Once We Met
Annabelle McCormack
377 pages
published April 11, 2023
This is the third book in the Brandywine series, but can easily be read as a stand alone. All the books take place in Brandywine, but each book focuses on a different couple. Small town romance, second chances and overcoming your past are the tropes in this one.
I’m always such a sucker for second chance stories. Dan and Avery were likable and relatable, albeit Avery was a little frustrating at times. I know we can’t always see things we are in the middle of, but wow the signs in her life were big and in neon. More than just a romance, this was about relationships with parents and friends and how the choices you make impact these relationships. I liked the support Dan had that he didn’t always realize was there and how everyone stepped up and wanted to help him. And I like that with the relationships I mention weren’t always what they seemed and once I knew what the other side thought or did, my thoughts on them changed.
Anyone that likes small town settings, second chances and growing relationships should definitely check this one out.
About the book
For years, Avery Moretti has envisioned getting married at the Serendipity Lake Lodge in Brandywood, Maryland. It’s her home away from home, the vacation spot where her family has been coming for decades. But when she arrives two weeks before her wedding to finalize the details, she’s met with a huge shock: the Serendipity is under new ownership and construction and her planned wedding isn’t on the books. And the worst part? The new owner is the first guy she ever fell for—and never quite got over.
Buying the Serendipity was supposed to be Dan Klein’s “fresh start” after leaving the police force. Things seem to be going pretty well until Avery arrives at his doorstep. Now he’s tasked with trying to make the lodge work for Avery’s wedding, a job he doesn’t relish. After all, Avery broke his heart, and badly. Plus he’s never really forgiven what happened that summer so long ago, so why can’t he help the desire to help her anyway?
As Avery and Dan face one disaster after another trying to salvage her wedding, unresolved feelings seem to be simmering to the surface once again. But some things are better left in the past—aren’t they?
A contemporary romance with steamy, open door romance and tear-jerking moments about second chance love, Once We Met is the third book in the Brandywood Small Town Romance Series. CW: emotional abuse, strong language
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