Micah Camden ruined Lexie Parker's life.
That might have been years ago, but now that she's back in Merritt to care for her grandmother -- who was hurt due to Micah's oversight -- she has no plans to forgive him. But the former Marine knows that he made mistakes back then and hopes to make amends with Lexie, if only so they can both move on from the past. Everyone says Micah's changed, but it's going to take more than someone's word to convince her...
Terrific second chance story. Lexie, Micah, Jason, and Jill were friends who knew each other from kindergarten on. They did everything together, to the point where they all thought of Lexie's grandmother as theirs, too. Things started to change when they were in middle school, though. That's when Micah began to look at Lexie far differently than he looked at Jill. He tried getting her attention the way many young boys do - by acting silly, stupid, or obnoxious - and she never picked up on it. Instead, she latched on to Jason, ultimately becoming his girlfriend and wife. When a class project incident involving Micah and Lexie gave rise to salacious rumors, Micah not only didn't correct them, he encouraged them, destroying her reputation. Her father sent her away to boarding school, and Lexie's relationship with him was never the same. Ten years later, Lexie still holds a grudge against Micah because of it.
Ten years later, Lexie returns to her hometown, newly divorced and ready for a new start and to take care of her grandmother. Gram broke her leg during an incident involving Micah, and Lexie holds him responsible. That same incident forces Lexie and Micah to share living quarters, much to Lexie's dismay. At the same time, Micah wants a chance to apologize and show her that he's changed.
I loved Micah. Yes, he made stupid mistakes back then, but what teenager hasn't? He was somewhat handicapped by a mother who had strange ideas about how to raise her sons. Fortunately, Micah had Lexie's grandmother to help counterbalance that influence. She didn't give him a pass on what he did to Lexie, but she didn't write him off either. Her work with Micah gave him the seeds for his future career as a brewer, while his time in the Marines taught him about loyalty, honesty, and brotherhood. I loved seeing the changes in him as he worked to fix the damage he feels responsible for and move forward with his career plans. His continued friendship with Gram was sweet.
I had a harder time warming up to Lexie. While her anger at Micah at the time of the incident was understandable, that grudge had too much of a hold on her life. From the moment he picked her up at the airport, she made sure Micah knew that she hadn't forgiven him. She held on to that grudge even when others tried to show her that he had changed. She frustrated me with how she kept looking for any reason to prove her point.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Lexie and Micah. He was incredibly patient as he waited out her anger, taking every chance he could to show her the new Micah. During those first few days, Lexie spent a lot of time dwelling on the past. She wasn't too happy when she realized that they had begun to reconnect over their shared memories of their childhood, undermining her desire to keep hating him. Things really started to change when she finally listened to Micah's reasons for his actions back then. He made no excuses, simply laid out what he did and why he did it. I liked watching them get to know each other as adults and discover the things they had in common. It was terrific to see Micah help Lexie figure out her future, and I loved watching them connect over the similarities in their dreams. There was a little hiccup in their relationship's progress near the end, but patience, faith, and communication brought them the future they never thought possible.
I enjoyed the setting of Micah's brewery and seeing everything that went into making it a success. I especially liked the bits with Micah, Gram, and Lexie talking about the various brews' flavors. I don't have that kind of sensitivity, so it was fascinating to see their conversations. Micah's frustration with some of the problems gave an extra layer of realism to the story. I also liked the mentions of the other Camden family and Micah's connection with them, and the links back to the author's Northbridge series. Micah's brother, Tanner's, arrival has me looking forward to the next book.
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