MIA DOES IT AGAIN! I mean it you guys, she never ever fails at making me feel every single emotion. I didn’t even read the blurb to More Than Words because I knew I didn’t have to. What I got was a beautiful and heartbreaking modern day fairy-tale that was the best I have read yet!

I was drawn to Jessie and Callen. From the moment I read the prologue I was invested in this story. As soon as I met them both I was invested in their characters. They both come from troubled childhoods and the way their friendship started tugged at my heartstrings. Jessie, always being so brave and Callen, so beautifully broken. I was really happy when I found out they had found success in their adult lives, only to be crushed again by the weight of their baggage still holding them down.

“Was it fate that pulled our strings, that led us to our destiny? And what happened when we didn’t follow the path we were meant for? What if we were too blind to see it?”

I can’t even find words to accurately describe this story. It’s so unique and there’s so much going on, so many emotions that I felt that I don’t even know how to explain. I mean towards the end I was so nervous, so shocked and so into these words that I was nervous to finish it! I wanted a fairy-tale ending, I wanted the happily-ever-after for both Callen and Jessie but the journey you have to take to get to it was long and treacherous.

I think my favorite thing about More Than Words was how it reminded me of Archer’s Voice in a small way. Two completely different stories but the way I felt about the characters just brought me back there.

“But I also knew now that life was more than words. It was laughter and love, faith and joy. And mostly, it was the deep peace that came from living life fiercely and without regret.”

If you are looking for a beautifully written book that makes your heart drop and your hands shake with the want of a happy ending then More Than Words was made for you just like it was made for me. Mia Sheridan has wrote another five star book that will forever be in my favorites list!

Nothing strikes more internal conflict in me than needing to write a review for a book I’m SO conflicted about...

Mia Sheridan holds a very special place in my heart. Five years ago my only daughter left for college, leaving me home with a husband and two boys. It was all baseball and bodily functions, all the time. So I started hiding in the bedroom every night after dinner with a book. Then a good friend of mine posted on Facebook “I’ve just read the BEST book. It’s lendable on Kindle - who wants to read it?” It was Archer’s Voice. At that point, I had a Kindle, but hadn’t ever used it, but this seemed like a good opportunity to get it out of the box, charge it up, and join the 21st Century. I’ve been hooked ever since (and thus my moniker - E-Reader Addict!). I inhaled all of Mia’s works and loved them all. Even the ones that other readers didn’t. But since then, I’ve read hundreds of books -no, probably over a thousand the past five years - which I think has made me a more discriminating reader. Pair that with the last three Mia Sheridan books I read (Grayson's Vow, Ramsey and Midnight Lily) that didn’t work for me the way the others had, and I’m not as excited to read Ms. Sheridan as I used to be. However, her last several books have gotten better reviews, so I was cautiously optimistic about this one, and got very excited about being approved for an ARC.

Then I started reading, and I almost shelved this book for a while. My last Mia Sheridan was Midnight Lily - a book I spent the whole time asking myself “what the hell am I reading???” So when the prologue of More Than Words was this whole storytelling that wove fantasy with the present and was making me have to think too hard, I wasn’t in the mood. But I got through it!

And then met the present-day hero. And maybe I’ve reached my quota of young adult romance because I didn’t like him and his manwhore antics. Based on his horrible upbringing, I can understand it, but couldn’t muster up the sympathy needed to be “okay” with it.

Jessica is 11 when she finds 12 year old Callen hiding out in a boxcar. Over the next year they meet in the boxcar. She reads to him, introduces him to music. And then one day he disappears.

Twelve years later, Jessica is almost living her dream in Paris, and Callen is a world-renowned composer, celebrating an award with his agent at a hotel bar...in Paris. Jessica, a cocktail waitress at that bar, catches his eye. And while she recognizes him (because he’s famous), he doesn’t recognize her. But he’s drawn to her, and leaves the random woman he’d been canoodling with at his table to seek Jessica out. She finds him on the rooftop, he kisses her, but then leaves with the other woman. UGH.

