Book Review — Always Be The One by Hadley Quinn

“That was how love worked. If you truly love someone, you’ll find a way to make it work.”

Ok so I absolutely love reading romances with heroes or heroines with kids in them and if you’re also a fan of those kinds of stories then check out this book! It’s a standalone and the story is about a musician, Matt, who was left broken-hearted after his fiancee cheated on him and then left him for another man. Because he was the kind of guy who really believed in working through relationships no matter what, both her betrayal and departure left him unable to move on for a whole year. But everything changed when Clare, a single mom with two little adorable little twin toddlers, moved in across his street and for the first time since his heart was broken, he found himself falling in love.

Gosh, I have to say, it was really heart-melting and all kinds of cute to see him learning how to help with the twins! He had absolutely no clue what he was doing so he was going on pure luck mixed with good intentions and a healthy dose of trial and (hilarious) error. There were several particularly funny scenes that had me chucking and laughing to myself. There was also a fair bit of hotness and steam as his relationship with Clare began to get more serious. And overall, I really appreciated how level-headed these characters were. There was no stupidity or anything that frustrated me. The story is told to us from Matt’s POV and the situation he was in was a naturally complex one — between deciding whether he wanted to or was ready to move on from Aubrey, to learning to trust again, to deciding if he was ready for the commitment of not only falling in love again but being a significant part of these little kids’ lives, to being faced with his past when his ex returned and choosing what felt right for his future.

I do want to point out that the blurb is kinda misleading. From that, you’re made to think that he gets back together with his cheating ex-fiancee, but that’s not the case. I don’t even consider it a spoiler to mention that, because this book isn’t a love triangle. I mean, it’s pretty clear what the right choice is and it’s more a question of taking that journey with the hero as he goes through this transitional part of his life.

Overall, I found this to be a really quick, easy read — took me about 2 hours start to finish — and it really just flowed quite nicely. You know how some books just keep you smoothly flipping pages with no sticky spots? That’s how this one was. The only thing is that I did feel like the storyline with his ex-fiancee needed a little bit more resolution at the end but all in all it wasn’t that big of deal. This story is full of feels and sweetness. I appreciated the forward moving plot and just really enjoyed watching these characters fall in love and figure their lives out together.

I’m always being asked for books with single parents in them so if that’s something that you’re looking for, then be sure to check this one out!

Rating: 4 stars. Contemporary romance standalone.