Meant to Be

OMG! I adored this book! This was an excellent book! I was in a book slump for over a week and then I saw this book, read the blurb and because I'm a sucker for second chance stories, I had to read it. I was not disappointed! It was nothing I expected. I was literally surprised throughout the entire book and I had no idea if the story was even going to end up the way I wanted it to. The pull between Mitch and Sydney was thrilling. Their love for each other, even after so many years, was scorching. I loved the growth of the characters. Throughout the book and the past. And that plot twist? WHOA. Was not expecting it at all. I mean, once you get to the end, there were signs, but as you're reading, not something you pick up on too easily to give it all away. It was delivered perfectly. This is definitely a top favorite book of mine now!

Where to start? This was a great story. Simple premise but very complicated characters, primarily Mitch the male counterpart to Sydney, who is fairly straight forward. Briefly these two have history, college sweethearts who wanted to marry, she's on her way to med school when he decides to enlist in the Army. She comes from money, he's small town. She doesn't want him to go into the military and he insists and when he comes home from bootcamp, she tells him she wants to postpone their wedding plans. Operative word postpone. Mitchell is the typical deaf male and breaks it off. He heads off overseas, she goes on to med school becoming working overseas and then returning to practice in NY until an incident sends her back to Mitch's hometown.Mitch is now a police detective. She's the new OB Dr on staff at this small town hospital. Mitch's partner's wife, ever the matchmaker drags Mitch in to meet Sydney not knowing who she is, Mitch is not happy at all to see her, while Jenny rambles on about the bit** who broke Mitch's heart years ago, on and on. Mitch being Mitch, is one of the most unforgiving souls I have seen in a book. He is nasty, demoralizing and taunts the life out of her. As the story unfolds we find out why and it isn't Sydney. Not totally. Sydney finds out he did in fact write her letters, that her mother hid them, changed her phone number and e mail without her knowledge and Syd is angry. Her mother agrees to send the letters. Meanwhile Syd and Mitch share a few friends that happen to have lived in both places (NY and Virginia) and that's an interesting interaction. Sydney has a couple of friends come to visit during a festival when she and Mitch were attempting at some sort of piece. Her friend Julia is aggressive and nasty to Mitch. Julia's brother Patrick just kind of goes with the flow, he also is an MD. Things come to a head early in the book when the incident that spooked Syd out of NY follows her to Virginia, she sends Jenny to her car in her raincoat and umbrella and Jenny is attacked, the same way Sydney was in NY. Jenny is Mitch's partners wife and a nurse and works with Syd. Syd has to tell Mitch what happened in NY and Mitch takes it upon himself to protect her. Moving her into his house. Things smooth out between them. I liked Sydney, she was strong, good head on her shoulders and more than enough compassion to go around. She also called them as she saw them, that included Mitch. Things are going really well for them and they both know that the road home may have been a long one, but they are it for each other.
Until the next day when he goes to pick her up for lunch and she's opened the envelope her mother sent with the letters from him from 10 years ago, without allowing her to explain, he starts flinging accusations and Syd tells him how she sees it. She doesn't try and defend herself or explain that she'd just gotten them. Mitch walks out, takes himself off her protection detail and leaves her hanging. She takes off for the weekend to NY. And after Mitch hears it from everyone in his universe was a jack hat he is, he decides to go to NY. A day later. The story hits a big twist here and that's where I'm going to leave it. Because you need to read the book.
Honestly initially I didn't think I could stomach reading Mitchell, he was just so abusive and nasty. Could not let the chance go by to stick in a dig at Sydney and twist it. Mitchell was complex and Jenna did a great job fleshing this man out and getting through all those layers that made up Mitch, not just as we saw him, but beneath that. Sydney as well, although not in as much detail. Sydney wasn't quite as complex beneath the surface, what you saw was what you got and she was perfect. I loved her. The supporting characters were quirky and funny. Everything fit in this book. The transitions were seamless and even the gradual fade of contempt was perfect.
I loved this book, the story and Jenna Hart did a beautiful job with one very difficult man and one very giving and forgiving woman. I look forward to reading the others in the series!
I highly recommend this book.

**arc from NetGalley and the publisher** in exchange for an honest review

Love a good second chance story, and this was a good one. There was of course romance but there was also a mystery, I really didn't realize whodunnit till pretty far along in the book, which really kept me guessing. I loved that all was not just forgiven and forgotten, like in real life this couple had to work for their happy ending.