Several months later, Callen is taking a vacation back to France to see if he can get unstuck from his writer’s block. He and his long time friend, Nick, make a quick stop in Paris to see if he can find the woman from the bar, but she’s apparently moved away. So they go on to the chateau where they’re staying in another part of France. As it turns out, it’s the same place where Jessica is staying while she has a temporary job translating documents that are believed to be written by a mystery woman - masquerading as a boy - who was a guard and confident to Joan of Arc.

Meeting in another bar, (where he’s just invited another random woman to his room later that night to use his hot tub), Callen finally realizes Jessica is the Jessie from his youth, and convinces her to spend her spare time with him while he’s there on vacation. She has her reservations - very serious, understandable reservations - based on her upbringing, the kind of relationship she wants/doesn’t want, and Callen’s reputation as a playboy womanizer. She ignores those warnings in her head, and lets herself fall ass over elbow in love with him during the week and a half they spend together.

But then in true young adult romance fashion, things go horribly wrong. There’s angst, there’s drama. I will admit to kinda liking it (it was just the right amount - not too much, but enough to make things interesting!). Jessie makes a mistake and Callen lashes out in the most cruel way. He knew what to say to cause the maximum amount of pain, and said it to Jessie. She’s crushed, but at least had enough self-worth to walk away, knowing that Callen had deep issues she couldn’t fix for him, no matter how much she loved him.

Callen flees back to the US, and realizes he needs to exorcise his ghosts and get his crap together. Which he does, and makes a plan to get Jessie back.

The thing about this hero though, is that I still didn’t really like him, and haven’t for the first 95 percent of the book. Understand him? Yes. Feel sympathy for him? Yes. But our heroine was right. At some point you have to put on your big boy boxers and take responsibility for your actions, regardless of what happened to you as a youngster, or the choices you made in the past. In order to redeem himself in my eyes, there needed to be a lot more page time given to making things right with Jessie. He did have a “grand gesture” that was sweet and extremely meaningful. And I understand how Jessie was able to forgive him. But I still think it came to easily. I wanted - no, NEEDED - more grovel. But it wasn’t there.

Technically, Mia Sheridan’s writing has grown leaps and bounds over those early books, so I don’t know if my lessening enthusiasm is because my reading tastes have changed over the past five years, or if I’m just not connecting as well with the stories she’s writing. I had a hard time connecting with the Joan of Arc subplot that was woven throughout the book. Even though it wasn’t a large part of the book, it still felt like it pulled me out of Jessie and Callen’s story, and didn’t have as much of a parallel connection to Jessie and Callen as it could have. This book had a great epilogue, though, and I was glad to see Jessie and Callen get their happily ever after. But when I finished, I still mostly felt ticked off at the hero and heroine - him for behaving like an ass, and her for not requiring more than words as an apology for acting like an ass.

So, yeah, really conflicted about this book. Le sigh.

* thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I tried reading this book but I couldn't connect with the heroine, the hero was a bit of a douche and maybe my mood had a bit to do with me just not connecting with anything. The writing style didn't work for me and after a week of trying to force myself to read it, I put it down for good. It just wasn't for me.

This book had a different feel to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mia’s writing, but for some reason the Signs books have me all twisted up from the page one. For me, this story was not like that. This was sweet and romantic and left my heart squishy.

This book was drenched in love. Friends to lovers in a sense. Romance through and through. After being separated at a young age they’re reunited and all those feelings come pouring back. But there’s also a sense of secrecy that doesn’t quite let the connection click.

I think I liked Jessica more than Callen. She was this no nonsense girl that stood up for herself and knows what she’s worth. Even though she has always loved him, she realizes her value and won’t settle.

