This isn’t your average romance. It begins with me in a wedding dress, just not at an altar …
I never expected to be a runaway bride. I also never thought I’d end up on my ex’s doorstep to flee from said wedding. Now that I’m here, it’s easy to find the key in an old boot by the door and let myself inside. It’s not breaking and entering if I have a key, right?
It’s safe to say that Luke Marshall didn’t expect to find me on his couch in my wedding dress, my veil over my face in tears. He has no choice but to listen to my panic-induced plea for salvation. It’s only a matter of time before the tabloids get wind of my disappearing act, and my life is over.
Luke takes pity on me and says I can stay… on one condition.
I can’t sing for my supper—I have to earn it. I have to work in the barn alongside him, up to my elbows in horse manure. Oh—and because there’s only one bed, I get the couch.
This works … in theory. However, when sparks start flying, and the small-town farrier asks me to stay, I’ll have to decide between my life as a pop star or a second chance with my first love.
The author called this story ‘a hug in book form’ and that sums it up perfectly. Low angst, positive emotions, fun characters who can laugh even when it seems like the world is imploding. Second chance romance isn’t a favorite, but this is one of the best I’ve ever read. Our runaway bride is a huge star and rarely goes unnoticed, even in disguise, so when she leaves Hollywood’s hottest leading man at the altar, her options for escape are limited. She’s also in her hometown which is no longer her home, so that makes this even trickier. She flees to the sanctuary of Luke Marshall’s house: her first love and the only person she can really trust right now besides the BFF running interference for her.
Luke is shocked to see Laina in his living room but he’s certainly not disappointed and they fall into routine seamlessly. They were forced to go their separate ways in order for Laina to achieve her dreams, but neither one has ever stopped wondering what might have been if only they’d made more effort to stay together. Is this a chance for a do-over, or will it just be heartbreak: the sequel?
I really loved these characters from the beginning. Laina is minutes from her own wedding when she realizes this isn’t the life she wants, she’s about to marry a man she doesn’t love, and she should have taken control of her life long ago. Her dad is her business manager, but he works her half to death and dismisses her input in every aspect of running her business. It shouldn’t come as such a shock, since her parents never paid much attention to her at all until she became their cash cow. It’s an intimidating prospect to put her foot down and take control, but Laina knows it’s the only way she’ll ever be happy./
Luke is sweet and supportive and so grateful to have her back in his life, he’s not going to let her go, not again. They’re fun together and I loved seeing the Marshall family surround Laina and be the support system she needs. They reconnect seamlessly and love every moment together and I loved every minute of it. I would like to thank the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Note: This book was originally published under the title This Much Is True as book 2 in the Marshall Family series but the whole series just got a glow up and is now Peachwood Falls. Book 1 was originally published as More Than I Could but is now Tempt.
