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Review: Room For You (#1, Cranberry Inn) by Beth Ehemann

My Thoughts

A wonderful, heartfelt, lighthearted story
that was captivating and so fun to read.

Synopsis

Four years ago, my dreams were shattered in an instant.

I tried to pick up the pieces and glue them back together the best I knew how, but something was always missing.

A father for my two girls.

But then, Brody Murphy landed on my doorstep, literally. He was a carefree, playful hockey player who barged into my life and messed with my head. He left me more confused than I had ever been.

What if the one thing I thought I needed was the only thing holding me back?

My Thoughts

I totally cheated. I decide to toss my schedule to the wind and I picked up Room For You because the blurb sounded like just the thing I needed and I’m so glad I did! I had such a great time reading this story. It was fun. Swoony. Sexy. Angsty. Heartfelt. I even teared up. It was all things wrapped up in an enjoyable, lighthearted package delivered through solid writing, memorable moments and engaging pacing. It’s a story about finding happiness after life’s already put you through the ringer. After you’ve been hurt, betrayed and abandoned. About trusting someone to not run and not running yourself once you’ve found something worth holding onto.

Kacie Jensen lives for her two 5-year-old twins, Lucy and Piper. She’s been abandoned by her father, as well as the awful man who fathered her beautiful girls. The hurt she felt both times has stayed with her through the years, deepening the scars she wore on the inside and growing that hidden sense of culpability. In her life, the men had never stayed. They had never fought for her. Luckily, she had found a haven for herself at Cranberry Inn while she found the strength to pick herself up and build a new life for her and the girls. With the unconditional support of her mom and her friends, and determination to make her life right, she didn’t feel like she needed anything — or anyone.

“You need to move on and live your life.”

Until six-feet of good looking man walked in through the Inn’s door during a storm. She immediately felt something inside her rouse to life the moment she met Brody Murphy.

Brody Murphy, hockey star, was looking for a safe place to spend the night during a raging storm. He never expected to see a beautiful woman at the small Inn he found while on his way back home. He also didn’t expect for her to be a mom. Or to be completely captivating and sexy and disconcerting to his usually unruffled self.

“I don’t know what I was expecting when I was expecting when I knocked on the door to this inn, maybe a little old cat lady or a family of cannibals in the woods? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t her. “

Over the course of hours, days at the Inn, Brody and Kacie spend time together as friends and that initial spark between them intensifies. Kacie tries to quell those feelings, while Brody begins to hope he can see her again.

The story shows us the delightful way the fall in love and I was thrilled to see Kacie so happy. I loved Brody. He was honest and direct and completely open to how he felt along the way. He gave Kacie everything he could to make her feel beautiful, cared for and desired. She hadn’t felt those things in a long time, maybe ever, and this man seemed to just give and give and give. She

But their worlds were so different and Kacie had so much to work through emotionally to allow herself to love and to let go. Could she trust Brody? What if he left too?

“She clearly had some deep scars and should be easy to walk away from, but instead of running the other direction I wanted to scoop her up, clean her off and make her world good again.”

The push and pull, the highs and lows, frame the story perfectly as we cheer for these two people to be together. Inevitably, forces and truths push them apart, but it’s really Kacie that needs to work through her insecurities to see if her life… her heart could find some room for Brody.

“Brody was like a drug. When I was with him, my mind was in this hazy, euphoric state, but once the smoke cleared, I realized that I was just setting myself up for disaster.”

It was a lovely, enjoyable book with moments that just got to me in the best way. I laughed and teared up and simply let myself be captivated by it all. It was the perfect lighthearted read with just enough gravitas to keep me turning the pages until the very end.