Callen, Callen, Callen...I wish he would’ve been less of a manwhore, but what can you do? He’s made bad decisions in his past and sometimes the past doesn’t stay there. So he’s going to have to work hard at keeping his Jessie, now that he has her again.

If you’re looking for a beach read that will make you feel as though you’ve traveled across the seas, then I suggest you grab this.

The premise of the book sounded great and the writing was beautiful, but unfortunately I could not get into the book and I couldn't finish it because it was too dramatic for me.

Callen and Jessica were friends when they were younger, but one day Callen left and didn't talk to Jessica again for more than ten years. When they meet again, they both have many unresolved conflicts, but they all seemed so overdramatic because everything happened when they were ten years old, and we only got a glossed over view of their childhood friendship.

Right at the beginning I was rolling my eyes. The two characters are around 10-31 years and Callen tells Jessica that he's "not good enough" for her... I think that's already a super cliche phrase, but when the guy that says it is twelve years old I can't take it seriously at all.

After reading a few more cringey overdramatic scenes, I decided to DNF this book.

More Than Words by Mia Sheridan

What it’s about:

No one lays open the heart and soul quite like New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan in this heart-wrenching love story about destiny, second chances, and the healing power of love set in the beautiful countryside in France.

The moment she met Callen Hayes, eleven-year-old Jessica Creswell knew he was a broken prince. Her prince. They became each other’s refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed her—Jessica’s first real, dreamy kiss—and then disappeared from her life without a word.

Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen’s music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It’s only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence … even as she sets his blood on fire.

But they don’t belong in each other’s worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that need—and something that looks dangerously like love.

My 411: Mia Sheridan transports us to a world filled with music and set in a beautiful French countryside. Callen and Jessica have a history that had a beautiful beginning but earth-shattering finish. Now that they’ve fallen into each other’s worlds again, old hurts will come to the surface. Will they be able to move past them? I love the historical connection to one of France’s greatest heroines that was interwoven throughout the plot. Mia delivers a story that has various scopes that bring two opposites together. (J. Daniels chats on HEA with Mia about More Than Words.)

i've read this book before. and likely so have you.

i have a bunch of mia sheridan books on my kindle, i've only read 2 besides this one. i am saving archer's voice for the very end. to be completely honest, i've been disappointed with her writing with the 2 i have read, but i'm hoping when i get to her more popular ones, i will love them. fingers crossed.

when i saw this on netgalley, i had to request it, even though i am not 100% sure her writing is for me. i didn't really read the synopsis, figured it was a romance = sold.

unfortunately, this book disappointed and bored me. i did not like callen. he was - sorry - a piece of shit. i'm as sick of the manwhore meets virgin trope as everyone else, but it can work when done well. i do not think it was done well in this book. there was nothing likable about callen, not even his stupid name. the backstory we get of them as kids was not enough to make me feel anything, the constant references to how pure and sweet jessie was compared to all the other conniving sluts he was used to got old. speaking of jessie, she was so naive and annoying. she wasn't much of a character - i wish that when authors want to write a virgin they at least give the character some sort of personality or backbone or common sense. on top of all that, i didn't love the writing, the pacing or any of the joan of arc stuff.

2 stars instead of 1 because i didn't actively hate it, just really disliked it. the ending with the letter was cute. i really do not enjoy not liking books, so i feel bad, but i definitely would have DNF'd this if it weren't an ARC. i also had high expectations given the author and kept hoping it would get better. so i'm sorry, but not for me. i will continue to work through her older books but i won't jump on her new stuff.

I really loved this book. I thought the characters were fun and interesting. This is my first time reading a Mia Sheridan book so when the conflict was presented, I was really blown away at the severity of the situation and the way it twisted me up inside. I thought it conveyed a really important message and I was happy with the outcome. I couldn't put this book down and it made me want to visit the rest of the author's works.

