All Too Well

Cute, funny and I loved it!
This was my first read by Corinne Michaels and I didn’t know what I’ve been missing! This was a super fun small town romance with witty banter, complex characters, a fantastic love story, and just enough steam. You quickly fall in love with Lachlan and Ainsley and want them to have their second chance for an HEA, and these two childhood friends deserve one, despite being total opposites in so many ways. I adored this grumpy x sunshine, single dad, second chance romance will steal your heart, especially in audio. Vanessa Edwin was hilarious with Ainsley’s snark and gave a great performance with the complexity of her character. Connor Crais was fantastic as always with an equally enjoyable performance. He was perfect for Lachlan’s drier humor and stubbornness. I cozied up with this audiobook and enjoyed it from start to finish.When Ainsley is assigned the last story in the world she wants to write for her NYC newspaper, she returns to Ember Falls to draft a sports piece about her brother’s best friend Lachlan, an NFL draft pick who decided not to play. Now he’s a firefighter and a single dad and he happens to be the town hero. She has avoided home since they shared one disastrous kiss, that Lachlan immediately declared was a mistake. She has to somehow charm him into giving the interview, but as the weeks pass the both find that the spark between them never really died.I loved everything about this story – the banter, full cast of characters, the banter, the past that helped give the story depth, and the banter. It’s light on angst, but really full of sweet and funny scenes. Both characters tried to out stubborn each other, and there are so many cute moments between them. Their shared pasts gave them great depth and as someone who is a fan of character growth, I loved to see it a little on both sides, but mostly Lachlan’s. This story was fun, funny, sweet and steamy – everything I look for in a romance when I want something light to cozy up with. I’m definitely hooked and am planning to see what else catches my eye from Corinne’s backlist.

💯% Recommend
I struggle with brother’s best friend tropes because I think it’s ridiculous a brother wouldn’t want someone he loves and trusts to take care of his sister. But Caspian, Ainsley’s brother, is a great character, strong, funny and a little bit broken himself. The writing makes you feel the connection between the three and what fun they must have been and will be together. I really hope he gets his own book.I also struggle with miscommunication tropes that lead to years apart. Why can’t people just talk to each other? But, I’ve started to get over that when the characters are young and life hasn’t really taught them anything yet. That’s the case here. In the beginning the FMC is young and the MMC is broken.As for the characters, like I already said, even though you only get a little bit of him Caspian is the bomb. The friends and their texts are also quite fun. I can’t wait to see how Corinne writes out their lives and I hope we keep getting glimpses into Lachlan, Ainsley and Rose’s life. Rose is a cute little character and not overwhelming as a child presence. She spent steal the show or make life harder. Just enough of her to connect with. Lachlan is broken but also good/strong in most areas except love and trust of women. Ainsley post-separation is a strongly written character with a sweet mix of sass and confidence that really makes the story what it is.For a while I thought this book would be 4 ⭐️ because I assumed it would be a hide your feelings trope. But the characters are written quite maturely and actually talk to each other. Go figure. That definitely ramped it to 5 ⭐️ for me.I cannot wait for more Ember Falls 💙

Fantastic book!!
There’s a lot to love in this book! The characters are fun and stubborn but love hard. Rose is delight, the Frisbee guys are hilarious and part of one of my favorite scenes. The dads, despite their faults, add a lot to the story and surprisingly isn’t as bad as the kids make them seem. Caspian is the typical big brother who loves both Laclan and Ainsley and wants them to be happy but has dad issues.Now, onto Lachlan and Ainsley, they’ve known each other since they were kids. He lived next door and she was the pesky younger sister always hanging around. She’s harbored a crush on him and then was crushed with his actions.Fast forward 4 years later, she’s set in her career and he’s raising a kid and being a firefighter, rescuing kids from fires. That’s where this belongs. Ainsley is a very talented writer and has a story to write.The banter is great between them, the Frisbee team and her brother. I seriously loved everything about this book! The heart and feelings the characters go thru, especially Lachlan, is real and raw. They have to go thru a journey before they can truly be happy and in love. It was a beautifully written book with characters you will absolutely fall in love with and laugh right along with them!

This book! WOW, I am in LOVE with everything about Ember Falls!!! Ms. Michaels has written a book that is NOT super angsty, does NOT “unalive” anyone and IS a feel-good story that will make you laugh out loud with the banter! I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is a rom-com, this IS Corinne after all, but it’s a beautiful second chance/unrequited love story with a little smidge of angst (mostly from delving into things in the past-mostly Lachlan’s) Add in a sweet little girl who will wrap herself around your heart and you’ve got the recipe for a 5 Star read!I loved, LOVED Ainsley and her take-no-bull attitude! She’s feisty and has a one-track mind when it comes to getting what she wants! Lachlan is no exception and he should’ve remembered that about her when she arrives back in town to do a story about the ex-pro athletes (or at least they had the promise of being pro)…..a kind of “Where are they now” story. The guys that form the team of Ultimate Frisbee players, the Disc Jocks, are so much fun and the banter is laugh-out-loud funny! I can’t wait for their stories!As for Lachlan, the firefighter with a heart of gold, who also has some serious things to work through stemming from the death of his mother and his perception of how his father dealt with things. Ainsley was instrumental in getting him to open his heart to see the truth!I can’t recommend this first book in a new series, from an author who is an auto-one-click for me, strongly enough! I already want to move to Ember Falls!!!

This was an absolute delight to read from start to finish, and I say that as someone who isn’t usually interested in the single parent trope. I’ve loved this one so much I’m going to be reading the rest of the series and then actively hunting down anything else Corinne has written.The family interplay between parents and siblings, between friends, was all so beautifully done. Even better was the dialogue – it sparkled and popped between all of them in a way that was entertaining and entirely realistic. The banter was so great that it’s clear to see Corinne has vast affection for her characters.All in all, this was an easy read that was heartwarming and satisfying from start to finish, and I heartily recommend it.

I enjoyed this book,Ainsley and Lachlan deserve to be together after loving each other for so long but too scared to try,plenty of laughs and plenty of steamy scenes🥵😂