A LITTLE TOO LATE (Madigan Mountain Series #1) by SARINA BOWEN

‘It’s so hard to watch someone you love suffer. I’ll probably never get over it.’

A Little too Late by Sarina Bowen is such a wonderful second-chance romance that had our hearts swooning all the way through. There was a lot packed into Ava and Reed’s story and their book has set this series up very nicely. A bit of intrigue, skulduggery, and deception frames a story of love, friendship, and family reconciliation.

‘Together, we had everything. Until the day we didn’t.’

This story is not particularly high on angst, rather, it was so sweet, quite sad, and ever so heart-warming. Ava and Reed were unexpectedly thrown together again after a decade apart. A decade where neither has been able to establish a long-lasting romantic relationship with anyone else -as really- their hearts still belonged to each other after all this time. Their college love affair was so powerful that they were both knocked sideways when a tragedy befell them and they reluctantly went their separate ways, for reasons which they both regretted. Poor Ava was abandoned when she needed Reed the most and found herself settling down in his childhood home of Madigan Mountain. Ava was a wonderful heroine, this Author wrote her with a perfect blend of strength, sweetness, vulnerability, and sassiness.

‘I don’t know how to call a ceasefire. He smiles, and suddenly I see the boy I fell in love with. His wet hair and that handsome jaw are outlined against the starry sky. And his face is so familiar that I feel like crying.’

Reed is a workaholic and hasn’t been home to the small mountainside Madigan ski resort where he grew up for a decade. Leaving under stressful and heart-breaking circumstances then years ago, his homecoming has been long overdue. However, when he hears that his dad is selling up, he can’t keep away and needs to go home. He was not expecting to see Ava behind a desk working closely with his dad. Memories come flooding back and his heart starts properly beating again. Has he really lived life to the fullest over these last ten years? Together Reed and Ava try to reconcile the past, seek forgiveness and uncover the dodgy dealings of the Sharpe family who wants to buy Reed’s legacy.

‘I haven’t been living, I realize. Not the way I used to. And I want it back. All of it. Especially Ava.’

The Madigan Mountain series has started off with a cracker in A Little too Late by Sarina Bowen, and we can’t wait to dive into the next instalment which is A Little too Close by Rebecca Yarros. This will be Reed’s younger brother, Weston Madigan’s story. Bring the wayward son home and let’s have his story! We cannot wait.

“You are everything I ever wanted in my life, Ava. If it never happens for us, that will be okay, too.” He takes a shaky breath. “You are so loved.”