From the first moment Jessica and Callen meet as 11-year-old kids, they share a special connection. Both come from troubled homes, and Jessie instinctually knows when she sees the battered boy sitting in the boxcar that they are kindred spirits of a sort. The stolen moments they spend together become the best memories of their childhoods but when Callen suddenly disappears just a short time after they share their first kiss, Jessie can’t help but wonder if she did something to chase him away. She doesn’t know his last name or where he lives so she has no way to seek answers.

Fate puts them on a collision course again eleven years after she last saw him. Jessie helped Callen discover a love of music all those years ago, and he has turned that into a career writing music supporting screenplays for movies. He is still the same damaged little boy on the inside though, and years of being told he was stupid and unworthy of love have taken their toll to the point he now believes them without question. He uses women and booze to try to drown out the negativity in his head, but it is becoming harder every day to ignore it- until a chance encounter with a waitress in Paris. Something about her tugs at his memory and feels familiar but they are interrupted before he can connect the dots.

Jessie is mildly devastated that Callen didn’t remember her, but they never got to exchange anything aside from another kiss that will certainly ruin her for all other men. She achieved her dream of living in Paris and is now pursuing the next step of obtaining a job that fits in with her focus on ancient documents, so the night they meet is Jessie’s last night on the waitressing job.

Once again, Fate intervenes and they find themselves in the same place at the same time again- something neither of them can chalk up to coincidence. A childhood filled with watching her father cheat on her mom over and over again leaves her with little desire to have her heart trampled on the same way, and she is terrified that if she lets Callen in again he will turn out to be just like her dad. Callen has no desire to hurt her that way, but he hides a big secret and he is petrified to reveal it and discover his father was actually right all those years so he self-sabotages every good thing that comes his way. Jessie has always been his savior and Callen has always been her prince- but sometimes you just have to have the desire to save yourself before you can have the fairy tale.

Callen’s destructive behaviors had me shaking my head a few times, but Jessie is no doormat which I absolutely loved. More Than Words is another wonderful story from Mia Sheridan that will make you smile, laugh, and feel a few tugs on your heartstrings too.

I’ve wanted to read Mia Sheridan for a while but I always end up pushing her down the TBR and not picking up her books. That had to stop and this was the book I finally read. And I’m so glad I finally did. Mia Sheridan’s writing swept me off my feet and into the world of these two broken characters in a beautiful story.

Callen and Jessica met when they were just kids. She was looking for space away from her home life where her father would constantly cheat on her mother and her mother would be depressed about it. Callen needed space away from his abusive father. Those moments for over a year where the only time the two of them were happy and formed a bond that couldn’t be broken even with years of separation between them.

You know the surprising thing about this book for me? I loved the whole childhood best friends reconnecting and finding out they were each other’s true love all along. But the surprising part was the fact that Callen feels he’s no good for Jessica and that usually irritates the hell out of me. In this book, it didn’t. I think the author made me understand Callen so well, so deeply and feel his pain and his circumstances so that it felt natural for him to have the feelings he did. To see himself the way he did. And not only did it not irritate me, but my heart broke for him.

The romance was sweet, the connection was strong and the friendship felt real. The story just came to life! The mix of history with Jessica’s job was thought provoking. The resolution felt right and it cemented they would be in a good place to move forward. I loved how these two didn’t feel cookie cutter in any way while also being relatable.

Mia Sheridan was able to move me with this story and it was so easy to get swept off by it and not want to put it down until it was finished. I can’t wait to read more by her.

Favorite quote:

“Sometimes the beginning of love is just a simple matter of proximity.”

Jessica Creswell and Callen Hayes formed a brief but significant childhood friendship that left its imprint way into their adulthood. As children their home life was difficult to say the least. Callen’s father and was physically abusive and Jessica’s were guilty of emotional neglect. Unable to speak out, it’s in the accidental meeting in an abandoned boxcar that they found their voices.

