Kelly Anne is back!
Those are the first spoken words of this heartfelt contemporary romance, Helping Her Remember written by Kate Carley and published by CreateSpace Publishing.
I am a sucker for a second chance at love stories especially if I know it led to an HEA at the end.
You see, several years ago, Dylan and Kelly had a world wind courtship that ended with Kelly leaving town under mysterious circumstances. Leaving Dylan hurt and betrayed. And now after seven years of trying to put his life back together, Kelly Anne has returned.
Kelly Anne returned to established herself at her dream job. She knew that sooner or later she had to run into her old flame. She was hoping for later. Because, even though she was hoping to run into him, there are some hard truths and secrets that need to be settled and told. Which may push Dylan back into the bottle.
Helping Her Remember was an okay book. It had a nice pace and somewhat enjoyable characters. I didn’t really get the chance to binding with the two main characters as I like.
Though a second chance at love, the subject matter that this author chose to surround the plotline around was a heartfelt one and this author could relate to personally.
Now the only negative thing I have to say is this book just abruptly ended. But, not without a last-minute drama scene among the two characters.

I am drawn to second-chance romances like a moth to a flame. Really. I can’t stay away from them. Throw in a secret child, and I’m a goner!

Dylan and Kelly Anne met as teenagers in the small town of Crawford Falls, Minnesota. Each harbored a secret crush on the other all through high school, and finally acted on their feelings during Christmas break of Kelly Anne’s senior year in college. But things went wrong between them, and faced with serious concerns about Dylan’s drinking, Kelly left town and didn’t come back for seven years.

Now she’s moved back to Crawford Falls, and after getting over the initial shock of her return, Dylan isn’t going to miss the opportunity to win Kelly Anne back. He knows he’s got some work to do, but he’s a better man now than he was when she left and he’s determined to make good on the promises he made her so long ago.

In order for a second-chance romance to work for me, I need to feel the regret about what happened in the past and the emotion involved when seeing each other again for the first time. What I don’t want to read about right off the bat is how hot and bothered they both are for each other. If they’ve truly been hurt and missing this other person, I don’t think the physical things are what should be important. If that’s not there, or takes a back seat to hearing about hard nipples and wet panties, you lose my interest pretty quickly. There was a lot about hard nipples and wet panties. Ugh.

However, what gained my interest back almost as quickly was when Kelly Anne tells Dylan why she left, and Dylan tells her he wants her back. I love an author who will lay things out on the table instead of holding back info for the sake of artificially creating suspense. I also like when characters are open and honest with each other instead of only being honest in their internal monologue. Dylan and Kelly both made mistakes, and both were remorseful. I would have liked to see them have some more heartfelt conversations about their past, but at least they did spend some time talking instead of just jumping back into bed. Even though things between them did start back up fairly quickly, once they considered what was best for their son, things slowed down to a more realistic pace. Watching them deal with the revelation that they share a son, and the implications for them individually as a mother and a father, and for them as a couple, was intriguing to read.

With the added situations with Dylan’s father and their group of friends, this was a well written story with a lot more going on than just Dylan and Kelly Anne being reunited. I am already a fan of small-town, character driven stories, so not only did I enjoy Helping Her Remember, I’m looking forward to the rest of the Crawford Falls series!

* thank you to NetGalley and Barclay Publicity for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

In An Oyster Shell – It was a sweet second chance romance with great characters.

The Pearls – It was a sweet concept of a small town homecoming to face what she left behind. It was well executed and was a great story to follow. I love small hometown stories.

The characters were fun to follow. Dylan was a strong hero with his demons to battle. Kelly was a great heroine with a fire that sparked between the two of them. Her son was a cute kid that was well represented. Sometimes kids are not well done in stories it was not the case in this book.

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

Ummm...Hmmm... I liked this story, but I didn't love it. I do enjoy a good second chance story. This is one that I thought was cute. I wasn't overly enraptured with the characters and/or the story itself. But, I can say that it was interesting enough to keep me reading. Well, I do enjoy "second chance" stories.

