This book opens with a young Cade and a young Monroe, our hero and heroine, on the night they said goodbye. Immediately, author Laura Trentham establishes that there is probably no one else in the world who knows these two like they know each other, and that probably will never change. They're products of a small town in the American South, the kind that winds its way through your DNA and never fully lets go.

Cottonbloom is split by a river and divided between two states. The Mississippi side is where the wealthier folks live (and they're referred to as "Sips), and the Louisiana side is where the folks who are a little less flush with cash call home (they're referred to as "Swamp Rats"). However divided they may appear, Trentham consistently shows us that these two towns live off each other and their residents are as intertwined as the water and soil in the river.

Cade and Monroe spend a lot of time in this book not clearly communicating, which is a pet peeve of mine (just speak your mind, people!), but I can recognize that decades of skepticism leads to mistrust and that needs to be rebuilt. I loved Monroe and how complicated Trentham made her, her motivations, and her choices. Cade was the same way. When they finally surrendered to their happily ever after, my heart was warmed.

This is the start of a series, with two more on the way, so if you like small town romances with doses of realism, and second chance romances that will make you cheer, be sure to pick up KISS ME THAT WAY.

Book Summary

A river divides Cottonbloom in two: the upscale enclave on the Mississippi side and the rundown, rough and tumble side in Louisiana. They’re worlds apart—but nothing can build a bridge like love…

Cade Fournette never had it easy Cottonbloom. He stuck around long enough to raise his orphaned siblings and then hightailed it out West—and never looked back. Even though he’s made a success of himself in Seattle, Cade never lost the toughness and the angry edge that helped him survive down South. His only weak spot: the girl he left behind…

Monroe Kirby came from the wealthy side of town, but that didn’t protect her from her mother’s drinking—or her mother’s boyfriend. It was Cade who did that, on a long-ago hot September night, before he disappeared…along with a piece of her heart. Now Monroe is a physical therapist who can fight for herself, and it’s Cade who could use some conditioning when he makes an unexpected return back home. Will he and Monroe pick up where they left off and finally explore their mutual passion—or will the scars and secrets of the past divide them once more?