What a fun dual timeline story! I enjoyed the way the author wove Iris's journal from the past with Abigail and Ben's story in the present.
Abigail was a good heroine, likable but still flawed. And Abigail and Ben's conversation in the car was sooo good (if you know, you know).
Another thing I liked was how much post-kiss story we got. Sometimes it seems like people think readers only care about a couple until The Big Kiss, but Alyssa took a few chapters to wrap up some different angles.
Something I thought was interesting on the romance side: we don't really see Joel, Iris's love interest, all that much. We mostly just hear Iris singing his praises and we agree that he's a good guy. Speaking of good guys...
Benjamin Greene was about as solid as they come. *waves green flags* He was just what Abigail needs, yet he was allowed to be flawed in his own way, too (thank goodness!!). I feel like his growth was a little rushed, unfortunately, but I think Alyssa did well with the plot and timing constraints she head.
Aunt Josie was a sweet character. Sometimes older ladies like this can feel too wise and/or pushy lol but luckily she managed to be a good amount of wise and not pushy.
I also appreciated how Alyssa wove faith into the story, touching on points like how our identity is in God and how our purpose is not to try to be in control but to trust.
4.25/5 ⭐