Helping Her Remember is an emotional journey of young love that was betrayed and hurt. But, has time help heal these emotional wounds and found forgiveness and a second chance? Well, that's pretty much what if felt like. These two characters, Kelly and Dylan, both were still reeling after events about seven years ago. Now, they both are trying to find their way back....apparently, back to each other. Both have their secrets. Both are not perfect. Both have made mistakes. Both have grown up since Kelly left Crawford Falls. Now, she's back. So... Now, both are finding their way back...to each other. Guess they have to get to know each other...again...after years of being apart.

I thought this is a sweet introduction to a new series. From this first book alone, we are introduced to a group of characters in this small town. There is potential for various other stories in this small town. Dylan and Kelly's story is just the beginning.... I would like to read more about these characters and Crawford Falls. I would think that this would appeal to varying NA and YA romance fans. So... All in all, Helping Her Remember is a somewhat emotional read that kind of grabs at the hearts of young romance readers... I think.

Dylan looked at his friends- Lacey, Hawk, Bryann, Grady, Talia and his best friend Jesse. They all watched his reaction upon learning Kelly had moved back home. Dylan went over and helped Kelly Anne empty her U-Haul and met her son AJ. He didn’t know A J was also his son. Seven long years Kelly Anne had been gone and she had been Dylan’s only love. Dylan still loved her. Dylan was determined to get her back. Dylan never knew that Kally had seen him with the other naked girl and heard him also putting her down then she had left town with a shattered heart. She then learn she was pregnant by the man who had taken her virginity and who she had loved. Dylan and his friends met every week for coffee and to catch up. Dylan’s family owned an apple orchard and Dylan and his older brother Jake ran it and take turns taking care of their father. Dylan was an alcoholic but had been sober for four years now. Dylan told Kelly Anne he loved her and wanted her back. Kelly then told Dylan she had seen him and heard him put her down before she left town. Kelly knew she had to tell Dylan A J was his son as he was intelligent and would figure it out especially now he was A J’s little league coach. Kelly had never gotten over Dylan and still reacted to him whenever he was near. Kelly was now a nurse and her passion was seniors with dementia. Kelly was at the little league game watching AJ play afterwards Dylan’s dad Ras said hoe AJ was just like his dad at that age and looked just like Dylan. Ras innocently let it be known AJ was Dylan’s son and then Kelly admitted it to Dylan. Dylan was furious as kelly asked if they could still meet later to talk but dylan was too mad and hurt and just said he would pick his son up the next day to start to get to know him. He also added Kelly had better tell AJ Dylan was his father before he picked AJ up. The next day Dylan took AJ and then for lunch they went to the original homestead. AJ hit it off with his grandfather Ras.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved Dylan and Kelly Ann together. I loved how Dylan forgave Kelly Ann and even understood when he had time to think about everything and how his drinking had been.this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride . I like the way the author handled teen pregnancy, teen alcoholism, guilt, dementia, and a lot more. I love how Kelly’s girlfriends forgave her for leaving without a reason or goodbye. I liked the plot as well as the pace. I loved how Jesse had Dylan’s back no matter what. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

Great Story! The tender moments were endless. Helping Her Remember is a story about overcoming demons that haunt you. It's about forgiveness and second chances.

Kelly Anne thought she would never return to her hometown. She had left without a word to her friends or boyfriend, Dylan. A great job opportunity came up and she couldn't turn it down. She knew everyone would wonder why she left. Kelly Anne had more than one reason to leave. One of them was Dylan's drinking. Kelly Anne returned with her son to find a changed Dylan. Dylan was going to try to help her remember a lot of things!

This author is new to me! I look forward to reading more from her.

Seven years ago Kelly left town suddenly and with no explanation to her friends or her boyfriend Dylan and his addiction to alcohol was only one of the reasons. She has returned home for a job offer but she is not alone as she has a six year old son that the father, Dylan, doesn’t know about.

