Book: This Time Around by Tracey Magruder
Reviewed by scribsbookshelf
Rating: 4/5
This small town, cozy second chance romance follows Maggie Hartwell and Fergus Merrick. Since taking over the Roaring Stag, Maggie has spent years proving she can handle everything on her own. Fergus Merrick is Maggie’s brother’s best friend and the trio grew up together. Fergus has always been very dependable, especially when it came to Maggie. Even though she insists she doesn’t need help, he still pitches in and supports her. When a storm hits right in the weeks leading up to her niece’s wedding, Maggie scrambles to put things together even if it means she has to reluctantly accept Fergus’s help.
I love stories about older characters and how far they’ve gone because there's something compelling about the experience(s) they bring to the stories they tell. Maggie and Fergus have both been through a lot both as individuals and together. Trying to navigate their relationship is tough, especially when their life experiences influence the way they see their world. To know that even older individuals go through similar instances of yearning and uncertainty is heartfelt because (as someone younger than the main characters in the story), it shows that people in relationships really make an effort to choose to be them every chance.
Thank you so much to Hawthorn & Aster and Tracey Magruder for this gifted ARC! All opinions are my own.