Jessica had always dreamed of fairy tales, and when she meets Callen she’s convinced he’s her prince and their secret hiding place their castle. She coaxes him out of his silence and into a friendship that Callen comes to appreciate more than she could ever have imagined. He’s content to let ramble with her stories about magical kingdoms and princes and princesses, and I for one found these scenes entirely endearing. It’s why I felt Jessie’s pain even the more when Callen disappears one day with no word.

Fast forward to the present and it’s heart-warming to discover that Jessie had achieved her dream of living and working in Paris. Her career has afforded her the opportunity to translate some incredibly important historical works. But where her work life is thriving her love life is not.

Whether it be magic or serendipity her path once again crosses with Callen’s. He’s a hugely successful composer whose bad boy reputation precedes him. He finds himself at crossroads in his career as he struggles to maintain the level of excellence he is renowned for. Meeting Jessie dredges up the feelings he thought he had once put to bed, but also awakens inspiration for him to produce his best work.

I initially enjoyed the tentativeness of their “new” beginning, but I must admit it wasn’t the grand reunion or explosion of feelings I hoped for; and it didn’t feel like the powerful love story I’ve come to expect from a Mia Sheridan novel.

Although not totally convinced by the story as a whole, I did enjoy the story within a story that came from Jessica’s work, as well as the scenes in the boxcar which were among some of my favourites.

More Than Words is a song that brings a smile to you're face and hums happily inside your heart. It will warm your insides with hope and delight at the little things. It's sweet and the perfect amount of "sappy".

I honestly thought the coolest part was Jessica's work. I was enthralled by the "story" she uncovers. I found myself more enchanted by that fairytale than Jessica's own. (It must be the history lover in me.)

I think it's sweet and a second chance romance with flair. I mean not everyone gets their HEA in France.

This was a fantastic story! I really enjoyed the main romance story along side the side story of Joan of Arc letters, it really gave the main storyline more weight. Jessie was well developed and Callen's emotional journey was written very well and wasn't overdone. All in all I really enjoyed this novel and will definitely be purchasing a finished copy for myself and recommending to romance readers and fans of atmospheric stories, romance and stories that have a strong character development!

Thankful for Netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Wow my heart is breaking for these two. I'm crossing my fingers that they get their fairy tale in the end.

Jessie and Callen find themselves with horrible fathers. Jessie dad is always unfaithful so her mom is always crying or fighting with him. Callen dad is very abusive physically and verbally. They both decide to escape their lives and go on a walk. Not knowing each other they both end up at the same abandoned train box car. This is where their story begins of how the princess met her prince.
As kids they fell for eachother but Callen had to leave her and Jessie had no idea why. She assumed she did something wrong. Sure enough fate made sure they found each other again. I love how they found out to have faith in the other an in themselves. As a spiritual person I loved this story just was missing a little more romance.

Side note: I love St. Joan of Arc happy they were some journal writings describing what she went through in this story. No idea if they were true writings but if you like historical romance this is for you. You will love Jessie working on translating the journal. I did find myself skimming some of it though. It was cute how Jessie compared herself to the lady who wrote the journal.

3-3.5 stars

More than Words was a great story. A second chance at love for two childhood friends. I enjoyed the back and forth between the past and present. It made Callen and Jessica’s story that much more fascinating. It was interesting to see what will happen between the two after so much time has passed. It was angsty, it was fun, it was sweet, it was tough. Callen and Jessica were fine characters that had me intrigued. Their individual stories were enticing and whenever they were together it was pure magic. They brought out the best in each other. I needed to know how Mia will spin their story and how it would all play out. Overall, this was a pleasant read.

3.5 STARS

I am such a huge fan of Sheridan and always feel honored to read an advance copy of her work. While I liked this one, it doesn't rank among a favorite. The premise was interesting, but there seemed to be a lack of background/events that made me feel connected to Jessica and Callen's past. Therefore, it was often difficult to understand their emotional ties.

