Hannah is a stressed out mom to infant Bowie, and despite the mental haze born of too many overnight feedings and diaper changes, and too little time for her own hygiene, she’s excited about the prospect of family life with her live-in boyfriend, Killian. After being unexpectedly and unceremoniously fired by her abusive boss, and then dumped by Killian on their three year anniversary, Hannah has one viable option: a temporary move to the small resort town of Blue Ridge, Georgia to help her parents renovate their cabin rental property. She quickly discovers, however, that the most important repairs she needs to make are within herself.

This rom-com/women’s fiction book spills over with humor, optimism, and warmth. The relationships that Hannah has with her family and friends aren’t perfect, but they are brimming with genuine love and affection. Female readers with children will laugh-cry right along with Hannah as she navigates the highs and lows of new motherhood. I loved the way that Hannah’s circle stepped up to support her without judgment when times got rough. Hannah has been a victim of emotional and psychological neglect and abuse throughout her life, and this was handled with appropriate concern and reflection within the narrative. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation. There’s a legit Country Bear Jamboree reference which I loved because nostalgia!

Like many other reviewers, I agree that the weakest plotline in the book is the relationship between Hannah and River. It was hard not to view River as Hannah’s rebound given their insta-love-lust story, and the fact that she is learning to navigate her evolving relationship with Killian throughout the book. The cringy third-act breakup with River caused by miscommunication made it even harder to root for them.

I also think the book is too long. There are too many characters (e.g. Small Business 101 classmates, the Queer Mountaineers) and mini subplots that could have been edited out without having any effect on the overarching narratives, such as Kira and Mattie’s second-baby woes and River’s estrangement from his mother. I didn’t like that Killian is transformed overnight from an emotionally abusive, selfish jerk to a fully realized mature father who realizes the error of his ways and is now determined to make things right for Hannah and Bowie no matter what. There shouldn’t have been so much page time devoted to Hannah’s relationship with Killian, given that the romance we are supposed to be invested in is with River.

There are also several scenes in the book that are so over the top that they’re at the level of slapstick. Similarly, many of the characters themselves are exaggerated stereotypes, e,g. Darryl “Big Daddy” the backwoods Southern mountain man; Trish “G-Ma” the dysfunctional and multiple divorcee Southern mom; the yoga at sunrise, living in an actual treehouse, refuses to own a phone, free spirit River; the bleached blonde, gum smacking, pencil thin on 4” heels Southern gal Madison; and River’s thin-lipped, self-righteous bigoted Southern mother who huffs and puffs on the page.

And the title of the book is awful, quite frankly.

This was a hard review for me to write, because I was genuinely entertained and enjoyed a large part of the book, especially given that this is the author's debut novel. The author’s voice is unapologetic, fun, fast, and bright, despite the issues in execution. I’m rating this one a 3-3.5 stars. It was a harmless and fun read, but one that I won't revisit. Additionally, I think that this book skews to a pretty narrow female Millennial demographic, as mothers of young children are the ones who will really be able to relate to Hannah’s story.

Tropes: rom-com, single mom, small town, hurt/comfort, neighbor next door, insta-love

Thank you Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.