Rough Edges by Kimberly Krey

Divorced mother, Allie Emerson, never imagined she’d be raising two teenage girls on her own. Between parenting and paying the bills, she hasn’t even thought about meeting a man. That changes once she hears local carpenter, Braden Fox, is in need of a secretary. Back in high school, Allie had done all she could to deny the sparks burning between her and Braden; perhaps now they could explore the possibilities. Braden has heard all about what Terrance did to Allie and the girls, has been planning to stop by and see how she’s getting along, but Allie beats him to it by showing up at his shop in search of a job. Her single visit reignites the old flame Braden used to torch for her; trouble is, old feelings of resentment return as well. Allie did choose Terrance over him, after all. And as much as Braden wants Allie in his life, he’s not sure he can open his heart again. With this second chance at romance, will the bumps in their relationship be too much to get over, or will this carpenter learn to smooth out the past?

Great start to a fun new series!

I really enjoyed Ms. Krey’s Sweet Montana Bride series and was excited to hear she was coming out with a companion trilogy. We met Allie in the original series and I was looking forward to her book, which can totally stand on its own.

Allie is divorced and now the single mom to two teenage girls, each of which is handling the divorce in different ways. Things are tight and Allie decides she needs to get a part time job to help with expenses and when she hears that an old high school friend, Braden Fox, is looking for a secretary she works up the courage to go and apply for the job. I liked Allie quite a bit, I liked her in the previous books and thought she deserved better than what she got. She was an easy character to like and to root for. She’s been through a lot, but is a tough girl and I loved how she was trying so hard to be a good mom and put her daughters first. I enjoyed her relationship with Braden quite a bit, they had great chemistry. I really loved Braden; he was an all-around great guy. I liked how he respected Allie and always treated her well and that now that she was available he wasn’t going to let this chance pass him by. I also liked that he brought out the best in her and wasn’t afraid to call her on things.

Overall, a really fun read. I read it in one sitting, couldn’t put it down. I’m really looking forward to the next two books!

Content: Clean

Source: Gift, thank you!!

This has been nominated for a 2015 Swoony Award, you can vote for it here.