The setting and secondary story was intriguing and added much needed depth to the book. I adored Jessica and her unique career. Her character fascinated me and often carried the storyline. For all my Jessica love, I felt almost the exact opposite for Callen. This is the first time I've not fallen head over hills for a Sheridan hero. I found his behaviors and the reasonings for them, inexcusable. I could never buy into his persona. Fans of Sheridan will likely enjoy this one, and I would never discourage anyone from reading it. However, if I had to recommend a book from this author, this would not be not it.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for my advanced review copy

More Than Words by Mia Sheridan
3.5 stars!!!

“All battles are first won or lost, in the mind.” — Joan of Arc

Mia Sheridan is one of my auto 1click authors and no matter what she writes I will read it with gusto. In fact, her book, Archer’s Voice still remains at the top of my favourites list and is a book I have read well over twenty times and it never gets old. I had been eagerly anticipating this one, as with any Mia Sheridan read and I couldn’t wait to dive in. While this is not my favourite of hers it was still trademark Mia Sheridan, with a lot of emotion, some fantastic character connection and a romance that was stunningly written.

“…sometimes the beginning of love is just a simple matter of proximity.”

The prologue really sets the scene for this book and as soon as I read it, I was hooked. That prologue really draws the reader in with a promise of one unforgettable love story. Two kids, one from the wrong side of the tracks forging an unlikely friendship that would stand the test of time, until it’s cruelly ripped away. Jessie and Callen met when both needed the other the most. A bond made through fate and circumstance but a friendship that meant the world to both. Their connection, even from a young age was intense and Mia Sheridan did a great job in bringing this friendship to life and drawing the reader in. Even though these two were inseparable there was that ever-present sense of inevitable and doom and of course it happens. Now, ten years later these two friends meet again, a story of second chances, a love story that fairy tales are made from.

“Perhaps his need wasn’t simply physical, but he didn’t know how to ask for more than that. So he hadn’t asked for anything at all.”

With the romantic setting of Paris, this was the perfect backdrop for Jessie and Callen to be re-united. Callen is now a prolific composer and Jessie is a French historical translator working for a museum. From the moment their eyes met, Jessie knew the man in front of her and while it takes Callen a little while to slot the jigsaw puzzle pieces into place, once he realises who the woman is in front of him, his heart, body and mind’s response to her suddenly hits him with startling clarity.

“The truth was, Callen had always been my prince, and I realized now that no one since had ever measured up…Perhaps I simply hadn’t allowed anyone into my heart—or body—because my prince already resided there. And for tonight at least, he was mine.”

I did love this story and the premise was one that I would normally devour, however, while I connected with both characters as individuals, I didn’t feel them as a couple. Something was missing for me and to be honest, I can’t even put my finger on why. There is hardly any angst, and this was literally a pure romance, maybe I was expecting something dramatic to happen and it just never did. So, for me this was a book of three courses, a great starter, a satisfactory main course and a gorgeous dessert.

“I left him there to fight his battle…or not. Because I understood now. Some battles could only be fought alone.”

Mia Sheridan tackles a great subject during this book that had my heart in my mouth at times. My connection to Callen was strong and while I didn’t like how he dealt with certain things, I could understand and made allowances for his sometimes jerkish behaviour. Jessie was a beautiful character inside and out and was extremely forgiving. The heart wants who the heart wants and at the end of the day, this happy ending was written ten years before. Beautiful story and I cannot wait to see what Mia Sheridan puts out next.

“But I also knew now that life was more than words.”

www.theromancecover.com

I’m a skim reader, I don’t know if I do it because I’m always in a hurry or I’m just too freaking impatient to see how everything goes down but I do it with pretty much every single book I read. Mia Sheridan is one of the very few authors who can make me want to read every single word, comma, exclamation mark, question mark and point in her books. I will DEVOUR every single little detail in her books, having said that… I unfortunately wasn’t able to resist my skim reading habits while reading More Than Words.

