Artist Britt Branch has a successful online channel where she teaches a variety of art lessons. Obsessed with the 1970s, she has a style all her own. But she also has a huge problem–severe social anxiety. She lives with her mom, and while she pays her own bills, she wonders if she’ll ever have the courage to move out and move on. When her best friend announces she’s getting married, Britt decides it’s time to make a change.

Gorgeous Hunter Pickett has always skated by on his model looks, applying very little effort to anything except sports, and even that was iffy at times. The third son of extremely wealthy and successful parents, he dealt with being the black sheep of the family by drinking and using drugs. By his third year of sobriety, he’s still dealing with aimlessness. Late one night he catches Britt’s channel and ends up watching her videos. He’s not interested in art . . . at first. And when he sends her an online message, he’s surprised she responds. Before long they are chatting every day, and once they start meeting in person, a spark-filled friendship begins.

But both of them are keeping secrets. Big ones. When all truths are revealed in one pivotal moment, Britt and Hunter are at a crossroads. Will he fight for the happiness he’s worked so hard to obtain? And will she continue to hide from life, or can she finally step out of her own shadow?

My Review and Reflections

I was hooked on this book the second I opened it. I immediately got excited about every little thing that happened. We’re talking 11% in. That’s so rare! I felt so much joy over Britt’s transformation throughout the book. And Hunter was realistic and down-to-earth, which makes him a wonderful book boyfriend. There is also a secondary romance involving Britt’s mom, Amy. I felt very connected to Amy as a mother. Worrying about a child does not stop simply because they are adults, especially when the child has an emotional disorder.

This is one of the best, if not the best, reads of 2024. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys closed-door romances with former bad boys, women who’ve sworn off relationships, and readers who always cheer for opposites who attract.