Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless–and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.
Hallie’s character I didn’t really gel with. She’s supposedly 27/28 years old and she honestly acts as if she is 20-22. Running around town, getting drunk and vandalizing businesses whilst being very cavalier in her own business ( showing up whenever she wants). I understand she is still mourning her grandmother but I don’t think that’s an excuse to throw away all sense of composure and decency. I feel like she needs to grow up and maybe book that appointment with her therapist she keeps putting off and start to heal properly.
Julian I didn’t really like all that much as well. He is very standoffish and he also knows he has a lot of issues that he kept pent up and won’t get any kind of help for it. For the most part he is quite comfortable sticking to his routines and burying all of those emotions further and further down until the inevitable break down. Also in the smutty scenes where he whips out all of this dirty talk was very jarring and kind of pulled me out of the story.
I did however, really enjoy the setting and premise of the plotline. If these character were a bit more memorable and slightly more mature maybe it would of worked a bit better for me. I kept waiting for twists and conflicts and passion but overall it was just a bit weak.
⭐️2/5 stars I felt unfulfilled
Amy Leigh Reads 