Skip to main content

Review: Only Love (One and Only Book 3) by Melanie Harlow

Review of Only Love (One and Only Book 3) by Melanie Harlow



Stella hasn't had very much luck with men. Her boyfriend dumped her, on her birthday no less, and since then, she's been in a funk. Her sister wants her to have a fuck fling. Yep, a fuck fling. Um what? But Stella just may get her chance to have that very thing when their Grams cons Stella into going up to Grams' house to check on her health. Grams has her new, obviously lonely neighbor in mind for her Stella. Although Ryan is very quiet and doesn't interact much with Grams when he does odd jobs around her house, Grams can tell he just needs the touch of the right woman to bring him out of his shell. Stella is that woman, or so Gram thinks.


When compassionate, sweet therapist Stella meets grumpy, anti-social, unfeeling Ryan meets Stella at her Grams' house, it's not all sparks flying. Instead, it's Stella quietly admiring the former Marine and Ryan determinedly not engaging with her, even though in his mind he is appreciating her. But as they tumble into a casual thing, will Ryan open up to Stella as he realizes he'll never get enough of her? Or will his unfeeling heart keep Stella frozen out?


I loved Only Love. Melanie Harlow always delivers, but she really set the bar with Only Love. It's one of those quiet stories that steals its way into your heart and sticks around long after you're done reading. It's got all the feels, it's sexy, it's sweet, and heartwarming. I loved Ryan and Stella together, how she compassionately and in a non-judgmental way, set about getting Ryan to fall in love with her. Ryan isn't the character I thought he'd be, and that's a very good thing. I thought this would be one of those stories where he'd be so beastly in his PTSD, and she'd be the beauty who would drag him back to civilization. But it's not really that. For one, Ryan doesn't really have PTSD, he's just having trouble transitioning into civilian life, and he's numb. Stella isn't a bulldozer of a therapist - no, she's a calm, peaceful angel who gets Ryan in ways he wasn't expecting. I love that as sexy as this is, as they are, it's in a quieter, really sweet way. Kudos to Melanie for this thoughtful take on the veteran and the therapist.

ARC via Social Butterfly PR.


#bookreview #OnlyLove #OneAndOnlySeries #MelanieHarlow #contemporaryromance #formerMarine #therapist #SocialButterflyPR #ARC

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review Blitz: The Challenge by Penelope Ward

Title: The Challenge: A Single Dad Romance Author: Penelope Ward Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance Tropes: Single Dad, Second Chance, Forced Proximity Friends to Lovers, Small Town, Found Family Release Date: August 30, 2026 BLURB From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance… Nothing says welcome home like accidentally moving in with your first heartbreak…and his little girl. Coming back to my small Wyoming hometown was supposed to be temporary. I only planned to stay long enough to help my ailing mother and sort through the mess of my family’s old belongings. Instead, I somehow ended up living in Evan Ricci’s house. The single dad now owned a bunch of properties and one of them was the place I’d rented. He’d taken it off the market and moved in before I got there. I just never got the memo. Unfortunately, there was no other place in town available, so Evan let me stay. Evan—the guy my parents took in years a...

You TV series

Wow, hubby and I watched You on Lifetime last night. It was creepy and suspenseful. Hubby likened it to Dexter , and I have to agree. Penn Badgley was on point - creepy, stalkery, but fascinating. I didn't think too much of Elizabeth Lail's acting, but I'm not sure if it was just that her character was bland, or if it was truly bad acting. Can't wait for next week!

Review / Release Blitz: Because You're Mine by S.A. Clayton

NEW RELEASE Release Date: February 21 Buy Here Quinn can’t see a way out of this mess. Her uncle just passed away, leaving her his struggling pub and she’s fighting to keep her head above water. The only bright spot of her days is when Wes comes in. Wes, the boy that she had a crush on in high school and who just moved back to town. When Wes asks her out, she wonders if she can really handle a new relationship on top of everything else on her plate. Wes can’t stay away. He just got back to town and has been stopping by Quinn’s pub every night for a chance to see the feisty woman that he’s always had a crush on. When he sees how stressed she is, all he wants to do is help, but Quinn turns him down. When Wes goes behind her back to help, will Quinn be able to forgive him or will Wes lose the girl of his dreams? MY REVIEW Quinn doesn't know why her old high school crush, Wes, keeps hanging out at her bar every night, but she does know it's not because ...