Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

This is the second book in the Starr's Fall series. Maggie Parker, 41 and widowed, has moved to small town Starr's Fall in Connecticut, New England for a fresh start. She has a teenage son named Ben who is 14 and she intends to open a boardgame café. She soon realises that she's stumbled into a ready-made friendly community, including Zach, 31,  who has a reputation around town for being a player. But is it true, and what is Maggie hiding about her past marriage? Zach is a people pleaser who clashes a lot with his sister Jenna about the future of their family-owned grocery store, and he is keen to help Maggie set up her café.

Maggie doesn't want to start a relationship because of the age difference, their emotional baggage, Zach's reputation, and having a vulnerable son. Ben gets a lot of time in this book and it's clear he is very important to his Mum and why they moved to Starr's Fall. 

As long as I don't have to live in them I quite like to read about small towns, and I liked the warm-hearted, kind people in this one. Laurie and Joshua from the previous book are the first people to welcome and befriend  Maggie and Ben. I like short novels that don't overstay their welcome and aren't too taxing, and I like cats so this was right up my street. The story and the cover have a pleasantly spring feel which is nice as most novels choose either summer or winter for their stories.

I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and there were lots of things in the epilogue that could have got more time in the book but I guess it was used to set up the next book in the series which seems to be Jenna's story. Altogether, this is a cosy, clean small-town romance about two people with baggage giving each other a chance.