No one lays open the heart and soul quite like New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan.

The moment she met Callen Hayes, eleven-year-old Jessica Creswell knew he was a broken prince. Her prince. They became each other's refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed her--Jessica's first real, dreamy kiss—and then disappeared from her life without a word.

Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen's music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It's only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence . . . even as she sets his blood on fire.

But they don't belong in each other's worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that need—and something that looks dangerously like love. 

"Live fiercely and without regret."

Mia Sheridan never fails to bring complex, well developed characters to life. This is no exception and she has weaved a story not only rich in their own personal history, but also past French history and intertwined them beautifully.

Jessie and Callen met as tweens. He was a lost, lonely, and broken boy with a bad home life. Her way to escape her own dysfunctional family was to immerse herself in fantasy stories and personal adventures. And she spent one summer reading to him and taking him along with her using their imagination. She also introduced him to music notes. She was his light and he was her everything. They shared their first kiss. And then he was just gone.

Many years later Jessie is just about to start her dream job in her chosen field. Callen is a well known composer with a bad reputation of women, boozing, and bad boy behavior. He has achieved success, but his demons are still chasing him and writer's block is paralyzing him. So he uses his vices to try to find solace and be able to work.

When their lives collide again, this time he is more clear headed and wants to pursue her. But she needs to focus on her work and his behavior is not something she can deal with. He is full of self loathing and does not feel worthy of a true relationship. And they are on borrowed time anyway. But the more time they spend together, the closer they get.

"Sometimes the beginning of love is just a simple matter of proximity."

Her positive attitude, acceptance, and challenge inspire him like no one else ever has. But he's a man with demons haunting him and can't block out the past words that hurt. And she has done her part several times to save him. But it's hard to save someone who does not feel like they are really worth saving. 

This is a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance that focuses on fate, trust, courage, gifts, forgiveness, hope, and true love. Since Jessie translates old manuscripts there is also an old story running parallel to the present one. I thought this was beautifully incorporated and I loved all of the messages embedded in this book.

I liked Jessie. She was sweet, sensitive, intuitive, and loving. She was more innocent and positive while he was brooding and full of self recrimination. At times I loved Callen and at other times wanted to shake him so hard or just give him a hug. But this really was largely his personal journey toward forgiveness, self acceptance, and healing. He has dark secrets that strongly affect him, and  it is a painful process that will required being vulnerable, brave, and facing fears to even being to have a chance at moving on.

Will Callen find the courage to fight for himself so that he has a chance of fighting for and winning her?

This is a total stand alone story told in three distinct parts and dual points of view. But it also had transcripts from past letters woven in. It all was well organized and flowed seamlessly. The settings in France were vivid and rich in history. There were some side characters providing the characters with much needed support, and there were some causing drama as well. The main couple's issues were complicated and not easily resolved. It was sometimes raw, frustrating, and painful. But there was also friendship, joy, and a strong connection. The last part had my heart on high alert, and I could not wait to see how everything was going to end up.

There were so many layers weaving this gorgeous story together that all become evident as the story builds. I am left really appreciating how well the past and present aspects complimented each other and how unique it was. 

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Callen Hayes and Jessie Creswell meet in an abandoned boxcar as children. Both escaping different circumstances at home, they find solace and comfort in the friendship that develops in their secret world. When Callen disappears, Jessie is distraught about where he might be, but without knowing his last name or where he lived, she can do nothing but hope he is ok wherever he is.

Now, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. As an internationally acclaimed composer, he is the hot new thing on the music scene. But as he battles his demon in a very public way, he runs into Jessie once again, this time in France. Jessie had followed his career, but never imagined she’d find herself face to face with Callen again, especially not when she is just finding her footing in her dream job.

These two characters are so different, yet have a few very important similarities. By the time they meet again as adults, they inhabit very different worlds and have traveled very different roads to get there. Jessie retained her curious, optimistic nature and her outlook on life drives so many of her choices. Callen is broody, a bit jaded, and haunted by the pain of his childhood.

This story had a very unique aspect in the letters Jessie is translating. I loved the little bit of parallel the letters added, as well as the mystery about who the author was and what her story may have been. As Jessie learned more about the mystery journal writer, she also learned more about the boy she befriended and the man he had become.

These two did not have an easy road, but I loved the entire journey. The book is told in dual POV in three separate sections. Each section and POV change is deliberate to weave together the perspectives of two very complex characters with secrets and dreams that I couldn’t have guessed.

Mia Sheridan 

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Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven.