This is the first book I have read by Allie Boniface but I shall be searching for other books. I really enjoyed the setting of Whispering pines and loved Damian's little sister.

Summer is back in Whispering Pines after her estranged father left her a house, which although derelict is being renovated. Summer wants to get the house finished and sold but while in the area she keeps getting flashbacks to the night of the car crash when her young brother died. Damian is one of the builders working on the house and he is renting the farmhouse In the grounds. . He lives with his mother and young sister and is protecting them from his father who was a little handy with his fists.

What I enjoyed about the book was the fact that both main characters had a past and it wasn't just a romantic novel. Each event made me want to keep reading and although some areas were predictable others weren't. I would recommend this book and hope there might be a follow up centred around other support characters.

This was a well written novel which made it easy to read. The author did a good job of moving the story along so there were not any dull points. My problem with the book was the actual story. I felt that so much of it didn't make a lot of sense - Summer's father practically cutting off ties with her and then leaving her a house in a town he was so set on keeping her out of, Gabe having gone to prison when the other guy was also intoxicated and ran a red light, having us know that Joyce told TJ what town Hannah was living in and having that go nowhere. Although I liked Damian, I think it would have been more interesting for Summer and Gabe to have been the couple at the center of the story. My favorite character was probably Rachael because she was a true friend to Summer as soon as she returned to town and never let her put the blame on herself for things that were not her fault (ex. giving TJ directions when she had no idea who he was). I felt bad for Joyce because she came across as so pathetic for not getting the point that Damian wasn't interested in her. I will probably read the second book in the series because the writing is good and the story is very different.

Summer is back in her hometown of Whispering Pines following the death of her father. She left town after a car crash where her brother was killed. She doesn't have many memories of that night - and has kept herself fully apart from her father and hometown since the crash.

Damian has been in Whispering Pines for a few years. He lives with his mother an much younger sister, keeping his mother safe from her abusive ex-husband. Damian is fiercely protective of his mother and little sister. He is also just treading water - not moving forward with his own life while he takes care of his family.

Damian and Summer are very much drawn to each other - but both have to work through their own issues before they can move forward together.

I enjoyed the vision of small town life and the different ways you can come home again. I think summer was extremely brave in the face of everything that is revealed over the course of the book. Damian is a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy - who definitely is on a short fuse. Even by the end of the book I think he still had some issues he was going to need to work through.

Overall - I enjoyed the book. It had just the right amount of action and a lot of different things that kept the story going. Hopefully the author will find Gabe a nice girl too! I'm looking forward to reading more abou tthis small town and its secrets!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, but these opinions are all my own!