All of the Swift Brothers have just been so traumatized by their father and past history. The oldest brother, Rhett, just as much as the younger ones. At times in the other books, it was hard to like Rhett because he seemed so controlled and his father‘s puppet. It didn’t seem like he gave his younger brothers the attention and help they needed during all of their crises.

But in this book, we get to dig deeper into Rhett's psyche, and being the favorite son was just as damaging as being one of the not-favorites. He lived his life just trying to be perfect to get positive attention and approval from a powerful man who was never satisfied. He followed all of his father's goals for him and became a lawyer and a politician, but they weren’t really his dreams.

And last year, everything came to a head between his brothers and his father, and this time he’s decided to choose not only his brothers, but himself as well.  But when his career and everything he thought about himself are stripped away, he’s not even sure who he really is. But he’s trying to do the work to be better, but he’s lost. But he has lived a life of control and overthinks everything and has intrusive negative thoughts.

Tripp Cassidy is closely intertwined with his brothers. He’s a mature, single father, and a carpenter. As they run into each other, the more Tripp finds himself trying to peel back the layers of the elusive Rhett and actually get to know him. And when he finds out that Rhett shares a love of woodworking, he helps give him more purpose. Tripp was afraid to look for love again because he’s been burned, and he fiercely protects his daughter.

Rhett certainly didn’t feel like he had the mental bandwidth or was worthy of any kind of love or care, even though he secretly wished for what his brothers had found. But I loved seeing these two develop a tentative friendship, work relationship, and begin to explore an attraction that they never expected. Having any kind of real connection with somebody is something Rhett has never really had, and he certainly never had true acceptance or love. I loved seeing Rhett start to open up, be vulnerable, figure out himself, and work on developing connections with others, especially his brothers. Tripp is such a caring, loving, protective partner to him and tries hard to help him realize his worth.  Their progression from tentative friendship to true love really touched my heart.  And Meadow is the most amazing and empathetic thirteen-year-old. 

This is a small town, hurt/comfort, single dad, demi-awakening love story about trust, hope, healing, and finding self-worth. These three brothers have been so trauma-bonded, but they never held on to each other, and instead fell into guilt, regret, defensiveness, anger, and just never coped well.

But I have loved seeing all of their journeys through this series and how they’ve struggled to pull themselves out of the depths of their own despair and self-worth issues and to reach out for the people who just want them to feel loved and whole for the first time in their lives. The series has been amazing and the emotional depth and mental health rep has been very well done. This one actually had me crying.  I will miss these guys, but I am so glad to see their happy ever afters loved how it tied up all of their stories. 

Keep reading for a look inside Rhett!