Things We Never Got Over

The review

Naomi Witt runs out on her own wedding and lands in Knockemout, Virginia, to help her estranged twin. Within a day the twin has stolen her car and cash and left behind an eleven-year-old niece Naomi never knew existed. Enter Knox Morgan: bearded, rich, allergic to drama and somehow always the one standing there when her life implodes. It is the small-town grumpy-sunshine book that BookTok handed to everyone who said they don't read romance.

Score's gift is the town. Knockemout is rough around the edges in the best way, full of nosy neighbors, a gruff police chief, a diner that knows your business and a dog named Waylon who deserves his own billing. Naomi starts the book as a people-pleaser with nothing left; the town and her niece Waylay give her a reason to stop apologizing for existing.

Knox is the classic grump who decides he doesn't do relationships and then quietly does everything a partner would do. The banter is fast and funny, and the book is sharp about his reasons for keeping people at arm's length. There is a suspense subplot tied to the missing twin, which gives the back half real stakes.

The heat: three peppers. The door opens and the scenes are explicit, but they are spaced out across a long book that spends most of its time on family, found family and humor. If Icebreaker felt like a lot, this is a gentler step in.

Know before you start: it is long, and the first chapters are a pile-up of bad luck before the romance gets going. Naomi and Knox get their full happy ending here. The next two Knockemout books follow other couples from the same town, so each reads on its own, though you will enjoy the cameos more in order.

Read it if you want small-town grump-sunshine with real heart. Skip it if you want short and spicy.