It's rare that I pick up a traditional romance that isn't a historical but I knew that Garrett Leigh wouldn't steer me wrong.

This is an excellent examination of how someone can find their true love, but it still gets all messed up.

It's a great second chances romance too, former teenage lovers (17+ not younger teens) reunited 10 years after one leg without a word.

There's recriminations, there's loads of angry sex which they both try to keep emotionless and fail miserably at.

It has hurt/comfort and angst by the bucket load, but it never becomes overwrought or too dramatic.

The secondary plot also works well, it adds a sense of foreboding without ever really defining what the problem is until almost st the very end.

It also has Gus and Billy, the younger siblings of Mia and Luke, who are the subjects of book two, out in February next year.

Garrett's signature 'realness' is all over this book too, and it doesn't matter that it's an MF romance. She treats the sexual intimacy with the same care she gives to her same sex pairings.

Luke and Mia clearly have unresolved feelings and the simmer of love and care is lying at the heart of even their supposed 'it's just sex' encounters.

Once I picked it up, I didn't want to stop reading until I knew they'd be okay. The conclusion worked for me, I also felt the outcome of the side plot was completely believable too.

Now I can't wait to get my hands on the second one.

When they are done well, second chance romances can be really good. They are difficult to get right, as you need to have a good reason for the couple to have broken up in the first place, without it being anything that stops them from getting together now. In the case of Forgiven, I think that both of those were covered well and the story worked really well.
Although Mia and Luke have a history and have never got over one another, their reasons for breaking up in the first place make sense. Even though Mia was incredibly hurt by Luke leaving they were both very young and he had good reasons for wanting and needing to leave the area.
I enjoyed seeing the push and pull between Mia and Luke as they tried to stay apart, but can't resist being together. This book isn't just about their relationship though. With an ex-husband hanging around in the background and someone causing problems for Mia's new business, it's clear that sorting out her feelings for Luke isn't going to be the only thing that Mia has to deal with.
I really enjoyed this second chance romance. I loved reading about Mia and Luke as they came to terms with what they mean to each other. I'm also interested to see what might be in store for Mia's brother Gus in the next book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.