This is the second book from this series that I've read (it's number 4 in the series, though) and I enjoyed it as much as the first. They can be read as standalones but characters make appearances and I like that style.

This series isn't long novels, they can be read in a few hours, but they still feel complete, and this one was no different. Fiona has followed more of a typical romance plot in this one, but it still was really sweet. No heated arguments between the hero and heroine which is just really nice, right? Who doesn't like having adults be able to communicate?

This dealt with an issue quite close to me - single parenting after divorce, people gossiping, and how to find you and where you need to do that at. So I was immensely grateful for this storyline in that respect. I really had empathy for Starla and felt her emotions and actions were described really well.

I am really enjoying this series and there's a couple of pairings that I want to get to know, so I'll need to go read books 2 and 3 and stay tuned for book 5 and so on!

Want a cute, sweet romance that will give you warm fuzzies? Read More Than We Bargained for... you won’t be sorry.

I love that our perfect hero has a vulnerable side, and our feisty heroine has her own insecurities. Their imperfect yet perfect for each other. All Sawyer wants is to help the beautiful librarian he’s been crushing on. Diagnosed with a life changing illness, he’s decided happily-ever-after isn’t in the cards for him, but he’ll do anything to make Starla happy and keep her safe. Sawyer just didn’t realize that by helping her, he’d fall deeper in love.

Starla dealt with her cheating husband for far too long. Even after filing for divorce, she just can’t shake Charlie, who seems to feel his infidelity isn’t a big deal. Charlie’s arrogance made me want to reach into the pages and throttle him, and yet he was a really good dad so I couldn’t hate him. But I loved Starla’s determination, even when her life takes an unexpected turn. Her banter with Sawyer was cute and oftentimes funny. They were adorable together.

This page-turning romance will make you smile, make you laugh, and leave you yearning for more.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of More Than We Bargained For. The review above is my honest opinion.

A terrifically sweet book!

Fiona West's More Than We Bargained For is a pure romance with wit, and the perfect romantic goodness. The characters are well thought out and the plot is beautiful. There's a hint of self-love and self-actualization with a balance of self awareness.

If you're looking for the perfect book to cuddle with on a lazy sunny afternoon, this is it!

This is the first book I've read from this author and I definitely need to read the rest of the series. I loved Sawyer. The romance genre is full of alpha men so it's refreshing and different to read about a man who wears his heart on his sleeves and cries when the emotion overwhelms him. What a total sweetheart. I liked Starla too, who was having major issues with her ex and I really liked how this book both highlighted the wonders and the issues with small town living. I loved the way the book covered the issues in both Starla and Sawyer's lives and their relationship and the relationship between Sawyer and the kids was really well done. I think the romance aspect was very subtle, maybe a little too subtle, but with such lovely leads, that's ok. I really enjoyed reading about how their relationship developed and the supporting characters enriched the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read!

Reading a book by a new-to-you author can be such a goldilocks experience - some books are <i>just right</i>. This was definitely one of those books for me. It strongly reminded me of a Penny Reid book - so if you love Penny Reid - this is definitely a book you should check out.

Starla is a soon to be divorced, star wars loving, librarian. She and her kids are living with a friend after she (and their 11 year old son) caught her husband cheating on her. She hasn't been happy in her marriage for years - but changing her life isn't easy. She doesn't have much money and the town isn't being supportive of her. Also a final encounter with her soon to be ex has left her with permanent consequences. She is in need of a fresh start.

Some of that fresh start comes in the form of Sawyer. Sawyer was working as a surgeon with Doctors Without Borders when he was diagnosed with MS. MS is a life changing diagnosis for anyone - but Sawyer has shaking hands as a result of his disease that remove him from the life of a surgeon. He is struggling to come to terms with his illness and what it means for his life. Meanwhile he has been forming an increased attraction for Starla over time - but her being married and his MS keep from acting on it.

I adored every character in this book. There are no bad guys - just multifaceted people with normal motivations and needs. Even Starla and Sawyer are far from perfect or without flaws. I loved them all the more for it.

Such a great book. I am due to start the rest of the series immediately!!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

I loved this book so much. I finished reading in about 5 hours. I can't wait to read this rest of the Timberfalls books. I hope the rest are as great as this one was.

I loved this story. It’s a quick read, but it’s so full of emotions and I loved the romance between Starla and Sawyer. It’s so sweet and almost sad when you think about what they will have to endure in the future, not that they would even care. This book is part of a series, but you can totally read it as a stand alone like I did. I will however read the other books because I have a feeling I will love them just as much as this one.

