Lilian T. James

Meet Me Halfway

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“But you said you wouldn’t catch feelings.”

“I’ll hold your hand every step of the way and still want you.”

"But outside this room, Maddie, you fucking own me. I will worship the very ground you walk on if you’ll only let me.”

“It baffles me how a woman as beautiful and amazing as you can see herself in such poor light.”

"Being with a manipulative partner is like an addiction. But instead of a drug, you’re addicted to them, to making them happy because it’s the only time you can be happy."

My heart hurt; a physical pain that wouldn’t lessen no matter how hard I tried. Nothing could make me feel worse than realizing I hadn’t known my child wanted something as simple as playing a freaking sport because he’d been too nervous to tell me.

“I’ve always liked soccer. I play it with my friends every day at recess, and my P.E. teacher thinks I should sign up.”

"Always? Don’t get me wrong, I think that’s awesome, bud, but I’ve never once heard you talk about it. We don’t even have a soccer ball."

“I didn’t want you to have to get another job if I asked to play.”

I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Inspirational quotes weren’t made for those of us living near the bottom. They were made for people at the top to feel better about their privileges. The world wasn’t made for us losers to win. The best we could do was simply finish the game unscathed.

Sometimes I wondered if the person who first said money can’t buy happiness ever knew what it was like to be poor. To struggle.

I’d been shamed more times in the last eight years than I could ever count, and ninety-nine percent of the time it was by women. Sister code only held up if you abided by their rules and views.

I’d been a single mom for years; I was used to it. I was going to graduate summa cum laude if it killed me. Not because I had anything to prove to the world—society’s views on teenage moms were never going to change—but because I was determined to prove it to myself.

We love mentioning the book title👏🏻

Sophia

“Waiting indicates I’d willingly watch you walk away with the blind hope you’d come back. I won’t do that.”

He tilted my head back, forcing me to stand flush against him.

“But I will follow you anywhere, baby. I’ll run a never-ending race for you. Name the distance. I’ll go at whatever speed you let me. I’ll sprint, walk, or crawl to get to you. I will never give you up.”

“We can check our schedules. Maddie works Saturday evenings , but if you’re okay with it, I have no problem bringing Jamie,” he said, directing the last part at me.

Michael glanced over, but I struggled to focus on him when I could still feel Garrett’s words wrapping around me.

We. He said we would check, like we were a team, a unit, a family in the making.

“You don’t need to be fixed. I’m not expecting you to throw out your past like it never happened. I just don’t want it to be forefront in your mind when we’re together. I want you to feel safe to fight with me.”

Eva Marquant

“You are. There’s no one in the world quite like you.”

Sarah 

Miriam

Ana Luiza

ai que decepção foi essa história! Na verdade, o final da história.
Esse romance me deixou muito empolgada, pela primeira vez em meses eu estava interessada em uma história desse tipo e realmente animada pra continuar a leitura. A personagem principal e seu filho eram uma fofura e o personagem principal era PERFEITO. Sério.
Dai, logo nos finalmentes, pra lá de 80% a autora deu um rumo nada a ver pro relacionamento deles. Algo que pra mim não fazia sentido nenhum com o tipo de personagem que foi exibido por todo o livro e com a história de vida da personagem principal. Parece que ela inseriu aqueles capítulos só para que o livro chegasse em determinado público. O que não é problema pra mim, se eu quero ler algo desse tipo e que seja me mostrado desde o começo que isso vai acontecer. Enfim, fiquei chateada porque me desprendeu completamente da história.

Nouran Hazem

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING! 5 stars hands down!! PLEASE READ IT (and check trigger warnings) It’s a slowburn romance about a single mom with her 8- year old moving in a new place and her grumpy next door neighbor.. it discusses the struggles she faces as a single mom with 3 jobs.. And her overcoming trauma from past relationships.. this book was just the perfect combination of heartbreaking, heartwarming and sweet.. I literally tabbed it a lot 😂 GARRETT IS EVERYTHING! I love MADDIE AND JAMIE! And Layla was just the perfect bestie everyone needs… This books made me cry, laugh, fall in love… it did it all…Absolutely loved it!

