Author: Kristen Granata

Kindle edition, Kindle Unlimited

EDITED TO ADD: IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION AFTER I POSTED THIS REVIEW THAT THIS BOOK IS ALLEGEDLY PLAGIARISM. APPARENTLY, THIS IS  “HEAVILY INSPIRED” BY MAKE IT SWEET, BY Kristen Callihan. THOUGH LEGALLY IT WOULD NOT BE CATEGORIZED AS SO, WE DO NOT CONDONE PLAGIARISM OF ANY KIND. 

THE REVIEW BELOW REFLECTS MY THOUGHTS PRIOR TO KNOWING THIS. I REMOVED ALL RATINGS.  

Charly has recently lost her mother to cancer. When she learned that she only had a year to love, her mother came up with a bucket list for them to complete. Sadly she passes away before they can accomplish that. One of the items in the list included spending the summer at a B&B in Maine. So, when her mom passes away, Charly head that way to tick one more item off the list. 

When she gets to the B&B, she meets Nana, the owner, and she learns that there was a storm and her accommodations had to be rearranged because her room has suffered severe damage. She is offered the guesthouse, which is fine by her because she was dreading staying in a room with two beds – one bed being the one her mother would have occupied. To her surprise, she is sharing the guesthouse with Bryce, Bea’s grandson, who lives there. 

Bryce is a former defense lineman for the Patriots. He suffered a career ending injury to his spinal chord in a bar fight that got out of hand and left him initially paralyzed and, after intense physical therapy, walking with a cane or sometimes using a wheelchair. 

It is such a sweet romance. These are two broken souls dealing with loss. Bryce is the sweetest man, a nurturer, who likes to take care of people but who has a hard time dealing when he needs to be taken care of. Charly is a ray of sunshine who opens his hear one little crack at a time.

This would have been a regular summer, forced proximity romance had it not been for how delicately the author deals with disability. There is no sugar coating, but it’s done in a very respectful way. I myself don’t have a disability but I live with a chronic illness that sometimes can be debilitating. It’s really great to see representation done in such nice way.

They do get to their HEA but, as it would in real life, they have to deal with their issues. 

The secondary characters are great, especially Charly’s best friend and Nana. 

I highly recommend this one.