4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: April 9th, 2019

Genre: Romance

Where you can find Love, Again: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | BookBub

Book synopsis:

Sometimes all you need is a second chance.

“L. P. Dover knows how to create the men who make us swoon, the book boyfriends we all want.”—New York Times bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin

Aubrey Reynolds is a small-town girl who’s made it big. A successful Hollywood director, Aubrey doesn’t have time to linger on what could have been. But when a routine blood test comes back with a false positive, she decides to take some time off to do the things she’s always wanted to do: taste the famous chocolate chip cookies at the Minnesota State Fair, hike the Grand Teton National Park, scuba dive in the Caribbean. But after Aubrey admits to herself what she’s really missing, she heads back home to Dusty Valley, Oklahoma . . . and the man she left behind.

Cole Haywood is a small-town fireman and that’s just fine with him. Sure, when the love of his life left their hometown to chase her dreams he was heartbroken and—he’ll admit—damn mad. But Cole would have never forgiven himself if he had held Aubrey back from success. So the last thing he expects after all these years is to walk into his favorite bar one night and find the girl he’s always loved—there—looking for him. Maybe now’s the time to make his dreams come true. 

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Love, Again is about how a love lost can be revived. Aubrey left Cole behind when she moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of being a successful director. Ten years, go by and Aubrey has never forgotten Cole. Then a misdiagnosis puts everything into focus. Aubrey puts her career on hold to follow her bucket list. The list includes going back to Oklahoma and making amends with Cole. Can Cole forgive Aubrey? Will they make amends? Will they revive their relationship?

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I so needed to read Love, Again. I needed to read a book with a simple plot. The last few books I have read have had plots that were all over the place. So, reading a book that was focused only on one thing was terrific. It was a balm for my brain.

I liked that Love, Again was a second chance romance. Out of all the genres/troupes, second chance romances is in my top 5. I love reading about characters who get back together after being separated for years. I like seeing those characters reconnect. Audrey and Cole was no exception.

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I liked Aubrey. I did think that she was too chill about certain things (like her misdiagnosis). I loved her bucket list. There were a few things on there that I want to do. She didn’t come across as a typical Hollywood person. She seemed genuine to the people that she met. I didn’t understand how she could leave Cole a month before the wedding. That was the only time I thought she was selfish. But, when it was revealed why she left and who was behind it, then I understood. My feelings about her being selfish went away, and I pitied her. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I did like Cole, but I didn’t get as good as a connection to him. His chapters were introduced rather late in the book. Don’t get me wrong; he was excellent for Aubrey. I felt that something was missing on my end. I wish I could explain it. But I can’t.

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Love, Again was a perfect fit into the romance category. Being a second chance romance, I didn’t have an issue with Cole and Aubrey falling in love . Usually, I would be screaming “Instalove,” but in this case, it wasn’t. Aubrey and Cole had a history. They knew they were soulmates. So, yeah, I had no issue with them saying the “L” word as soon as they did in the book.

Aubrey and Cole’s romance was relatable to me. They were soul mates that separated. It did take them ten years, but once they got back together, it was almost like they were never apart. Their love for each other came off the pages.

The sexual tension and chemistry between Aubrey and Cole were steaming hot. From the minute they saw each other, I could see the zings. The author did have them have sex shortly after they saw each other. Again, something that would bother me, but in this case, it didn’t. The sex was red hot. The author was able to keep the sexual tension going, which made every single sex scene amazing.

I did have a small complaint. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, then you know how I feel about the characters having unprotected sex. I know that Aubrey and Cole were soulmates but to go bareback after ten years? Yeah, no thank you.

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I did have the ending figured out. I had it figured out when Aubrey and Cole went to Turk and Caicos. Of course, I liked how the book ended up. It was the ultimate HEA. But I thought that Aubrey took an unnecessary risk cliff jumping. The epilogue was my favorite part of the book. I was hoping for an Emilia/Bennet book, but from what I read, that isn’t happening.

The author did a fantastic job at wrapping up all the plotlines in Love, Again. There was no lag in the plot. All the storylines were wrapped up, which meant that there were no dropped storylines or characters. I liked that the author took events that happened at the beginning of the book and tied it in to the end. For some reason, that made me happy.

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I would give Love, Again an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Love, Again. I would recommend it to family and friends.

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I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Love, Again.

All opinions stated in this review of Love, Again are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

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Have you read Love, Again?

What are your feelings on it?

Second chance romances?

Love them or hate them?

Let me know!!