Hey Dearies!
So, this book was recommended by my friend, and she told me it was a good read, but man, I was bawling at the end of this book! Normally, this isn’t a book I would choose on my own, but I’m honestly glad I did.
I’m going to do my best and not spoil it for those who want to read it. What happens in the end, it was not what I was expecting, and I think it hit me harder because of what I’ve been through, again, trying my hardest not to spoil it for you!
The book starts out in both Ella and Beckett’s POV. So, each chapter switches back and forth, and they also begin with a letter they have been writing back and forth to each other. Ella’s brother, Ryan, is Beckett’s best friend; they are both in the military together, and Ryan gets his sister to write Beckett a letter.
Beckett was also completely against having a pen pal or opening up to anyone emotionally, but after losing someone else in the army, he finally decides to open up and reply to her. They start being pen pals, but Ella only knows Beckett as his military nickname “Chaos”.
They build this friendship through writing back and forth to each other and start to grow feelings for each other. Then, Ryan dies in battle and leaves a letter for Beckett asking him to be there for Ella and her kids. Beckett also doesn’t send Ella another letter as he feels guilty for what happened to her brother.
The letter Ryan gives Beckett, I thought that was sad because I got teary-eyed reading that! Anyway, Beckett goes to the cabin resort that Ella owns, she took over from her grandmother when she passed, rents a cabin, and meets Ella and her twins. He doesn’t tell her that he’s “Chaos” right off the bat.
When he does meet Ella, he tells her he knew his brother and gives her the letter her brother left for him. Ella, of course, refuses his help as she is dealing with a lot. Her daughter, Maisie, is going through treatment for cancer, and she’s trying to manage keeping the business afloat while drowning in medical bills for Maisie’s cancer treatment.
Plus, you also find out that Maisie and Colt’s biological father walked out on Ella when she was 8 weeks pregnant, and then ended up getting divorced. This makes me understand why Ella has trust issues and has issues with people lying to her. Which makes sense why she doesn’t want to trust Beckett right off the bat.
Of course, Ella starts to fall for Beckett, especially when he starts helping Ella with the kids and being there for her, whether she asks for it or not. Of course, the kids start welcoming Beckett into their lives, and my heart warmed when Colt told Beckett, “This is what having a dad feels like.” They had never had a dad in their life and Beckett was the closest thing they had to a father.
Eventually, he offers to adopt Ella’s kids, so they can have his military insurance since the treatment Maisie needs is covered under his insurance, versus Ella having to pay out of pocket for it. The way he gets the twins’ biological dad to sign his rights out was just badass!
Without spoiling it, I will let you guys read it for yourself. Tissues are recommended towards the end because I was bawling. I ended up waking up early and figured that I would read since the kids were still sleeping. Little did I know that I was at the end of the book, and I couldn’t stop crying.
My poor mother heard me crying from the other room and thought something was wrong with me, and all I could tell her was “It’s my book.” Of course, she started laughing because I’m also currently pregnant and wasn’t sure if it was something else that had me crying. Which made me so overemotional when I read the end of the book.
I honestly loved the love story that builds between Ella and Beckett. I also haven’t read a lot of books that shows how a single parent finds someone that not only there for them, but also for their kids as well. I do have a few saved in my Pinterest Board to check out; this was the first one that I truly felt was an amazing book.
Overall, I loved the story, hated the ending, but you do have to give the author credit that she did an amazing job building up the relationship between Ella and Beckett and didn’t rush right to it, like some other authors tend to do. There is one spicy scene, but it was well needed because you could cut their sexual tension with a knife!
It also talks about how hard it is to get your life back on track when you lose a loved one in the military, like with Beckett, how losing his best friend affected not only him, but also how it affected Ella and the twins.
Let me know down below if you have read this book and what your thoughts are! Also, I did find out they are turning this book into a movie and I honestly can’t wait! Hopefully, they won’t screw it up, but I know I’ll be crying for sure at the end!
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