A premise that had me engaged throughout the first third of the novel, then much less so for the remainder due to temporal and other character inconsistencies. While I appreciated Amelia's mission and the conflict that arose for Jillian as she was forced to reconsider her life's trajectory for the possibility of a successful romance as well as parenting her adolescent niece, there was too little traction between the two women to convince me that their relationship was anything more than a past echo which for too long remained unresolved. Still the author displayed sufficient strength in the individual depictions of the emotions of the protagonists that I have motivation to read what she next produces.

I found this story interesting and entertaining. The plot starts with an incident that occurs at the beginning of the book. From this incident, it moves from New York to Ocklahoma and is developed by mixing events occurred 15 years ago with current events. Both the current problems of the protagonist JJ / Jillian, and the events that occurred in the past, are shown to us little by little, giving us pieces of information that allow us to understand the actions of the different characters. It has a nice love story between JJ / Jillian and Abigail, started back in high school and suddenly broken. It also has a bit of tension, with a crazy ex-girlfriend stalking the protagonist. The pace of the book is generally good, but the fact that the past is showed to us gradually makes it sometimes difficult to follow the thread. One thing that has seemed strange to me is the ease of the protagonist in hiding her true identity, she being a public character, only by changing the color of her eyes and her hair. And it has also been a little infuriating the way JJ / Jillian and Abigail reconnect their relationship, I understand their doubts and fears, but their inner struggle is too much for my patience. And some of their actions, specially Abigail's, are really unveliebable for an intelligent adult. Eventually, the book manages to keep us interested and hold a little suspense till end. As I said is interesting and entertaining to read.

3 1/2 Stars. An angst filled romance. This is the second book I have read by Dena. I did not care for her first, Where the Light Glows. This book did have some of the same issues I had from her first book. But overall, the writing in this book was better and it was a step up for sure.

After the death of her sister, Jillian is charged with looking after her sister's daughter Abby. Abby has a biological father Blake, though neither Abby or Blake know about each other. Jillian wants to find out what sort of man Blake has turned out to be, before she dumps Abby with him. But a wrench is thrown into Jillian's plans when Blake's sister Amelia shows up. Amelia was Jillian's first love she never really got over. Will Jillian just drop Abby off and run away, or will there be something there to make her want to stay?

One of the issues I had with Dena's first book, I thought the writing was not very smooth. I absolutely noticed her growth as an author and was really enjoying this story. I did think the books was a little long, could have used a few things cut out, but it mostly worked for me. The romance is slow burn, but there is absolutely chemistry between the main characters, and things eventually heat up. I really enjoyed Jillian's character, but Amelia was a little so, so. She could go from great to immature in a second.

I do feel I have to give a warning though. Do not read this book if you don't like drama and angst. This book is filled with it. Now, that leads me to my biggest issue with this book. The "crazy ex". I am not big on exes in lesfic, but if they add something to the story, alright then. Actually, there was another ex in this book I had no issue with. I thought she was a good character in this book. But to also put in a bat sh*t crazy ex... why? It seems like every other lesfic romance I am reading has a crazy ex. It this was real life, it would mean 1 in every 3 lesbians need to be in jail or an institution, by how often they show up in lesfic. All these authors are accomplishing is making me scared to date. Not only that, but this book had plenty of drama and angst already, it did not need a crazy ex.

Overall, I did like this book. I think others will enjoy this too, you just need to be prepared for some drama. Dena, if you read reviews, please consider no more crazy exes in future books. Both of your books have crazy exes in them, I think it is time to retire this gimmick. You know how to write enough drama, not to need them.

An ARC was given to me from BSB, for a honest review.

This was more than just a love story; it was about seeing what is important in life and finding closure and happiness. I adored it!
Hot shot investigative reporter Jillian becomes JJ and moves with her niece Abby to Oklahoma. She needs to find out if Abby's real father Blake is a suitable parent after her sister dies and leaves her look after the teenager. She is also looking into the group house that Blake runs as she has a special interest in it. Her first love Amelia happens to still be around but does not recognise the disguised JJ.

The interaction between JJ and Amelia was emotionally intense, hot and unpredictable. But there are so many secrets - can it ever work out. I loved Jillian. She was an impressive mix of caring and vulnerability that gripped at my heart. I wanted her to have a happy ending so badly. Amelia was strong, capable and feisty and the perfect match for JJ. The path to true love certainly didn't run smooth but it was a wonderful journey. Dena Blake managed to weave all of this with such tension when an unwelcome visitor from Jillian's life in New York puts a spanner in the works. The book had me hooked from the start and I highly recommend it.

A great easy read from this new to me author. The storyline covers bereavement, love, abuse, stalking, so there is quite a lot going on, but it all flows well.

Abby's parents Jaimie and Ken, died in a car accident. Her aunt, Jillian McIntyre is now her guardian. Jillian, an investigative journalist in New York, is still experiencing problems from her bunny boiler ex girlfriend Kelly. Jillian decides to temporarily leave New York and return to her hometown in Oklahoma.

Abby's birth father Blake, has no idea that he has a daughter. Jillian decides to go undercover to see if Blake is suitable father material, to get away from her ex girlfriend, to do an investigative story into the charity that she set up and other charities like it. She changes her appearance so that she is not recognised in her hometown and calls herself JJ Davis.

As the story progresses, Jillian comes into contact with her first love Amelia. Both Jillian and Amelia have not been able to move on from this love and still have great feelings for each other. The story then evolves into quite a tangled web.

Kelly eventually finds out Jillian's location, and decides that she is not going to let any other women jeopardise her relationship with Jillian. Is Kelly successful in her quest? Does the love that Jillian and Amelia have for each other survive?

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in return for this review.

Another great novel by Dena Blake. The whole fostering / group home setup was great and so were all the leads and supporting cast members. My only issue with this book is with the author. Why do we need to have a crazy person stalking and attacking someone in your stories. There was enough drama and story here to keep the book moving along at a decent pace. There was no need to add to it by instability.

Having said that, you should still give this one a go. You will not be disappointed.

The first emotion that comes to mind after reading this story is passion. The main characters are passionate about their work and the people in their lives. There is quite a bit going on with this read and you have to stay focused or you could get loss in the complication especially in relation to the age of the characters and the time frame. Amelia Mathews wants romance, love and commitment but she cannot get past her high school love. Jillian McIntyre has a career she is passionate about and after an unfortunate accident, a niece that is now her responsibility. Julie was an interesting study of I want you so bad and I am willing to give up just about anything to have you, including my self-respect. I was really drawn to this character as I watched her throughout the read process her situation and learn to let go.

I read Dena Blake's first book and did struggle with some aspect of it so when I read this one I was impressed with how much I felt the growth in her writing and story telling from my prospective.

I thought it was a sweet romance between Jillian and Amelia as the book progressed. Yes, some of the story was a little of a stretch in why Jillian did certain things. However, I found the story to be a page turner and I really enjoyed it.

Now, I will say it did regress at about 80% for me in that we started to over dramatize the story with a crazy ex with mental health issues. The characters also started to completely overreact and started acting immaturely which was disappointing. I would have rated it higher than 4 but in the end because I found the end part disappointing. It didn't need some of the drama that was added. I rounded it up because I did feel the difference between her book 1 and 2.

This is one of the few books that I have read that focuses on the two main characters in a relationship being women. The author did an amazing job capturing the turmoil that Amelia and Jillian went through when they lost each other and were still going through in the present. The book has several unexpected twists and turns that will end up answering questions about the lives of the people in the book that make this book a great find. Thank you NetGalley and Dena Blake for the opportunity to read and give a review of this book.