Review: Only You by Samantha Young

Only You by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author, all opinions are my own.

This is the final installment of the Adair Family series, but it is not the final book set in the world of Ardnoch.  There are going to be more books in the world coming later this year.  While this is the 5th book in the series, I do feel you can read it as a standalone.  If you want to get to know the rest of the Adair family, I highly recommend reading the rest of the books in the series.  Each of the books follows a different member of the Adair family, this one is the much awaited story of Brodan and his former best friend Monroe.  We've met them both in previous books and the tension between them was very high, and now we know why.

I love a good second chance romance and this delivers.  As with all of the Adair books this does have a slight bit of suspense to it but the main story arc focuses on the breakdown and rebuilding of Brodan and Monroe's relationship.  They have been best friends since they were around 5 years old, but a big misunderstanding and miscommunication in college drove them apart.  They both felt betrayed and abandoned when they needed each other the most and didn't speak again for 18 years when they both moved home to Ardnoch.  Brodan has spent the last 18 years following in his older brother's footsteps and has become a very successful actor, but he has worked himself into a state of exhaustion and is home for an extended vacation.  Monroe is a school teacher, and she has come home to take care of her mother who has recently broken her hip.  Living in a small town they can't help but run into each other, especially when Monroe teaches Brodan's nephew and his siblings are determined to rekindle their own friendships with her.

I really loved getting to know Brodan and Monroe.  There was so much backstory to these characters.   She has not had an easy go of it, but she is determined to make the most of what she's go on her own terms.  Monroe has quite a bit of trauma in her past and has a hard time trusting people after what she has been through.  Despite the horrible things she has been through she is a wonderful teacher and person, she puts those she cares about first and I really enjoyed getting to know her.  Brodan is hurting, he feels betrayed but he doesn't have the full story he doesn't want it either.  In the beginning I really didn't like him, he doesn't treat Monroe very well and I didn't want her to forgive him at all.   He grew on me after a while and while I think she forgave him far more quickly than I would have, and watching their relationship bloom was a pleasure.  I appreciate that Young brought in real life vulnerabilities that couples face and that Brodan and Monroe actually called each other out when they were being unreasonable about it.  They had a conversation and worked through their insecurities so they could work on their relationship instead of calling it quits at the first sign of trouble.  

I loved the second epilogue showcasing each of the couples and "where they are now".  I really appreciate when authors do this in a long running series featuring multiple couples.  It is a nice feature to bring closure to the series.  I loved this series and this installment wrapped things up perfectly.    

View all my reviews