Sasha decided a long time ago that she would only allow herself a single night each year to go out and be wild. The rest of her time is spent at her pottery wheel or taking care of her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer's. She has plenty of reasons to avoid anything more than this: one guy, one night, and no names exchanged. But this year, the long and lean stranger she chooses turns out to be more than she bargained for. He makes her feel alive--when it doesn't seem safe to feel that way at all.

Discharged from the army after a traumatic deployment, Nate returns to his hometown riddled with guilt and unable to envision a future. Everything starts to change during a night out with friends, when a beautiful stranger offers him a no-strings-attached encounter against the wall in the back room of the bar. He knows the deal, but when they run into each other again at the local artists' co-op where his older brother works, he can't help but crave more. She makes him feel alive--but he's still trying to decide if he wants to live at all.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suicide, Alzheimer's, PTSD

I was really surprised not to see a suicide content warning anywhere, but not just that, there are a lot of heavy topics covered. This is not a happy read. Not only that, there is no HEA, only an HFN. I know the difference between an HEA and HFN might not be a big distinction for some readers, but for me, it made a huge impact on how I felt about this book in general and especially the ending!

I did enjoy this more than I thought I would, and the book starts off really strong. But things got a bit repetitive and dark, and I wished a lot of parts of the book as a whole were different. There is a lot of therapy that needs to occur, and both characters need to work through their trauma. Too much made this not the romance novel for me. I know this all sounds vague, but it's hard not to get into a whole thesis about trauma, recovery, and romance!

Reading this story, I realize that I am not the target audience for it. The premise seemed really interesting and I was excited to read, but then midway through, I just lost all that and didn't enjoy this as much as I should have.

Anything Between Us is a good romance.
If you enjoy reading about broken people, this one is up your alley.
Both characters are well developed, with complex backstories.
Their story is interesting, gripping, and I am definitely happy to have read it.

Anything Between Us is a fantastic romance novel, but so much more! While the strong chemistry between the main characters is the bases of the story- it isn't. So many important (crucial) things are addressed in this book: PTSD, alzheimers, caregiving, suicide, survivor's guilt, yet the author never makes it preachy or "educational" in nature. It's just a very real look at two people and the reality of their everyday life and the love that is worth the risk. Such a sweet, heartfelt story - highly recommend! Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stras
I didn't really care for Sasha. When I read a book, I want to love bother main characters, Sasha was not easy to like. I know she had a tough life, but she came off at times, too much.

Sasha and Nate met one night at a bar. She allowed herself one night a year away from her responsibilities to be wild. She didn’t expect to see him again and then bam he was there. These two were going through so much but they were drawn to each other. What they both went through was tough and Sasha was less inclined to be open and more inclined to push Nate away. Eventually we get a HFN but maybe there will be a HEA (for as long as that could be) as they both open up and heal. I loved these two together and Nate was just amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy.

Anything Between Us is about a guy who's dealing with past trauma and a girl afraid of the future. It's sweet, heart breaking and so very good.

I loved Nate's character. He was strong, resilient and he didn't let the past destroy him. He was sweet and kind and I thoroughly enjoyed reading from his POV. I actually preferred it over Sasha's.

Sasha was also an interesting character, artistic and successful. But she wasn't a favourite of mine.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anything Between Us and I'm so thankful I got a chance to read it.

*Thanks to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC.*

3.5 Stars.

This is my first Sarah Fine book so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, although I suppose my expectation veered more towards romantic fluff. So I was surprised when, although still a complete romance book, the storyline was dark and deeply serious. The journey the characters took was beautiful and heartbreaking. BUT I also wished for a little levity somewhere, at least a secondary character as comic relief, because it became too heavy at times and a little sluggish.

Still, as a romanticized ideal of two tragic persons falling in love, you really can't beat this story. So if that's what you're looking for, then Anything Between Us is for you!

* I received a free digital copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Anything between us

<b>★★★★☆ - solid four stars </b>

Nate returns to hometown reluctantly after leaving the military. Sasha is an artist who, takes care of her father , who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and usually doesn't do anything except work and take care of her father. The first Sunday of September, however, she goes out and finds a guy to have a little fun with - for one night only - and this year Nate is that guy.

This book actually really surprised me, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I actually couldn't put it down once I started reading.

Where I was expecting just a fluffy piece of chick-lit, this book feels raw, dealing with some heavy and complicated mental issues, including depression, grief, PTSD, and anxiety, while also dealing with diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer, and the stress they can cause to those around them, without romanticising any of these issues too much.

I like that this is a slow-burn romance, not insta-love, despite Sasha and Nate being immediately physically attracted to each other. Although I did feel the urge to hit both of them over the head at some points of the book because they were being so stubborn.

The characters are very compellingly written, who seem so real that you end up feeling invested in them.

<i>*Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*</i>

I don't know why but I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. Books about the army are ones I usually avoid but I'm so glad I gave this a chance. It covers 2 very hard and real topics that's are done really well. Sasha and Nate are both very troubled and going through some really tough times and they both came across so likeable that you can't help but route for them from the off. I liked the build up and there was a good amount of back story. The military and the alzheimers story lines are both very raw and emotional and were tastefully and thoughtfully executed. Although this is the 3rd in the Starving Artists series I didn't need to read the previous 2 first (which I'm going to do now) I'm looking forward to reading more by Sarah.

I really loved this one. Both the hero and heroine are dealing with a lot of heavy stuff. It was well written and a beautiful romance. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved it! And I’m going to be thinking about this for awhile.
It was hard to read at times. It had so much pain and tragedy in it that I had to keep reading to see how it will all end.
It had great chemistry and I love Nate! I can’t even imagine how these two dealt with all this stuff and I was happy with the ending!! HEA ❤️

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all thoughts and feelings were my own.