Only Love by Melanie Harlow Review

5 SMOOCHES!

SYNOPSIS:

A gorgeous former Marine with a tortured soul.
The beautiful, compassionate therapist living next door.
A meddlesome grandma determined to get them together.

From USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Harlow comes an all new standalone romance that will make you believe in the redemptive power of love.

I was expecting a proposal on my birthday, and I got dumped instead.

How could I have been so clueless?

Grams knew exactly how to distract me.

The “cute boy next door” who’s been helping her with yard work clearly needs a little therapy. Who better to call than her newly single therapist granddaughter?

She even fakes dementia to get me to visit, and now that I’m here she’s doing everything in her power to throw us together.

Not that I’m complaining. Ryan is the sexiest man I’ve ever met–I mean the full package, from the chiseled jaw to the massive shoulders to the rippling abs. (And yes, his package is full, and he knows exactly how to deliver it.) He makes me want to get out of my head and follow my heart. He makes me want to take chances I never thought I’d take.

He also makes me want to take my clothes off. A lot.

But he’s moody and challenging–one minute he’s an open book, and the next he’s completely closed off. He holds me like he’ll never let go, but insists he wants to be alone.

Some wounds are so deep, only love can heal them.

How can I convince him to let me try?

REVIEW:

I’m relatively new to Melanie Harlow’s writing – I read the first two books in the One and Only series, my introduction to her work, a few weekends ago – but I am absolutely a fan. I devoured those two books in 48 hours, and I waited eagerly for this book which I devoured in a day. Harlow’s writing is vibrant yet cozy, and she packs a serious punch to the feels within her steamy, romantic love stories. I can’t get enough of her writing, her characters and her poignant, tender love stories.

Only Love brings together the third Devine sister, Stella, a therapist, with Ryan, a former Marine and the next-door neighbor to Stella’s meddling, matchmaking grandmother. Stella had a hard time not slipping into therapist mode with both Ryan and her sisters, yet it was exactly that background that gave her the tools she needed to deal with this complicated man. Ryan learned to turn off his emotions as a coping mechanism during his time in the military, and my heart positively ached for this veteran and all the pain and emotional trauma he endured. Stella was incredibly patient, compassionate and understanding with him, but her heart was on the line here, too, and she had her own insecurities and baggage to contend with. While their road to happily-ever-after wasn’t exactly easy, it was passionate, romantic and moving. Harlow took her readers on a touching, heartrending journey to love with all of its ups and downs, and ultimately created a perfectly paired couple in Stella and Ryan.

I loved this entire series. Each sisters’ story was beautiful and sexy and fun, but Stella’s was the most emotionally rewarding. I couldn’t help but want a happily ever after for this couple, and I got completely wrapped up in their pursuit of it. While it was definitely a difficult ride sometimes, their journey was worth everything they had to get through to get there, especially when Grams got involved. The groundwork was laid in these books for Harlow’s next series, and I can’t wait for it! Five smooches from me for Only Love by Melanie Harlow!

~ Danielle Palumbo

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