Every book in this series breaks my heart into itty bitty pieces but this one is especially emotional. Imagine your entire life falling apart and then finding out while that was happening the love of your life was pregnant with your baby and you missed years of your son's life. Absolutely heartbreaking. I laughed, I cried, I was touched. Highly recommend the whole series to be honest.

Cute book with a well-done story. I liked the main characters in this one as they were fun to read. It was a joy to read.

Kelly Siskind has delivered another great book in the Bower Boy series.

Demond is the oldest of the brothers and the broodiest of them. Everything was stolen from him when his family was forced into WITSEC because of his father's choices. He's never been able to truly deal with everything he lost. But now that he can return to his old life, he's not sure he wants to until he finds out about Max.

I absolutely loved watching Desmond become more than his grumpy self. I loved watching him get to know his son and learning how he hits into Max's life. The interactions between those two are my favorite parts of this book. It was just beautiful to watch Des become a better version of himself.

Des and Sadie fell into their familiar relationship with ease. I do wish we had her POV and how she's handled things in the last ten years without Des around (that is my only gripe) but you can tell these two are fated to be together.

10 Signs You Need to Grovel is chocked full of emotions and will have you loving this small town (and all the people in it), very easily.

***3 Stars***

I wanted to love this one. The whole second chance, hey you have a kid, small town tropes are ones that I tend to be drawn to, but I just had a rough time with it. I did love watching Des and Max’s relationship evolve as well as seeing how the Bower Boys rallied and were there for Des and Olivia was freakin’ awesome, but…

The “but” hurts because I really needed more from Des and Sadie’s second chance. I KNOW they loved each other hard before the WITSEC situation and all that but I feel like something was missing. Maybe it was because we only have Des’s POV ~ which I’ve never truly had an issue with single POV’s ~ but even a couple of chapters after big moments would have given me more. And though I emphathized with Des, what being in WITSEC did to him and his view of himself, being in his head was kind of exhausting.

I honestly wish I loved this book, as well as the first in the series because I’ve really enjoyed the previous books by the author, but sometimes things just don’t work out, and I have to accept that this is one of those times.

I started this book late because I tried the first book in the series and couldn’t finish it. Huge mistake on my part because I loved it!

I loved the sensitivity of Desmond, the banter he had with his brothers, Max and Sadie that flowed naturally throughout this book he had, and heck, even the banter he had with his elderly neighbour, who pushed him to do crafts even though he sucked at it, had me chuckling at times. And I loved the book club that started with Desmond and his mother, then turned into a book club of two with his son to bond and communicate better with him.

I also love the way the book is written – it’s easy to read, no excessive description that lengthens the book more than it should. This book started low and went higher; no sudden miscommunication or disappointment between the two characters that pulled them apart from each other. The only misunderstanding that they have brought them closer to each other, allowing open communication and a deeper understanding after all these years.

And of course, Olivia is the cherry on top of this book. Love the sass and the random throw in of statistics to flabbergast Des.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Sadie and Desmond. They dated through their teens. One night the police came and rounded up Desmond’s family and sent into the witness protection program. He had no way to tell Sadie. Sadie found out she was pregnant and she couldn’t tell Desmond. Eleven years later Desmond’s family is released. He goes home to the town where Sadie is. Finds out he is a father. Starts dating Sadie and learning about being a father. They fall in love.

I couldn't stand the hero and his flippant idea that he could just slip right back into the heroine's life and everything would be hunky dory. Ugh. I DNFed out of annoyance and frustration.

I enjoyed Desmond and Sadie’s book. It was an intriguing read. Good second chance. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

Note- I did not read the other in the series and so was definitely a little lost when I started this one, however I got up the speed pretty quickly.

This is a second chance romance with an interesting premise and a sweet story. The characters are nice and complex in their own way although maybe not as flushed out as I would have liked. It was enjoyable and I would definitely read more of this series.

This was fantastic and such a fun read. I loved it so much and kept turning the pages. Can’t wait to be able to share this with friends.

10 SIGNS YOU NEED TO GROVEL - KELLY SISKIND

What happens, when out of somewhat the blue, you realize you had a child, but you never knew about them?
That's exactly what happens to grumpy bartender Des.
His teenage love, Sadie got pregnant before everything fell apart for him, about 11 years ago.
So what do you do, when you have a chance to re-connect with the love of your life, while trying to gain access to your son?
Hilarity ensues, that's for sure.
The series is a rom-com, so expect the unexpected in terms of twists and turns. Don't expect anything too heavy, but have in mind that there are still serious topics being discussed.
I would've preferred a bit more skill when the MCs communicated with each other, but to each to their own when it comes a bit of a miscommunication trope.
I was okay with reading only from Des's POV, altough it was somewhat strange for the first few chapters. I think it could've added some more complexity, was it written in a dual POV.
I absolutely enjoyed the scenes where Des's clan would conglomerate to shoot the sh#t, I cracked up several times.
The romance was sweet (as in long lost lovers reuniting) and spicy (they had the pent up tension, that's for sure). I enjoyed the way Des and Max's relationship evolved.

better than what i was expecting!! i love when men grovels and plot was interesting. normally i don't like it when the hero absents from childs life for a long time even if he doesn't now about the child but this one had valid reasons so i enjoyed

I’d say it’s 3.5 stars but I rounded up rather than down. 🌶️ 🌶️.5 on spiciness for me. There are some good scenes but they come late in the book. Slow burn was definitely there though and I’m a fan of that.

It took me a while to finish this book. I think a lot of it had to do with the headspace I was in when I started it. I’d been in a romance reading rut. Or really I think a reading rut in general. For me the storyline was pretty compelling, and I liked almost all the characters, though I did get annoyed with Desmond at times. There were some cringey references to drug dealers/methheads when he was describing himself that I thought were a bit stereotypical and tone deaf. I get we’re supposed to see how self-deprecating the MC is but it didn’t hit right with me.

