JUST LOVE by PRESCOTT LANE

‘Real love happens in both giving and receiving. You have to give to another person, and you have to let them give to you. Rhett wouldn’t let me love him.’

This is our first read by Prescott Lane, and we loved it. And whilst it might be titled Just Love, there was nothing ‘just‘ about it. This soulmate friend to lovers, best friends little sister romance was heartfelt, emotional, moving and sincere. A story highlighting the strength of love and the determination of the human spirit. A beautiful first encounter with this authors words.

‘Falling in love is easy. Holding on to that love – well, that’s the real bitch. There are two sides to every love story.’

Just Love centres on Ainsley Rose and Rhett Bennett. Two friends who have been through their fair share of heartache. Rhett, together with Ainsley’s older brother, Brody and his girlfriend Sky, who is also Ainsley’s best friend, all pretty much raised Ainsley when her and Brody lost their parents at a very young age.

‘Love has done some serious damage.’

Ainsley is back in Charleston after being away, living in the same building complex as Rhett. Unbeknownst to Ainsley and Rhett, each has harboured some pretty intense feelings – emotionally and physically, and one night, they take their friendship a step further, starting a clandestine relationship behind Brody’s back, not knowing how he would react to his playboy buddy dating his little sister. Things become serious and we find out through present/past flashbacks from the time their friendship shifted out of the friend zone to the current day, when their world had been torn apart.

As their relationship unfolded we were unexpectedly thrown into sadness when Ainsley and Rhett’s world is torn apart. But it wasn’t just Ainsley and Rhett who were affected, so were Rhett’s parents who were a sweet and regular presence in the story, together with Brody and Sky. It was heartbreaking.

“You look at me and remember us falling in love, our friendship. I remember the pain, the pain of sitting and waiting for you.”

How Rhett dealt with his anger, confusion and pain left Ainsley bereft. Her heart full of love and hope was dashed when Rhett decided the most decent thing he could do for Ainsley was to push her away, however, Rhett didn’t count on the tenacity of this young lady and the durability of her heart.

“Don’t try to win her back only to change your mind again.”
“I’m sure I love her.”
“You have to be sure you can let her love you.”

We loved all the relationships – especially Rhett and Sadie, his beautiful and faithful dog. As dog lovers ourselves, Rhett’s relationship with Sadie resonated with us in many ways.

The story itself is one we haven’t experienced to this degree before and we loved the humour and sensitivity Prescott Lane injected into Rhett and Ainsley’s story. It’s a credit to this author because this could have so easily been heavy and morbid. Whilst we did feel the emotion, the huge heart-wrenching impact we were hoping for. The sexy titbits, the sweet banter, and the epilogue completed the story beautifully.