I just loved it, it's my favourite book by Emma Barry.

It's a high heat, emotionally intense romance that doesn't shy away from difficult topics - his father is in prison for life, her mother is the opposite of a caring parent, she is facing sexism in sports, he is under pressure to prove himself in the movie industry.

All this is just the background of their relationship and what a relationship it is. They started as high school lovers then went through a most devastating breakup, going no-contact for 15+ years, to a very intense, emotionally challenging, sexually explosive relationship in the present day. What I really liked how the author gave them time to come to terms with their feelings - feelings of hurt and hatred and disappointment, to I-can-no-longer-live-without-that-person feelings. There was nothing rushed, well the sexual chemistry was there from the start and they didn't shy away from it too long, but great sex didn't solve their issues. They both were not ready for a/that relationship.

She is strong and independent and I loved her for it. Yet, she also needed care and someone to lean on when things get rough, she just couldn't admit it, even to herself.

He, on the other hand, was all about taking care of people. This is his love language though can get too much, too smothering and he needed to learn how to let others be themselves, trust them to appreciate/love him for who he is.

I really, really liked how both of them grew and changed in order to have a healthy relationship, yet neither demanded that change from the other person. They realised they loved the other with all their faults and weaknesses. He, especially, put it very clearly that his life is infinitely better with her in it than without her. I found it so powerful, it's simply put but it very much fits with my understanding of love.

Oh, and there is chess, so much chess. I can't play myself though I know the rules in general and very much enjoyed how present was the game in the story. The heroine is a chess grand master and the games is very defining of her personality. And he is so bad at it, it's hilarious. I feel this fitted so well with their personalities- she is a strategist in life, as well as in sports, he is very much an open book, spur of the moment type of person.

CW: loved one in prison, parental neglect, sexism,

Adult contemporary romance. Jamie Croft still lives in his hometown, where he dealt with the fallout of his Dad's very public arrest as a teen. The girl he loved in high school, Scarlett Arbuthnot, left as soon as she could and hasn't been back. But now Jamie has become a successful independent producer and Scarlett has risen to fame as a chess grandmaster. She just released a memoir on her journey into the male-dominated world of chess. And Jamie wants to adapt it for film.

Scarlett and Jamie both have unresolved feelings for each other. Can they work together without falling in bed, or in love? This was a steamy second-chance romance with a full cast of characters. I couldn't put it down!

Advanced digital copy provided by Netgalley.