Book Review: Then There Was You by Miranda Liasson

Then There Was You

Author: Miranda Liasson
Series: Angel Falls, book 1
Publisher: Forever (May 29, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback, 360 pages
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Summary
Fresh from her residency, Serafina Langdon returns to her hometown to join her father's general medical practice a year after her fiancé jilted her. More than anything, Sara just wants to move on, but that becomes impossible once she discovers that the man who was responsible for her broken engagement, and who is also her ex-fiance's best friend, is now the Angel Falls chief of police.

As police chief, Colton Walker is devoted to his small town, and he's equally determined to avoid its newest resident. He and Sara have always gotten along like oil and water, and since the bachelor party incident, he's her Enemy #1. But after sharing an unexpected--and unexpectedly hot--kiss, avoiding Sara becomes the last thing he wants to do. She's not the woman he used to know, and he's falling for her. But when her ex-fiancé returns to Angel Falls, Colton will have to decide if the woman he's always fighting with is also worth fighting for. 

Rating: 4 stars

Review
I love a good enemies to lovers romance, because both hate and love require such passion, and there can be such a fine line between the two. After all, the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. And so much of the animosity between Sara and Colton seems to stem more from misunderstandings and fear than from actual dislike of each other. This book was like rolling in enemies to lovers catnip and it was g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s. 

If you've read others reviews I've written, you'll see me say over and over again that the best romance novels are based on more than just the relationship between the lead characters; they also feature personal growth on the part of one or both main characters as well as featuring storylines around and development of the relationship between the lead characters and the other people in their lives. Miranda Liasson gives the reader so much of this in Then There Was You, and it's beautiful. Sara comes home to be with her aging grandmother, who is suffering from dementia and they're losing her a bit at a time, so Sara and her family have to deal with what that's like. Sara and her siblings also lost their mother to cancer when Sarah was a preteen, and there are several aspects of the storyline dealing with Sara and her younger sister Gabby and their quest to find ways to be closer to their deceased mother, as well as Sara and her relationship with her stepmother. She also joined her Dad's family medical clinic when she moved home, so that's a whole other familial relationship to navigate and grow. Then there's the whole matter of her fiance leaving her 2 days before their wedding the year before... And that's just Sarah, and that's not everything! Then there's Colton, whose police father was shot while on duty when he was young, then his mother drank herself to death leaving him in the care of his grandmother and to take care of his 12-years-younger sister - who is now 18 and a woman on the cusp of adulthood. Drama drama drama. 

Needless to say, this isn't "just a sex book," and anyone who tries to tell you that romance novels are shallow or meaningless, this is one to throw at their head and be like "Try actually READING a romance novel before you decide they don't talk about any real, deeper issues." That being said, this book has some very hot sex scenes as well. I also love how completely open, candid and natural Sara and Colton are with each other - their chemistry is amazing and hot but at the same time so comfortable and down to earth. And then one of them would say or do something that would set the other one's insecurities off and it would be sparks and catfighting all over again, and it was hot and cold like hot caramel over ice cream. YUMMY.

Then There Was You is the first book in the Angel Falls series and can be read as a stand alone. From the blurb online, it looks like the second book, The Way You Love Me, will be about Sara's sister Gabby, who is a side-character in this book. 

An copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.