Dylan has never forgotten Kelly. Through the help of family and friends he has been sober for the last four years. The pull to be near hear is stronger than the knowledge that he should stay away as he knows she could be detrimental to his sobriety and he plans to make her remember all the good times but what happens when all the secrets are exposed?

This was a good introduction to the series and I would like to see the secondary characters get their own stories. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Helping Her Remember is the first book in a new series set in the fictional town of Crawford Falls. In the foreword, the author stated that this series will start with the Bronstad siblings. Dylan has a large group of friends and after reading about them, I hope they get their own stories. This one is Dylan and Kelly's story.

I did ultimately enjoy the book. It has one of my favorite tropes but it also has one of my least favorite tropes. I love second chance stories, but I really don't enjoy hidden baby stories. No excuse is ever good enough for me to keep a child away from his or her parent. I can kind of understand Kelly's motivation, but a few simple questions about Dylan asked of her mother could have cleared up a lot. But ultimately, Kelly and Dylan's second chance was a fun read. Their relationship was easy and it was fun watching Dylan win Kelly back.

The aspect of the book that I was happy to see was the author's treatment of Dylan's alcoholism and recovery. Sometimes in stories, it is mentioned once and never brought up again. But here, Dylan still struggles four years into his sobriety. We are able to see his struggle and the ways he deals with it by going to meetings and using his support system. It made his situation more real to me.

This is a solid first in a series. The characters were enjoyable and I look forward to reading the rest of their stories.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, not even sure where to start as this romance was filled with lots of drama, some heartache, and every emotion! It had me reading through most of the night and was really hard to put down.

I can certainly understand why Kelly would not want Dylan in their son's life when he was clearly an alcoholic, and they weren't even in the same state after she left. What I didn't understand was why she didn't tell Dylan sooner because really, if AJ and Dylan looked alike, someone would figure it out!!

Towards the end, I kind of didn't like either of them because they both were lashing out in pain, and really hurting each other. Fortunately, it did not last too long and they were able to reconcile.

The other friends sound like good books in the making and I cannot wait to read the following books in the series! Poor Lacey who likes Hawk but Hawk likes Brynn and Brynn is married to Emmett who Lacey hates.....hummmm, wonder what will happen there??

Only two things that I want to complain about! The ending was just way too quick but I am hoping the next book will be out soon and I will be able to read about the wedding. The part that really bothered me the most throughout the book was that while Dylan said he never slept with the woman that Kelly saw him with, she still heard him talking negatively about her. Dylan never explained why he did that - I guess I am wondering about his motivation that he would say such cruel things about the woman he claimed he loved and wanted to marry. Was it drunk talk, was it he was trying to put on an act?? or something else?

Really like the start of this new series and love all the characters in this story!

This is a second chance romance with flawed characters making serious mistakes in their lives whilst teens, mistakes that they now have to face up to as Kelly Anne returns to Crawford Falls about seven years after disappearing from the lives of her friends without letting them know why or what was happening in her life. Returning with a six year old son, seeking to reconnect with her school friends, including the father of her child who doesn't know anything about him. That father is Dylan, the only man she's loved but the one she left behind without any explanation. Can her peers forgive her for abandoning them? Will Dylan ever forgive her for not letting him know about their child? He's missed out on six years of his childhood, just how will he react?

This story touches on many emotional issues from teen pregnancy, alcoholism, guilt, dementia and so much more, taking readers on an emotional roller coaster ride through the story! It introduces many characters who, I presume, will be featured in future stories in this new series. The setting is well developed, the interpersonal relationships explored and so many more possibilities for future stories introduced. Whilst the main story is complete, there are a variety of threads left hanging that I presume will be woven into any sequels. It is apple pie sweet, with some juicy aspects to tickle your reading taste buds and I look forward to reading more in this series in future - especially to find out what happens at the care home and to Kelly Anne's friends' potential romance!

