THINGS WE NEVER SAID
Series: Hart’s Boardwalk #3
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Monica James
Release Date: May 7, 2019
Local metalsmith and gift shop owner, Dahlia McGuire, likes her quiet life in Hartwell, Delaware. It’s the perfect place to hide from her family and the tragic events that led to their estrangement. However, when her father, the person she loves most in the world, needs her Dahlia has no choice but to return to Boston to face her ghosts. One of those happens to be her ex-boyfriend’s best friend, Michael Sullivan. The man she was never supposed to fall in love with.
Michael Sullivan has never forgotten Dahlia McGuire. Some might say he’s never gotten over her. For years he lived with the anger of her desertion, and now, newly-divorced, he’s finally ready to move on. That proves impossible when Dahlia returns to Boston and reawakens their explosive connection. Despite everything, Michael wants her back, but Dahlia can’t seem to let go of the tangled emotions of the past. When she flees home to Hartwell, Michael follows, determined to do everything in his power to convince her they belong together.
However, when the unthinkable hits the quiet seaside town, Michael finds himself trying to unravel more than the mystery of Dahlia’s broken heart. It’s time for truths left unsaid to finally be spoken or Michael and Dahlia might find themselves torn apart forever…
The truth was I must have been sleepwalking through life all this time because whenever Michael appeared, I was suddenly wide awake.
Things We Never Said was an swoony and emotional second chance romances with a slight twist. It also had one of the most incredible heroes I’ve read in a long while. There’s just something about Michael Sullivan that made me fall head over heels the second he appears on the pages.
Admittedly, the first two books in this series haven’t been my favorite. But there was something so…different about this one. It had a different vibe and energy to it that I found lacking in the other two.
Michael and Dahlia have a right place but wrong time sort of beginning when they first meet. Their chemistry is immediate and downright incendiary. But Dahlia has just settled in a relationship with a man that’s good for her and she doesn’t want to jeopardize that. But when she finds out that Michael is her boyfriend’s best friend, she knows that any potential they may have had will never be. So they settle into a friendship with a side of burning unrequited love on both sides. It becomes clear just how crazy Michael is about her, but youthful mistakes and fate circumstances soon spell the end for any budding romance they may have had.
When life takes a turn once more, Dahlia finds herself back in her home town and facing the circumstances of her decision all those years ago; the biggest one being Michael. But he’s no longer the sweet man that she knew in her youth. He’s angry, bitter, and hurt. As much as you want to hate Michael for his callous treatment of Dahlia when she first appears back in his life, you just can’t. You know that he’s harboring a lot of pain but you don’t know quite what transpired between the two of them to bring them to this place. That slowly gets trickle fed to the reader chapter by chapter. But when you see this southie boy see the error of his ways and finally pursue Dahlia with a single minded intent to break down all of her walls? Oh my swoon!!!! He’s sheer perfection.
I really loved this beautifully emotional romance. The more you learn about Dahlia’s past and what sent her running, the more you begin to understand. It takes the majority of the book to fully unravel the truth, and it’s devastating at the core of it.
There’s also a bit of action and suspense that’s thrown in, along with the tease of two secondary characters that I’m desperately waiting on a book for.
Ultimately, this was an incredibly satisfying read that I enjoyed from start to finish and would recommend to any Sam Young fan out there.
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