The Road to Rose Bend

Don’t let this cover fool you, this is a fun, spicy, and super angsty read! It’s also sweet, heartfelt and poignant. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’ll definitely be reading more from Naima Simone!

Overall, this is a confusing book to review. The cover is gorgeous, but is not really reflective of the content. I for one am all about steamy, small town romances, but ymmv. The blurb on the back does promise high angst and tough topics, which I'm grateful for, but also I neglected to read it before jumping in (which is my fault). I love Naima Simone's writing, and I eat up her words even when the story makes me want to yell. She's a wizard like that. I loved the immediate chemistry between Sydney and Cole and the sheer uncomfortable anguish and lust Cole struggles with due to his attraction. Sorry, I like to see em' suffer. Sydney is pregnant and never, not once is Sydney judged for her choices by Cole (but oh wow she is by a lot of the other characters in this town). There is a lot of heavy plot, including Cole's dead wife and baby, Sydney's little sister who died from cancer and whose death Sydney believes her parents blame her for, and Sydney's ex-husband threatening to take legal action to sue for custody rights because she's isn't a "fit parent." I felt a bit overwhelmed by all of these on top of the struggle for Cole to realize he is ready for another romantic relationship. There's also the inclusion of a jealous woman who is awful to Sydney because she wants Cole. There's so much trauma for everyone that the HEA, when it came, felt really sudden at the end, and we are left without an epilogue to reassure all is still well after the birth of Sydney's baby. This was especially tough for me as Cole lost both his wife and baby to childbirth, so I was left a bit worried about how he would be dealing with that. All in all, a mixed bag but I definitely was riveted by the writing and wanted to see how it all ended up. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC