This is the
first contemporary romance I’ve read by New York Times and USA Today bestselling
author Julia Kent, and I found her style to be engaging. This story is a
prequel to her new Love You, Maine series.

Let’s meet Kellan “Kell” Luview,
an environmental policy fellow with an international NGO, the EEC, in
Washington, D.C. Kell hails from a quirky small town in Maine called “Love
You,” where every day feels like Valentine’s Day. He’s romantically
involved with Alissa, his confident and driven supervisor, who is also the head
fellow. Recently, though, Alissa has been distant, ignoring his calls and
skipping their dates. 

Things unravel further when Kell’s friend
Rachel—who has a bit of a crush on him—reveals that Alissa has accepted a
position with MonDex, a big oil company she refers to as the “Evil
Empire.” Kell feels blindsided, wondering if Alissa was only dating him to
connect with his Uncle Ted, Maine’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry, and
Conservation, to help her new MonDex contacts with the Canada-Maine pipeline
project. 

Kell’s trust is further tested when he
learns Rachel once did research for Alissa on the pipeline months ago, which
eventually led Alissa to his uncle. Betrayed and frustrated, Kell considers
leaving the NGO, especially after discovering that two fellows from EEC tried
to sabotage a job offer he received in L.A. Rachel tries to convince him to
stay and complete the fellowship, but he’s determined to return to his
hometown, where trust and integrity still mean something. 

Overall, this was a fast, enjoyable read. I
enjoyed the storyline. The characters and dialogue felt realistic, capturing
the vibrant, ambitious energy of young professionals in D.C. The story offers
thoughtful insights into how personal backgrounds shape professional
ambitions—especially for Kell, who, despite his grounded, family-centered
upbringing, wasn’t prepared for the ruthless job market. An excellent
introduction to the series. Two thumbs up! 

Rating: 4 stars

Some of my
favorite lines:

“I don’t
have to understand anything. What I have to do is get the hell out of here and
go back home, where your friends don’t lie to your face and smile at you while
they stab you in the back. At least in Luview, I know who to avoid and who to
trust.”

Tears
spilled over, Rachel’s emotions a tornado, yet she fought. She had to fight.

Had to
make sure Kell knew what he was giving up.

“Why
wouldn’t you trust me? Please believe me. I care about you. We’re friends. You
got the job offer in L.A. and I’ll be in Palo Alto. I was hoping maybe,
someday, we’d be more than friends. That can’t happen if you won’t even give me
a chance to explain.”

Originally Published on https://vocalexpressions.blogspot.com

Deliah Lawrence Attorney, Author, Blogger, Workshop Facilitator

Deliah Lawrence is a Maryland-based attorney and award-winning author of two romantic suspense novels (Gotta Let It Go and Gotta Get It Back) set in Baltimore. She’s also a blogger and workshop facilitator who writes poetry and short stories.

When Deliah isn’t writing, you can find her reading a book, indulging in her addiction to investigation discovery shows; or painting her yet-to-be exhibited oil artworks of landscapes, portraits or whatever else comes to her creative mind. Constantly on the go, she is also a member of the Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland and Sisters in Crime.