Meghan Thompson 

4.75⭐️

if there is one thing i absolutely adore it is small town single parent romances
now if said book with said tropes happens to be a slow burn my next fav thing is when they become really close friends before they fall in love. this was so good ugh

Garrett is now one of the new loves of my life. my fav thing is when the MMC wants to do nothing more than to take care of/help the love interest. on top of that make him a brooding older fellow and suddenly i've been knocked down to my knees. he was the sweetest most protective mmc on top of that he was just always there and patient with her and what more can you ask for. he's literally a great stepdaddy because this man loves Jamie like his own. i could physically cry just thinking of this man. 

now ms. Madison has been through actual hell and back but she is the most involved and patient mother ever. ofc Jamie is a gentle soul which makes being his parent quite easy. however Madison wanted nothing more than to care and protect her son and I loved every second. now there were times this women tested my patience bcs like girl you can only say no to help so many times but in the end she got her shit together. 

honestly this book was the warmest hug with some very traumatic content but idc bcs GarrettxMaddie for life baby.

Nouran

jupiter

this was prob a 3 star read idr why i gave it two stars

linhie

mena 

1/5
skipped and dnf. if i could i would’ve given it a 0. really really bad and lame. the h was so pick me girl imo. and the H overreacted sm without knowing the h’s everything. pls i need something good to read.

It didn't feel dragging nor did it feel too fast paced although one more sentence here and there wouldn't have hurt. It was so refreshing to see there was no back and forth all the time. There wasn't a 75%-in-breakup either which I loved because those give me anxiety haha

Personally, I don't really like children in books in general (especially if they're little brats) but I loved Jamie. He was the perfect mix of being still a child (I hate children who act like adults because the author can't remember what it's like to be a child) without getting on my nerves. Obviously, he was an important character in the book but I think with her being busy and him staying with other people the author found a good balance between showing Maddie as herself and Maddie as his mother. It didn't feel like either was getting more or less attention than it deserved.

The relationship between Garrett and Maddie progressed pretty naturally for me and it didn't feel forced at all. I actually loved them because they have a pretty healthy way to deal with things (at least most of the time haha) hence no back and forth. Garrett is definitely climbing high on the fictional boyfriend list.

His relationship with Jamie was not that much of a focus but it didn't bother me because as I said I don't really love to read about kids and the author did a good job mentioning it throughout the book so I enjoyed every little glimpse I got.

I liked the Garrett's POV we got at the end but I would've loved to have another chapter with his POV!

I loved this book!

It didn't feel dragging nor did it feel too fast paced although one more sentence here and there wouldn't have hurt. It was so refreshing to see there was no back and forth all the time. There wasn't a 75%-in-breakup either which I loved because those give me anxiety haha

Personally, I don't really like children in books in general (especially if they're little brats) but I loved Jamie. He was the perfect mix of being still a child (I hate children who act like adults because the author can't remember what it's like to be a child) without getting on my nerves. Obviously, he was an important character in the book but I think with her being busy and him staying with other people the author found a good balance between showing Maddie as herself and Maddie as his mother. It didn't feel like either was getting more or less attention than it deserved.

The relationship between Garrett and Maddie progressed pretty naturally for me and it didn't feel forced at all. I actually loved them because they have a pretty healthy way to deal with things (at least most of the time haha) hence no back and forth. Garrett is definitely climbing high on the fictional boyfriend list.

His relationship with Jamie was not that much of a focus but it didn't bother me because as I said I don't really love to read about kids and the author did a good job mentioning it throughout the book so I enjoyed every little glimpse I got.

I liked the Garrett's POV we got at the end but I would've loved to have another chapter with his POV!

A beautiful romance with very real and relatable characters. Everyone deserves a Garrett. And Madison is a bad ass. 

