4 stars

If you've read "On Dublin Street", then you are/were probably just as curious as I was about Ellie and Adam. The first installment of this series kept Ellie and Adam's relationship on the background, and I couldn't help thinking about what might be happening exactly between the two of them. I wanted details! Lots of details.

I'm not sure I got all of the details I needed. I wondered how Samantha Young was going to put all of those years of attraction and forbidden love in just one hundred pages. I wanted a full book, dammit! I wanted to know what Adam was thinking during those last months.

What I received was a trip down memory lane. Together and happy, their issues solved, Ellie and Adam are casually sorting through her diaries and reliving all of their past dramas and mistakes. It was slightly frustrating, to see how they'd acted throughout the years, all because Adam was afraid of losing Braden's confidence. God knows how I adore a her-big-brother's-my-bestfriend complex, but still.

I still think a full-length novel would have been a better choice, considering the importance of Adam and Ellie's relationship. They're the protagonists' best friends. I really wanted to be inside Adam's mind. Damn. I struggled with that too during "On Dublin Street". The lack of a male POV seems to be a designated rule. Let's see if it sticks for the next books as well.

4 stars

What an amazing break from all of the angsty reads. Not that this book was all pink and fluffy. It wasn't. But there were no nonsense fights and fabricated drama. The issues the main couple faced actually felt real and believable! Lots of points for that.

Jocelyn Butler is fucked up. Her best friend of four years knows nothing about her. She represses memories of her painful past all the time. She's reluctant to open her heart to people.

But when she moves to Dublin Street with Ellie Carmichael and meets her brother, Braden, Joss finds herself facing a whirlwind of emotions. She becomes emotionally attached to Ellie and Braden, to their family, begins to reveal a little bit more of herself gradually. Braden, who started out as a persistent suitor whom she had an unbelievably huge attraction to, ended up being her friend with benefits and then her boyfriend.

Joss and Braden make an amazing couple. Almost angst-free. Braden's got that extremely hot caveman thing going on and Joss challenges him. They keep each other grounded.

However, when an unexpected situation hits them both, Joss will finally realise her involvement in the Carmichaels' lives. The question is, will she be able to cope? Can she find the strength to fight her inner demons and give herself completely to Braden? Answers can be found in book. Ha.