When someone is determined to never fall in love..

Synopsis

Mercy Alexander doesn’t believe in love, let alone love at first sight.

There’s one sure fire way of steering clear of heartbreak, and that’s not to get your heart involved in the first place. So what is that irritating flutter she feels every time she sees Brooks Hudson, and why is she finding him so hard to ignore?

Brooks Hudson can’t understand where he’s going wrong.

Doting single father to six-year-old Ali, supportive co-parent with his ex, much-loved friend and respected colleague, not to mention he’s smoking hot. So why is he constantly being dumped, told in no uncertain terms he’s ‘too nice’? Since when was being nice a crime? 

Mercy is in serious need of someone to restore her faith in men, and Brooks needs a girl he likes to stick around long enough for him to believe in love again. But when Mercy’s past threatens to remind her of everything she’s scared of, will love be enough to save the day?

My review

Mercy Alexander is not like any other woman. While most women are looking to find love, Mercy wants to stay as far as possible away from it. There can not be heartbreak when you never allow yourself to love someone. That is a lesson she has learned from a very young age, as the person who should care the most about her, did anything but that.
On the other side there is Brooks Hudson, a loving single father, who cannot understand why he is being dumped all the time. Since when was being ‘too nice’ a downside?
So when Mercy and Brooks meet (again), can they be for each other what they were looking for? Or will Mercy’s past still have a hold on her and their future? 

As this author is not a new acquaintance, I knew that before I started to read that I would enjoy this book, as it takes its readers on a lovely journey yet on a different way. 

Both main characters come with luggage, but for sure Mercy is overloaded with hers.
At the start, we don’t know the details, but we can all see how that one event was the catalyst of becoming the Mercy we get to know.
It saddened me to read how a lovely persona like Mercy was somehow in a downward spiral, going from one fling to another, avoiding commitment at any lengths. 

And while it could have been easy to judge her for acting the way she does, as a reader we know it’s because of her past, and her behaviour does not show her real character.
Her real character emerges when she is with her (chosen) family, her pupils she teaches music to, and the passion she has for music.
And it’s clear that, even subconsciously, she is waiting for the perfect man, patiently waiting for her and worthy of her love. 

That man is obviously Brooks. And boy, did I swoon over this man!!! A man filled with tattoos is not really my cup of tea (a few are okay though!) yet he made me forget about all his ink quickly by being the most amazing father, a great friend, and just a kind and warm person in general.
But he also is facing some struggles, as being a single father isn’t easy, especially combined with his job and him being dumped for being ‘too nice’, or looking like the wrong kind of guy. Are these women crazy??? I would do anything to have a Brooks of my own! 

Despite their not so light backgrounds, this was a delightful story to read, with heart – warming moments but also many hilarious bits in it too.
Seeing how Mercy and Brooks are taking slow steps was really wonderful to read, because despite Mercy’s mindset, they both realize that they have found something unique, worthy of disregarding old ideas they (read: Mercy) had.
In my eyes this only proofs that finding the right person can give us strength to do the one thing that terrifies us the most: to love. 

Unfortunately, Mercy’s past resurfaces, and it broke my heart to see Mercy turn again into that scared little girl she once was. On the other hand, I also admired her courage to finally face that past, and with Brooks by her side she could finally chase that demon away.
And on a more wonderful way, seeing how things were connected in a good way, somehow blowed me away.
Brooks shows us that patience, kindness, openness and just being nice, loving and understanding, will be rewarded in the greatest possible ways. 

Like I said, there is also a lot of humour in it, like Brooks’ ex for sure is a force to be reckoned with, or Mercy’s brother turning out to be even more larger than life! And even the appearances of some people we have met before, made this book even better than it already was!
Of course I found it also hilarious when Mercy and Brooks realize that their encounter now isn’t their actual first encounter and that they *know* each other very well (if you get what I mean 😉) 

I found this book a delightful, heart – warming one, but also a strong one. Because it shows us that people can go through some rough things, and find it difficult to completely overcome them. People do strange things to protect themselves.
But just like with Mercy, solace and courage can be found. Not only with love, it for sure has a very strong power, but also (and maybe a bit neglected in this review as I can for sure appreciate it but not having a talent for it) music can be what keeps us moving on.
A wonderful story about broken yet strong characters finding each other and learning to open themselves for love (again).