I appreciate a story that shows real trauma and growth and support from partners. Also the supporting characters are great and I love an alpha. 

Megan BV

I loved this. 

A beautiful romance with very real and relatable characters. Everyone deserves a Garrett. And Madison is a bad ass. 

I appreciate a story that shows real trauma and growth and support from partners. Also the supporting characters are great and I love an alpha. 

Mackenzie ross

Love!!!!

This was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend this to everyone. I wish there was more. Absolutely love

this is such a weird review because I liked the book but I also did not like the book? 

let’s start of with why I like the book. the author was a single teen mom and the representation of the difficulties and struggles and lack of support a teen mom faces was amazing, you really get to feel for Madison- our FMC and the author. I love that it depicted the financial struggles that come along with being a single mom, and the social stigmatisation that all teen moms have to face. Overall Mads was a relatable characters with very valid and genuine fears and worries.

Garrett Rowe- the hot ex military neighbour- was a hit and a miss. He was adorable with Madison’s eight year old Jamie, and was overprotective asf. He was sweet and always tried to do the right thing. BUT — and now the reason why I didn’t really like the book— he was so alpha male-ish in the worst ways. He kept looking at her, her body, watched her at work like a stalker even before they really got along. He didn’t think she was capable of a job that is usually done by men (security), tried to scare her into not doing the job, but the author made it look like he was just concerned for her. He was just.. off putting. But he also had his sweet cute moments when you got a glimpse into his warm and boyfriend-y side, and had a good relationship with Jamie and Mads. Like he learned to crotchet to help Mads with her blanket donations (which was actually very cute), he bought Jamie a football to teach him to play, and he attended Jamie’s games even when Maddie couldn’t show up, and took care of both of them when they were sick. Ugh it’s annoying because I can’t quite get a read on him, and idk whether I like him or not.

I wish we got more of the couple after they made it official, even though they acted like one before they were a thing. I wasn’t really able to connect with the characters as a whole other than just parts of them? Overall I was satisfied with the book, and thought it was a pretty solid single mother x neighbour, grumpy x sunshine romance. if you’re looking for an age gap romance with a grumpy neighbour and a single parent heroine this is your book! 

Started: 11th May 2022
Finished: 12th May 2022
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This has been my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. Garrett is the ultimate romantic, grumpy, sexy main character. I loved how they portrayed a single mom coming to terms with the abuse she had endured and finding new love. Plus this is one hell of a slow burn. Garrett is easily the hottest book boyfriend. His actions remind me of thing my husband would do or say, and let me tell you. That was working for me lmao. 

Franccesca Jimenez 

You want to hear something crazy? I’ve never felt so seen in my whole life till I read this book. I’m amazed at how real this book is. 

I’d like to thank the author for the ARC! So happy to read this book.


Madison is a single mom that’s gone through a lot but has done everything in her power to give her son the best life. And isn’t that what every mom does? Yes, but you don’t often see it reflected in a book. She’s working 3 jobs, studying and taking classes in between jobs, barely sleeps but is always trying to be there for her son. 

And then we have Garrett. This mysterious and hot neighbor, that thinks he’s got Maddie all figured out after hearing a conversation she had with a friend. But things start to come together as, let’s say fate or his sister-in-law, make them spend more time together. 

The chemistry between Maddie and Garrett was EVERYTHING. It’s amazing how the author made the build up from friendship to more. And there was more. The mouth on Garrett? My God. Even I was blushing. 

The writing was great, easy to read and fast paced. I was so into the book that I couldn’t believe I was finishing it, it was that good. The story and plot go hand in hand and totally make sense; it’s not right in your face, nothing predictable but you get to it and everything clicks. The characters are so relatable! I loved that. I could totally see myself in Mads, see some of my friends as her friends and family. And obviously, wish and hope to have a Garrett of my own. 

Insanely good book. Loved it. Will be recommending it to everyone.

Meet Me Halfway

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