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

I received a complimentary arc from NG for review

I LOVED this book. It is the first book I have read by the author but it is not the last. It stars Dylan, a sober former alcoholic and Kelly, the girl he loved from his past. Kelly comes home with her son and that is how she sees Dylan again.

Dylan loves Kelly but he screwed up years before and lost her. Part of it was his addiction to alcohol but also it was Kelly caught him with another woman. Well once Dylan sees Kelly he wants her very badly and he wants THEM. They have things to work out but this was an awfully romantic story and I loved every second of it.

This is my first book by Kate Carley.
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Crawford Falls
Standalone
HEA

I had a hard time staying interested in this book.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.

Helping Her Remember by Kate Carley
Crawford Falls #1

Friends to lovers, second chance romance and secret baby tropes are part and parcel of this first book in a new series. Kelly heads home with her 6 year old son after being away for 7 or so years. She moves in with her mother, worries about seeing her old gang of friends and begins a job at an old folks’ home. Soon after she arrives her old boyfriend shows up wanting to pick up where they left off. She is a bit leery but still has feelings so they begin to date.

This was an okay introduction to a new series though perhaps not as believable as some books of this genre might be. Most of the players of the series are introduced, there is a resolution that ends with a HEA for Kelly and Dylan and the issue of a work place disagreement at the nursing home is handled. I felt, perhaps, that this story was oversimplified with issues glossed over in spots rather than really dealt with in depth. I never understood why Kelly ran away rather than confronting Dylan, why she chose as she did regarding the work situation or how easily the two fell back into one another’s arms. That said, I believe this book may appeal to the YA and NA readers who pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Barclay Publicity for the ARC – This is my honest opinion.

3 Stars

I am a big sucker for second-chance romance books. Love the idea of a boy and a girl being in love, falling apart and then fate brings them back together. For this reason, I was intrigued by the storyline - boy and girl are in love, girl leaves town and returns home 7 years later with a 6 year old child. But that was about where my fascination ended.

Kelly Anne returns home as a single mom to her small town with her child. Dylan stayed in the small town all this time - a former alcoholic who has found himself, responsibility, and turned his life around. The minute he hears that Kelly Anne has returned to town he turns up on her doorstop to help her move in with her mother.

Dylan never suggests that AJ, Kelly's son, is his. His friends have no idea - does no one stop to add up how long she's been gone and how old her kid is? Plus, this is a small town - being from a small town, I can tell you even when I moved away everyone still knew everything that went on in my life since my mom still lived there. Kelly's mom lived there the whole time she was gone and never said anything about Kelly's son?

Dylan and Kelly start dating and he realizes he is still in love with her. Before she left, he and Kelly were intimate for 2 weeks - 2 weeks? It's just so far-fetched. The way that Dylan realizes that AJ is his makes you think why didn't anyone else notice it? Is everyone blind? Dylan is understandably upset - for a day, A DAY!

I just found a lot of the story improbable and to be honest was more interested in the secondary characters of Hawk and Brynn. That's a story I want to read...

This read was a miss for me. Kelly and Dylan reunite after several years apart, but I wish there was more explanation of why they broke up in the first place. We're given a vague explanation and a flashback of what happened after the break up that made Kelly leave for good, but I would have preferred a flashback of the actual breakup. That aside, this read was a little on the boring side. While the book deals with major issues like alcoholism. abuse, and dementia, I didn't feel it was dealt with in a compelling way. Because of these reasons, I would not recommend the book.

I lost my review so here goes another try.
I loved this book. Dylan and Kelly were sweethearts 7 years ago, but due to Dylan's heavy drinking, she did not tell him she was pregnant with his child. She left town, but when she returned when AJ was 6, Dylan found out right before she had planned to tell him. There were quite a few misunderstandings, but eventually love won the day. Dylan had to learn to be a father and Kelly had to learn to trust him. This was a well written book about 2nd chances, love and new beginnings.
I do not think I had read any of Kate Carley books before, but I will be looking for more

I got this book from NetGalley for an honest opinion and review