Things We Never Got Over | Review

Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon.
Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I don’t even know where to start because I loved everything about the book. All the characters were likable and well-rounded, the dialogue was witty and funny, the plot was engaging, the suspense didn’t feel contrived or too cheesy, and the romance was *chefs kiss*

There are lots of characters in this book, but somehow, Score manages to make them all likeable in very different ways and makes the reader feel like they really know each character by the end. We have our main protagonists, Naomi and Knox, who are perfection, but there are also Waylay and Liza J, and all the girls at Honky Tonk, and our lovely librarian and so many others. I seriously can’t tell you how great all of the characters are. And, perhaps most impressive of all, there is a dog (multiple really) in this book and Score keeps up with him. He’s in multiple scenes, has his own personality, and I’m just in awe. I feel like pets are so often brought up and then forgotten about or not included at all.

Score also does a great job of slowly revealing things about Knox and Naomi’s pasts and just information in general as it comes up. It keeps the plot interesting and engaging, while also keeping from having an information dump at the beginning of the book. Plus, it also plays into the whole crime and suspense aspect of the book.

Now I have to talk the best part of all, the romance. Knox is this broody, moody, prefers to be alone, doesn’t do relationships kinda guy. But around Naomi, he’s mostly still those things but add overprotective. Oh my gosh he’s so overprotective and it’s kinda the best. I’m not usually into that but somehow he pulls it off. And Naomi is the sunshine to his grumpy and it makes for all the fireworks in their relationship. I could not get enough of them. It was a medium slow burn with a sorta friends with benefits thing happening, but they weren’t fooling anyone.

I literally have nothing negative to say about this book. I’m so glad we’re going to get two more books in this world: one about Knox’s brother and the other about Knox’s best friend. If I could recommend this book to you a million times over I would. It lives up to the hype!

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Lucy Score, go to her Goodreads profile or visit her website.