“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes around in another form.” (Rumi)

This quote represents perfectly this beautiful story, in my opinion, where something amazing blossomed from a world of sadness.

Brady was already drowning in his life with all the responsibilities of the family lying in his shoulders, but when he got the news of his younger brother’s sudden death, he sunk under.

The brother for whom he felt resentment, for throwing away his expected role in the family business (forcing Brady to assume the position) and choosing to live his own life, suddenly was gone, and on top of all the grief, Brady felt immeasurable guilt.

early departure, and can’t let it go…

 When Brady arrives to his brother’s home to make all arrangements, he didn’t expect to find his one year niece, who he thought deceased in the accident, and even let the beautiful woman who was taking care of her, and just as hunted, if not more, by the tragic event as he  was.

They are immediately attracted to one another, but they also see the pain and grief in each others eyes, because it’s just like looking in a mirror.

At night, she and I bump around each other in our own private little hell, like two stars that orbit a black hole, both afraid to move in the wrong direction.

But grief and loss aren’t the only elements of this beautiful story…

With a baby girl to raise, Brady needs to learn everything about a baby, and Kat is there to guide him every steep of the way. 

This is one of my absolute favorite plots, the big man, new father falling for the little baby, Izzy, and us sharing this experience or witnessing all these special bonding moments with them, that left Katherine (and me) swooning and sighing. 

When I glance up, Brady brushes a wisp of hair out of the baby’s eyes and kisses her forehead, and I swear my ovaries throb. On one hand, Brady is gruff and rough around the edges, and on the other, there’s a tenderness about him that screams husband material.

Kat didn’t stand a chance to resist him, I mean, what woman could?! Like she says, Brady fits to a T to the biker image, of talk, dark and dangerous vibe, but also calm and so sweet, that is the perfect balance for Katherine’s own brand of caring and energetic personality.

“What I didn’t understand is that when you find your own little slice of heaven on Earth, you do everything you can to preserve it. To protect it. To nurture it. The way you would your lavender fields.”

Their sexy banter and off the charts chemistry, made it very hard to resist their pull, even with all their fears and self imposed obstacles. But when they decided to stop fighting the attraction and give in to their desires, we got some sizzling hot sex scenes.

Of course that even after letting themselves explore this sexual tension, so many others elements are in question which make them keep fighting their feelings and assume they have no future together, even if deep down that’s what they both wanted…

I want to tell him I’ve changed my mind about our arrangement. I want to tell him I want more. That I want us to be together. That I want him to stay. 

But I don’t because I promised. 

No expectations. No demands. 

And I’ll keep that promise. 

Even if it ends up breaking my heart. (Kat’s thoughts)

Her slender arms wrap around me before she nestles her body to mine and sighs against my chest. And an ache in the deepest part of me makes me wish I didn’t have to let her go. (Brady’s thoughts)

I couldn’t have asked for more perfect (even in their imperfections) MCs. Brady was so loyal, responsible and dedicated to his family, and giving to the Izzy and Kat. Katherine is smart, caring and supportive, she irradiates love for all things, even baby racoons. LOL

The slow-burn character of the story allows us to see their relationship evolve and their friendship cement which allows their love for surface. I adored that all throughout the story, even in their biggest moments of fear, they always thought of the other, and how it would hurt then, or how they would react. Even with this relative distance they always were each other’s rock. Given all this, love was only natural to occur…

Lex Martin created a truly beautiful story, that had me hooked from the first page. I had already loved her Dearest series (where we meet Brady), but this book is definitely my favorites. Her writing style is captivating and her characters’ depth shines trough. Even if the base/start of the story is grief and sadness, the author transports us through so many other feelings that complete and balance each other. Shameless have the perfect amount of angst, humour and love! 

The author showed us how something uniquely beautiful can blossom from a sea of grief, not only Kat and Brady’s love but also their unconditional love for Isabella.

Kat’s the light at the end of this dark tunnel, one I’ve been traveling since before my brother died. I hadn’t realized it, but I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t complete. In fact, at the time I couldn’t even tell you what I was missing.

ARC kindly provided by the author via Give Me Books Blog 

in exchange for an honest review