Tumble (Dogwood Lane, #1)

by Adriana Locke

A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.

From USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke comes a witty romance about first love and second chances.

After being burned by her dream job in New York City, sports journalist Neely Kimber suddenly finds herself jobless and paying a long-overdue visit to her hometown in Tennessee. Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.

Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.

What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?

• ISBN10: 1503905144
• ISBN13: 9781503905146
• Publish Date: 26 February 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Montlake Romance
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 284
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

This is my first Adriana Locke book, and I will definitely be reading more of her work.

I very much enjoyed this book. One reason was that it was a second chance romance (my favorite!). Dane and Neely had been high school sweethearts, but broke up before Neely left for college. I was pretty surprised, when I got the full story behind their breakup. I totally understood why Neely was so hurt, but it was Dane, who brought tears to my eyes. I have never empathized with a hero as much I did with Dane. I also adored the interactions between Neely and Dane, Dane and his daughter, and Neely and Dane's daughter. That kid was precious, and I thought she really brought something special to the story.

Overall: A fun and heartwarming small town second chance romance, that put a smile on my face.

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[thebookdisciple]

Tumble is part small town romance and part second chance love story. At first, I was super curious about why Dane and Neely split. However, the most info was revealed, the more I was sure I was gonna be super pissed at Dane. Yeah, not happy with the decisions he made. Do I understand why a teenage boy would make the choices he did? Yes. Do I think it's okay? Hell no. What an idiot.

Neely is a female sports writer who just quit her job after being screwed over by a coworker. I could understand why she quit and how devastating it would have been for her. However, impulsively quitting your job is a bit immature for a woman her age (late 20's). But, she runs home to lick her wounds and finds out there were lots of things about Dogwood Lane she liked. She was a former champion gymnast and she got back into working at her old gym. I liked the small town aspect of the story-everyone is all in everyone else's business.

Dane's daughter, Mia, also adds a fun layer to the story. She is sweet and endearing and I loved that she and Neely had a sort of instant connection before either knew who the other was. Dane made mistakes in his past, but he has grown up in the years Neely has been gone and it was easier to forgive him. Neely fought forgiving him for a long time, and I understood why-they didn't talk after their explosive break up because Neely went off to college and then stayed gone. So, while we find out what happened to them and there is a lot of hurt and anger, they also have both matured and are different people now.

Tumble was a good start to this new series and I liked the supporting characters! I can't wait for their stories!

 

•   POV: dual 1st


•   Tears: no


•   Trope: second chance, small town


•   Triggers: (show spoiler)[Dane broke up with Neely because he wanted her to go off to college. Then, stupidly, shortly after breaking up with her, he had sex with her friend and knocked her up.] (hide spoiler)


•   Series/Standalone: stand alone


•   Cliffhanger: (show spoiler)[no] (hide spoiler)


•   HEA: (show spoiler)[yes] (hide spoiler)

...then you will probably like Tumble!

 

Tumble

 See full review on The Book Disciple

[Romance Schmomance]

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Adriana Locke is one of my go-to authors since I've fallen in love with her Gibson Boys series, so I was just over the moon when she was releasing a new small-town romance series, Dogwood Lane. Throw in one of my favorite tropes, second chance romance, I just knew that I had to get my hands on Tumble. OH, and single dad ;-)

Tumble turned out to be a light-hearted read and thankfully, no major drama. I was calling it a win. To me, this second chance turned out to go at a much realistic pace between Neely and Dane. And that actually made the story more enjoyable to me. I liked the fact that they didn't get back together as soon as Neely came back to town after being gone for so many years. Understandably might I add.

From the very beginning, it's evident that there's still something holding strong between the both of them. Neely is obviously extremely hesitant for any impending interaction she may have with Dane and would just love to ignore him at all costs. Dane; her high school sweetheart that completely shattered her heart. I was Team Neely all the way, but deep down wanted Dane to work his way back into her heart again.

I loved Neely so much, it's clear as day that she's still dealing with that major heartbreak she suffered from years ago. And it just makes me want to pull her in and hug her. But I admired her so damn much because of her determination to go after her dreams. She's someone that knows her worth and wouldn't settle for less.

Dane knows what a huge mistake he made back then, but having a beautiful daughter out of it is something that he'll never regret. Having Neely back in town, he wants nothing more than apologize and get a second chance with her.

I thoroughly enjoyed their story, it was rather emotional at times, but I loved the road they took towards love, again. They have so much to work through, to forgive, but it's all definitely a beautiful sight in the end. Such a solid contemporary romance read with characters you'll absolutely fall in love with!

So excited for this series and can't wait for the next one in the series!

Major thank you to Adriana Locke and Montlake Romance for the advance reader's copy!

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This review was originally posted on Romance Schmomance