When I started reading this book, I loved everything. I loved the characters, writing, pacing and literally everything so much that the thought of skipping a single word flew out the window. However, once I hit the middle of the story my mind started wandering and drifting away from the story because I started disliking Callen, the hero. I cannot say exactly why because I think I’d be spoiling the story a little but I just COULDN’T with some of the decisions he took. I never say this because for some weird reason I think I’ll hurt the characters’ feelings (don’t judge me) but for a while I thought Jessie, the heroine, deserved someone better than Callen. Don’t worry though! By the end he redeemed himself (kinda) and I went back to loving him and his sweet way with words.

Overall, this book was lovely and I throughly enjoyed reading it. It is a hopeless romantic’s dream. It is heartfelt, romantic with a capital r, full of emotions, angst and… this is going to be a shocker (NOT)… it is written by the queen of romance, Mia Sheridan. One can never go wrong when picking up a book written by her!

***4.5 ‘I Followed A Feather’ Stars***

Well this one was a pleasant surprise.

I know, I know. That sounds horrible, but it’s the truth. I admit I had a few...assumptions as to how the story would go, but from the first page to the last maybe only one came to pass while the rest of the story was one that kept me turning the pages. It had the perfect balance of heat, heart, humor and drama without getting too angsty add to the mix a little historical fiction romance and two characters I couldn’t help but love, and you have what I would say was pretty amazing love story.

I loved Jessie. She’s strong, determined, resilient and has this light inside of her that, regardless of the situations she’d lived through, never died. It may have lost it’s vibrancy a time or two, but it never went away. Callan, I loved him, I did, but while the urge to reach out and hug him was strong, so was the urge to Gibbs smack some sense into him. I empathized with him and believe me when I say my heart hurt for him, but man...Thankfully, I saw the man’s heart and it was quite golden, when he allowed it to out to play.

I really enjoyed Jessie and Callan’s journey to their HEA. I loved seeing how they first collided as tweens and then collided again as adults. It was sweet, swoon worthy, smexy and a little heartbreaking even as it was heartwarming to see how much joy they brought to each other, even when there were some grim things going on with them and around them. I loved how well they flowed together and how they simply understood each other, even when they didn’t necessarily understand themselves. The big roadblock to their HEA wasn’t a surprise, though I will say that I was very much #TeamJessie when it all went down, but Callan definitely stepped up to the plate and I loved where they were in the end.

Soooo...this is my first Mia Sheridan read, which considering that I do have quite a few of her books on the Kindle and do follow her on the various SM sites is kinda sad, but this was the first book I finally had the time to dive into and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing was engaging, the pacing was good and I really enjoyed the dual first person POV’s. The characters were all well written, and I wouldn’t mind it at all if Nick and Frankie got their own books one day. But what I really liked was the little historical fiction romance side story that was woven into the story. I found that one just as fascinating and enjoyable as Callan and Jessie’s without it taking over theirs in any way. It was simply a nice little bonus to an already well written love story.

MORE THAN WORDS

I’m a huge fan of Mia Sheridan’s writing and I look forward to reading each of her new books when they release. Which is why I find myself struggling to admit that I just didn’t fall in love wit this story.

I’m clearly in the minority here but I just didn’t connect with the characters through a majority of the book. I feel like I was being told about their connection but I never really FELT it. I wasn’t invested in their story in any way other than simply needing to see how it played out.

After reading the synopsis and working my way through the story I came up with all sorts of theories and expectations about what exactly happened to Callen during the time between his first kiss with Jessica and when they meet again in France years later. I had all of this build up and then when the reveal came, it just didn’t have the emotional effect on me that I was expecting. There was all of this flowery, romantic prose that made their relationship and their traumas sound more idealic and tragic than they felt.

The third part of this book was definitely my favorite. This is where I actually felt the emotions and even a little bit of the connection between Jessica and Callen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make me change my mind about the rest of their story.