I LOVE Fiona West's titles in this series especially, each one just brings me a lot of joy!

Quick reads with a lot of heart, I was anxiously awaiting Starla's story, as she's had a bit of a rough time throughout the other books in the series & I just could not WAIT for her to get her own book! I mean how could I not have a special place in my heart for the town librarian?!

The perfect small town romance, I found Starla as a main character so different in a good way, and in ways that made her SO relatable. While Charlie may not be the man for her, he is a much better ex once he realizes she's gone for good and I really appreciated seeing this all play out on the pages in a refreshing way. It's not often a romance goes past the fluffy good stuff and gives great character depth on both sides of the relationship, and I absolutely loved this about this title.

Sawyer is just what Starla deserved after all this time, and as always, Timber Falls is full of some of the BEST book boyfriends. Thanks Fiona for another fantastic book! 4.5 stars from me!

I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but I don’t feel it detracted from my experience at all. For me this was a sweet and cute read without a lot of angst. I liked both Starla and Sawyer, and the kids were great. My main complaint would be how easily everything was resolved. Quick read that left me with a smile.

Loved this book - I haven't read the previous books in the series but I don't think that mattered.

Sawyer has been admiring Starla from afar, and after a series of events force them in to close proximity to each other, is now his chance? The book deals with some serious issues, but is still an entertaining read.

When I requested this book I did not know it was a part of a series. Now I definitely need to get to reading all the parts as I don't think I can manage without reading the story of the other characters.

The story follows Starla and Sawyer, both who are like town outcasts trying to fit in and struggling personally with their own lives. Starla, is a librarian who is juggling her career, her 2 kids and 1 kid who is on the way, an ex husband who doesn't want to give up and being the talk around town. Sawyer on the other hand is battling with his health issues. He suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and has no control over his body. When he has a seizure in front of Starla that he takes it upon himself to ask her to move in next door to him so she can be his personal Chauffeur and she gets a place to stay with her kids. It's a win win until they cannot keep away from each other.

The story is told from both their POV's and it's a cute and quick romance.This is my first book by Fiona West and I really LOVED IT. I literally stayed awake whole night to complete it.

I have been provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Have you ever read a book that makes you happy? With every sentence that you read, you just feel...happy? Well, for me, this was one of those books. After reading the first few pages of the book, and learning of the female protagonist, Starla's, circumstances, you shouldn't feel happiness, you should more sympathetic than happy. But not me. The characters in this book are well written and so very accurate. A child with an obsession with tacos and all things tortilla, sounds about right. Starla's character goes through a lot, as does the male protagonist, Sawyer. You can obviously tell that the author did her research, as Sawyer's illness is well portrayed,

The ending of this book had me teary, it was a beautiful end to a beautiful story. Just so you know, Fiona West, poor lucky deserved better. Shame! I read this book in one sitting, not because it was a short read, but because I was sucked into the universe of Starla and Sawyer. The small town living, Starla's little surprise, Sawyer's character development... I couldn't get enough.

This book is part of a series but can be read independently.

When I requested it I didn't realize it was part of a series. This didn't impact on my enjoyment of the book. Looking forward to reading the rest.

I think this is the first romance I ever read that takes place at someone's 'mid-age' where she has two kids with another on the way and currently wrapping up her divorce to a man who simply CANNOT believe anyone would leave him no matter how despicable his actions. I've read plenty shallow ones (in comparison) about the after, but never to during.

Starla is a librarian in her small town of Timber Falls. She's as good as divorced, something the local residence seem to have a hard time grasping. Out-layer, Sawyer Devereaux is secretly glad. He's had a thing for Starla for years and hated watching her suffer from a distance. He tried to cheer her up in his own way, secretly dropping off a box of books at her work once a week. But when his health condition interferes he gets something even better, Starla and her kids living right next door and Starla as his personal chauffeur because she's doing HIM a favor.

This is an interesting book. Maybe it's because the author does go a bit more in depth on feelings and such. I mean, as an example, Charlie was an adultering idiot who thought his wife would NEVER leave him because he's just...such a catch. But he wasn't JUST that. He was a loving dad, for one. Most romances just paint the ex as the bad guy, but in this one he's just painted as a guy who treated his wife poorly, and slept around on her. However, he's great with their kids and wants to be actively involved in their lives. When he FINALLY gets it through his thick skull that Starla is leaving him for good, he has a complete emotional meltdown (in a healthy way), and eventually tells her he just wants her to be happy because he knows he screwed up their lives. In the end he still wants to be friends with her and be around for his kids. He's even there for the birth of their 3rd child. I think that's a pretty good relationship goal to have coming out of a divorce.

Now, apply that journey and result to both Starla's and Sawyer's individual issues and you can see why this isn't 'just' a romance. This book actually talks about its character like they are real, live people with depth and dimension. They have their own issues and their own ways of working them out. I LOVED that. Not to mention Sawyer is a bit of a softy. That's not usually featured in a romance, a guy with a soft heart he's not ashamed of showing. It was kind of cute. lol

Conclusion

This book may not be for everyone, but if you are looking for a pretty clean and fluffy romance that feels like something that could be straight out of real life, this one is definitely for you! I certainly enjoyed it!

First off - the cover is so cute! I haven't read any of the other books in the series, but I don't think that impacted to story too much. The best part of this book was absolutely the love interest, Sawyer. He was incredibly sweet and romantic with Starla, the main character, and the small town, woodsy boy feel definitely came through in his characterization. While I liked Starla well enough, I don't think there was anything special or unique about her, compared to other books I've read in this similar genre. Some of the details of this book were way too trope-y for me, but that is personal taste, and not a fault of the book.

This is my first book on the series but I wished I knew of it before the story of the characters falling in love with each other was so sweet and romantic and lets say it had been a long time since I read a story like this.
I am so ready to read the previous books in the series!!
SAWYER was the best part!! Seeing him interact with the main character and her family literally melted my heart but also the struggles he had made it more real for me.
As for the book plot I found it kind of troubling therefore my rating because some stuff seem so cliché and unreal for my part....
However, this book definitely is a quick read that warm your heart <3




I voluntarily reviewed this book copy I received from Netgalley

A sweet romance about a librarian and the mysterious man who secretly donates books to her weekly. The story follows Starla Moore, recently going through a divorce from her cheating husband and juggling working at the library and raising her kids and going through a divorce and Sawyer Deveraux, the charming, attractive, and witty weekly library visitor who’s accent has her swooning. The story is told from both Starla and Sawyer’s POVs and their budding romance was really quite sweet. Sawyer is dealing with life long health problems and has kept his distance from most people but he just cant seem to keep away from Starla. They are both extremely caring and sweet characters and I was definitely rooting for them the entire time! The story is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I had a lot of fun reading this book and definitely think its such a good read!

I stayed up late to finish this book. I really enjoyed getting to know the two main characters. Town librarian Starla has finally decided to divorce her cheating husband. He’s a car salesman and, apparently, fits the stereotype of car salesmen. Unfortunately, she indulged in one last goodbye with him. Now she has little money, two disgruntled children who don’t understand why their world has changed, and she’s expecting a third. She’s tired of being a subject of gossip in her small town.

She ends up staying in the spare cabin that hunky loner Sawyer Devereaux happens to have. He’s been coming in regularly to the library for two years. He’s deeply attracted to Starla but hasn’t done anything about that. All that changes when his MS triggers a seizure right in front of her at the library. He eagerly offers the chance to stay in his spare cabin in exchange for driving him into town since he can’t drive. He’s dealing with the diagnosis of his disease and having to walk away from his career as a surgeon.

Sawyer is just the greatest guy. He’s wonderful with Starla’s children and he’s understanding of her need for independence. He doesn’t mind that she’s pregnant with another man’s baby. He just wants to love and help her.

The only thing I didn’t understand is why Starla’s cousin who is, apparently, her divorce lawyer, hasn’t gotten money from her ex-husband for child care. Why is Starla unable to buy groceries to feed her family? Any decent lawyer would have taken care of setting that up, especially a lawyer who is her cousin. But I guess the author needed her to be in desperate need of money so that she would move in next to Sawyer, but I would have liked a more realistic plot device.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

It appears that I have found a new series to catch up on. I love it when that happens! This was a sweet, small town romance about two people who worry about the baggage they would bring into a relationship but who take care of each other selflessly even though they are afraid. Starla is coming out of a marriage with two kids, wounded feelings, and a husband who won’t believe that she has truly met her limit. Sawyer had his life upended and now tries to avoid his hovering family members and gain some control over his life. When he learns that Starla needs help he jumps forward to offer her a safe place to land. Neither of them have simple lives but they both have huge hearts. The book also demonstrates the good and the bad of small town living which I thought was an interesting element.

So glad I read this book on a whim and looking forward to going back to the first book in the series.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can honestly tell you, this book was n to for me. The cover is cute. I thought the book was going to play out different. I did not care for the story. I was more sad that anything for everyone involved.