Author Abby Jimenez brings to light the fight, flight, freeze, and fawn phenomena in this age-gap romance, which can trigger readers who have suffered long-term emotional abuse. In this book, we meet thirty-seven-year-old Dr. Alexis Montgomery and twenty-eight-year-old carpenter Daniel Grant as the main characters. Jimenez couldn’t have picked two more polar opposites if she tried. Alexis is the last hope of a hundred twenty-five-year medical legacy through her family namesake, and Daniel is the last Grant standing to save his small town and his family home built by his great, great, great grandfather.

The age gap isn’t even the primary factor in play. The pressure of the social and financial gaps between the two is where Jimenez does a good job of describing the bleak difference between Alexis and Daniel’s worlds and how they won’t work together, and she brings out the freeze and fawn part of the phenomena into play beautifully.

Due to years of emotional abuse Alexis endured from her parents and the continued pattern with her ex-boyfriend, which is ongoing, Jimenez showcases how Alexis is incapable of acting against them out of fear of letting them down and, most notably to losing the family legacy, this attitude was borderline annoying how she was unable to grow a backbone and stand up for herself. On the flip side, her twin brother chose to flee altogether, removing himself from the equation and making it much harder for Alexis to fight. This made it more infuriating because as much it is easy to sympathize with her as a reader, you also want her to grow a pair and say enough is enough.

Although Daniel suffered no emotional abuse growing up, he’s in constant fight mode. Fight for his small town and its three hundred and fifty residents so they gain better services and not rely on gin and fish hooks to stitch each other up. He fights to keep his family home passed down through generations that his estranged mother wants to sell. Most of all, he fights for his relationship with Alexis even though she’s had one foot out the door since they met. He’s willing to sacrifice it all. The town, his legacy, if it means she’ll let him into her world.

It was fascinating how Jimenez brought the fight, flight, freeze, and fawn protective mechanism to full circle with these wonderful characters; it truly made this a 3-star read.