Nellie Rivera and Cal Stark are Pierce's best friends so they are relocating to Calamity, Montana...but unfortunately they hate each other and have been enemies since their teens.

Nellie was a scholarship kid who worked hard in school to prepare for a better future. She was intelligent, driven, and stubborn. But she was bullied in school and Cal was one of the prime offenders. And it gave her a set of insecurities she could never outrun, even now that she has an important job she loves and a good life. 

Cal has never lived up to the pressure of his father his entire life. He was born with a silver spoon but worked to be a successful pro football player and was for a decade. Newly retired, he is not hurting for money, but now is kind of lost and needs a new purpose for his life. He is a broody loner who is trying to keep to himself but cannot seem to stop his obsession with her. 

They are antagonistic opponents always ready to put the other down, engage in payback, or pull a prank. But there is a ton of sexual tension and chemistry and a bit more going on.

There is anger, pain, guilt, regrets, secrets, lies, misunderstandings, and unclear motivations woven into their history. But as Cal finds a vehicle to crack into Nellie's old feelings, he realizes more and more how his words and actions have hurt her. I honestly felt terrible for Cal because he is this guy with a front that he does not need anyone but he really just needs to be accepted, understood, and loved. He is so afraid of rejection that it is hard to put himself out there. And Nellie is so fiery, sassy, and afraid of being hurt or made a fool of that it is easier to strike out or push him away. They have a serious case of fight or flight.

This is a snarky, witty, emotional, sexy, enemies-to-lovers, small-town forced proximity story swirling with hate, lust, love, and redemption. It's push and pull, anger and tears, pain and pleasure, despair and hope, hate and forgiveness all mixed up. But the one thing they are pretty consistent on is that they are kind of obsessed with each other and share a best friend, so eventually they will have to find a way to live in close proximity and not tear each other down constantly.  But letting down guards can be an even scarier prospect. 

Cal really got to me. I just loved him. The way he treasured certain things showed how deeply he cared and regretted even when he was afraid to talk about it. It just broke my heart. He really was this broken, lonely, lost boy that was dealing with regrets and needed someone to say he was finally good enough. And Nellie could be both strong and weak around him. But I loved how their story played out.

I enjoyed visiting with old Calamity friends and I cannot wait for Larke's book next.