I also felt like the beginning dragged a bit, but things really picked up a little
More than halfway through. The slow down I felt though may have to do with my reading rut and my frame of mind when o started the book more than the content. Or maybe it was a bit of both. I enjoyed the last part well enough to click on the bonus chapter because I wanted to stay with the characters a bit more.

I liked how the characters interacted with each other and the closeness they all felt with one another, even the side characters. They all felt fully developed and I could see myself reading more of the series. I’m not in a huge rush to go out and read them all right now, though I did read the prequel novella that goes along with the series. That was pretty good too, with obviously a bit less spice and character time, but it’s a novella so that’s to be expected.

Overall I liked the book.

5 reasons that 10 Signs missed being a 4 star book.

1. Witness protection. Ok- I’ve never been in witness protection, but I’ve read about it in romances forever and back when my kids were young, I saw Mary-Kate & Ashley in that one movie when they were in witness protection with their parents, and this experience did not measure up. How is it that one brother ends up physically and mentally scarred while the others are fine? There is no satisfying explanation. And his mother is in the same town so he lurks around the tea shop where she spends all her time so that he can occasionally drop in for some Earl Gray until the time he made her cry? What kind of WITSEC is that?

2. Wilderness camp. I hate to mention Mary-Kate & Ashley again, but I’m going there (My daughters watched a LOT of those movies back in the day), plus I’ve seen the Parent Trap twins switched at birth so I know. YOU know. How did this handful of kids pay for a summer camp? I’ve BEEN to summer camp. I’ve SEEN summer camp. Where was the lizard? The blisters? How did this tatted wannabe Duke attorney have any wilderness skills?

3. Scamming the son. Yuck. Bad plot device. The Parent Trap did it to scam the parent but not the other way around.

4. How was it so enlightened in one instance and then so cliche in another? The son is an artist so of course he’s gay? Come on. For once, can the artistic boy not be gay? Can he simply be artistic? Can a normal, no-label kid be the gay son? There are more gay people in the world than artistic boys.

5. The emotion never felt real. When the lovers reunite- cold. When our hero divulged his secret that he was the missing dad- nothing. The only tears were in the book.

The bones of the book are good, but the muscle needs developed. Another revision should do trick.

Desmond was in witness protection for 10 years, when the drug cartel was destroyed he could have resumed his old life, but he has changed a lot in those years and has done everything he can not to be reminded of his former self.
Now he finds out that he has a son.

Complicated story with some annoying factors and to be honest, the book bored me from time to time because it felt like nothing went on.

The wanderings and getting closer was nice, but somehow not much happened in the whole book.

Can't be read alone, otherwise the whole story is missing.

Have fun reading!

A second chance romance story told from H's POV after he finds out he has a son with his high school sweetheart after he was forced amongst his family into Witness Protection.
It was a nice read but something was missing.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Did I say that I'm not a big fan of second chance romance in 50WTWBYL review? Well... That has changed. I definitely love second chance romance, but only if their break up has good reasons and they get back together yeaaaars after the break up and that's what the Bower Boys series is.

I got my eye on Desmond since the first book and once again I am blown away but Kelly Siskind's men. Who would've thought the grumpy Des is such a big softie inside? The way Des does everything to be the best dad for adorable Max and the the father/son relationship in general was beautiful it warms my heart every time. Sadie, oh Sadie, the purest and kindest soul I swear she's perfect. When she met Des after 10 years, she didn't even care that the old Des who was a golden boy going into law school is now just a bartender, she just loves him as much as she loves her son.

Can't even remember how many times I sobbed while getting through this book. I AM HURT. The fact that the grovelling wasn't only for Sadie but also Max?? TEARS. If only there were more scenes from their younger years, I wouldn't mind some more angst.

This book DELIVERED, just like the first book but even better. I'm glad I still have a long way to go cause I'm surely not ready to say goodbye to Windfall yet. So excited to read Lennon and Maggie's story! Oh and shoutout to Olivia, she deserves 100 handmade bracelets for all the advices and honesty she has given to Des, and to all the hiking kids, they made this story ten times even better.

Thank you Netgalley, Kelly Siskind, and Montlake Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably one of the best covers I've seen in the last year. I need to find out who designed it and see what else they have in their portfolio because it is the first thing that attracted me to this story. Second were the tropes. Small town romance, single mom, second chance - oof. Yes. Love that for me. It's also kind of a slow burn which I don't love as much, but the characters made up for that. Desmond and Sadie hurt my heart and then put me back together again and anything that can get my cold, black heart to feel is a win.

And the KIDS. Guh. <3

This is the second book in the Bower Boys universe, but I haven't read book one and I was completely fine jumping into this one as a standalone.

I couldn't put this book down! Both characters were written so well it was so easy to fall in love with them.

10 Signs You Need to Grovel is the second novel in Kelly Siskind's Bower Boys series.
It follows Desmond, who learns that he has a 10-year-old son after coming out of witness protection. The story is a second-chance romance, set again in the small town of Windfall. As with the first in series, this romance is told exclusively from the male main character's perspective.

I loved seeing Des rally and find a job that allowed him to connect with his son. The story is as much about him getting to know his son as it is about rekindling his relationship with Sadie, his ex. There are some fab side characters - I particularly enjoyed seeing Des work to win over the kids for his nature walks, even though I cringed at some of the initial ideas he came up with to make his walks interesting. I also loved book club - the willingness to read books you don't always enjoy just to make others happy is a new requirement for favourite book boyfriends, for sure!

I'll definitely be looking out for the next installment in the Bower Boys series!