Keep Holding On

Charming and romantic, this story returned me to the lovely yet fictional town of Maple Valley, Iowa. I had hoped for great things in Beckett's story as he was the enigmatic, mysterious, and hardly present Walker brother in the previous books, but this time it was his time to shine. His story turned out to be a lot different than I had expected, but it was still wonderful. I think he met his match with Kit. She was fabulous in a down-to-earth way, and I loved her goals that enveloped memories, an apple orchard, and family.

There were a few breathlessly romantic moments involving a tree, an ocean, and a whisper. Y'all, I'm serious that my breath was whooshed away in these scenes. Very happy sighs, for sure.

I wasn't really sure why Nigel was even in the book. He didn't serve much of a purpose and wasn't very likeable at all. Why would Kit have even been friends with someone so rude and selfish and unconcerned with her dreams but hyper-focused on his own? Plus, he was only there for a couple of chapters and then was never heard from and hardly mentioned ever again (thank goodness).

One thing that made me uncomfortable was the lengthy guy-in-a-towel scene. Not sure why he didn't just excuse himself to put on some clothes. That would have calmed down that scene for me, as would Kit acting like she was older than twelve. (She was only that immature in that one scene that I noticed, thankfully.)

Overall, I adored this story! It's a wonderful addition to the Maple Valley family of books. I loved Megan's snarkiness, Kit's sentimentality, and Beckett's search for healing and reunion. The small-town atmosphere was charming and quirky, and it made me feel a sense of home. I can hardly wait to visit this town again in the next book in the series!