her, and wanted to make things right by her such as, taking her out on a actual date, making a bouquet of her favorite flowers (THAT HE GREW FOR HER IN HIS GREENHOUSE!). Thayer was intent on winning back Salem and hoping that they could reconnect. If you think about it, not only was this a second chance romance, but it also involved a bit of groveling on Thayer’s part in order to not only get back with Salem, but to also rectify the mistake of the horrible things he said to her in the midst of his grieve. 

I would say the central theme (among others) in this story was about, second chances. Thayer and Salem thought their love story was over and yet somehow fate found a way to bring them back in the same place, and gave them the opportunity to reignite their relationship starting off with a fresh start. I loved how Salem and Thayer were very open with each other, similarly to how they were in the first book. Being so honest, even though some things were hard to hear, the fact that Salem and Thayer openly communicated their feelings highlighted one of the many strengths in their relationship. In addition, the way Salem told Thayer about Seda (their daughter) I was imagining it playing out in a entirely different scenario that involved Thayer becoming angry, but surprisingly his reaction wasn’t that. 

Also can we just take a moment to appreciate how sweet and kind hearted Seda was?! Seda definitely had traits similar to Forrest, and she was absolutely adorable and loving. Without a doubt if Forrest were still alive, he would have loved Seda and been the best big brother to her. Seda was always taking me by surprise and I mean that in a good way. I love how energetic and intelligent she was, not to mention a bit sassy like demanding her chocolate chip pancakes or essentially shutting everyone up at the diner in regards to who her Dad was. 

Not only was this Thayer and Salem’s second chance to be with each other, but everything came full circle for them. There was a quote that Thayer mentioned regarding himself and Salem and how the Confidence of Wildflowers represented Salem and The Resurrection of Wildflowers represented him. I thought the way  Micalea wrote that part was inspiring and such a beautiful way to sum up Salem and Thayer’s experiences/ themselves. After all the pain and suffering Salem and Thayer endured, they finally got their happy ending together and I was overjoyed with them. Towards the end, I was smiling and just soaking up all the romance and goodness that emanated from my favorites Salem and Thayer. The epilogue was a sweet conclusion, and everything about this book was fantastic. Micalea did a phenomenal job and (sigh) I love this book and while it was bittersweet ending the book, I’m just glad Salem and Thayer got their happily ever after.