Still the One

Authors: Susan May Warren & Rachel D. Russell

Publisher: Sunrise Publishing

Release Date: January 12, 2021

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Readers of Susan May Warren’s Deep Haven Series will not want to miss this new edition set in Deep Haven written with Rachel Russell that will give you all the feels! 

When Cole Barrett returns to Deep Haven to deal with selling his grandfather’s house after he is sent to a nursing home with dementia, he only wants to get the house sold and leave. His memories of his grandfather and time in Deep Haven are not the best. The only good memory of his time there was a friend, Megan Carter. When he had to leave quickly as a teenager, he never even got to say goodbye to her and in the years that passed as he entered the army and served, he never forgot the kindness she showed him.

Megan is barely keeping her head above water. She and her nine-year-old son, Josh, live in the apartment above Cole’s grandfather’s garage and she works as a wedding planner to support her son by herself. His father has never been in the picture and since the rest of her family moved away, it has just been the two of them. When Cole shows back up in town trying to sell the house, she is furious that he left without saying goodbye, never kept in touch and is now trying to ruin her life by making her find another place to live. It doesn’t take long for sparks to fly between the two of them, something neither are ready for. Will they be able to work out their differences and find some common ground or end up at each other’s throats?

Let me start off by making a confession. Before reading Still the One, I had not read any of the Deep Haven novels. I have read many other novels by Susan May Warren and was well assured that I would enjoy this one. I was curious how a new author would compare to Warren’s style. Having said that, I am pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed this story, Rachel Russell did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to light, making me have an immediate connection to them and letting the story progress at a perfect pace. With contemporary romance, if you read much in this genre, you know what you are going to get when you start the story, how it plays out depends on the skill of the author. I have come to expect a lot from the writing of Susan May Warren and loved the idea of her guiding a new author down this path. Even though I had yet to read any other novels in the Deep Haven series, I had no trouble following this one and enjoying the story. Cole and Megan had such a wonderful story and the way they had to intertwine their relationship with her son Josh being in the picture made me connect and root for them so much more. They are flawed, real, and emotional characters that made it more enjoyable for me, things didn’t work out picture perfect and nothing was rushed. This is one I highly recommend to readers that have loved the Deep Haven series and those new to it but are fans of Warren and Contemporary Romance writing.

I received an advance copy of this title from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.