I was expecting a proposal on my birthday, and I got dumped instead.

How could I have been so clueless?

Grams knew exactly how to distract me.

The “cute boy next door” who’s been helping her with yard work clearly needs a little therapy. Who better to call than her newly single therapist granddaughter?

She even fakes dementia to get me to visit, and now that I’m here she’s doing everything in her power to throw us together.

Not that I’m complaining. Ryan is the sexiest man I’ve ever met–I mean the full package, from the chiseled jaw to the massive shoulders to the rippling abs. (And yes, his package is full, and he knows exactly how to deliver it.) He makes me want to get out of my head and follow my heart. He makes me want to take chances I never thought I’d take.

He also makes me want to take my clothes off. A lot.

But he’s moody and challenging–one minute he’s an open book, and the next he’s completely closed off. He holds me like he’ll never let go, but insists he wants to be alone.

Some wounds are so deep, only love can heal them.

How can I convince him to let me try?

Only Love (One and Only #3) by Melanie Harlow is a quiet novel about a tortured Marine that seems to be unable to forgive himself and a woman that seems to be able to help anyone except herself. 

It’s a story of two people navigating the difficult journey of finding love, forgiveness and self-worth.

Ryan blames himself for so many things that went wrong that he punishes himself in ways that he does not even notice anymore. The author created an interesting character that seems to be able to turn of any emotion like a light switch – or is it just an illusion?

Stella gets dumped on her birthday and she questions everything after that so no matter what happens she always suspects that there is something wrong with her – even when she is with Ryan she does not seem to be able to stop these questions when she is not automatically analyzing him. What guy wouldn’t love to be analyzed like that #sarcasm

And it’s also about GRAMS – Such a great character – actually to be precise some of my favorite comments are born in her chapters. In the true meaning of a romance novel I would love to believe that a good apple pie can cure anything – and if it can’t you go on to bigger weapons because like tea good food can solve a lot of problems.

This book is a quiet and really sweet romance without being sugary. It has lovable characters with well developed backgrounds and a solid plot. It was more quiet than I expected and I had no emotional outbursts during reading like I first expected considering the plot and also considering what some of the author books of this author did to me – but I liked what I found and I can recommend this story to lovers of sweet romances

Melanie Harlow is on my list of favorite authors for a reason