I really loved the first book in Marni Mann's Bar Harbor series, and was excited to get the next book from her. I will admit that when I found out it was about Rae though that I was a bit worried about how I would like it. She wasn't my favorite character in Pulled Beneath, and I was prepared to have to really work to like her in this one. But that didn't end up being the case at all. She really won me over, and it was good to see a different side to her. There was so much more beneath the surface with her that I never could have guessed, and I was glad that I gave this book a shot.Rae hasn't had an easy life. She has lost pretty much everyone and everything that she has ever cared about. With her best friend Brady off to rehab, she is evicted from the apartment they shared when she can no longer cover the rent by herself. Looking for any way to make money, she looks for a new job at a casino since she got fired from her last job working for her ex. While working at the casino, she runs into the boy who broke her heart years before. At first Rae wants nothing to do with him after he left her without saying goodbye years ago, but Hart is determined to win her over. When Rae needs help more than ever before, Hart will do whatever it takes to show her that he will be there for her. But can Rae move forward and get over her past? Will she allow Hart in again after he hurt her so long ago?
I really liked Hart. He was sweet and patient, and he was a really caring guy. He looked out for Rae and would do anything he could for her. He was a good guy that seemed really genuine, and he didn't seem to get caught up in what others though. All of that being said, I really didn't understand why he never just called and told Rae what had happened and why he left all those years ago. It just didn't make sense to me that this guy could be the same one that would do something like that. He was supposed to really love Rae then and now, but it just didn't make sense that he would leave her without a single word. Rae had been through so much. She was tough on the outside, but it was really just a facade. I liked getting to see what had forced her to become the person she was, even if it was ugly and horrible for her to have gone through everything that she did. It really explained so much of her behavior and why she did the things she did in the first book as well as this one. I loved how fiercely loyal she was though. Her friendship with Brady really made me change my opinion about Rae. She was such a great friend and would have done absolutely anything for Brady and his dad Shane. I loved her with Hart and I thought that they had amazing chemistry and a great romantic relationship, but her friendship with Brady was what really won me over.
Overall, I really thought that this was a great second installment. I knew once I started this one that I was going to enjoy it and that I was going to see Rae in a completely different light. I think that Marni Mann did an excellent job taking this character that the reader really didn't like in the first book, and then showed us all the reasons that Rae was able to redeem herself and become this heroine that you could root for. She deserved a happy ending after everything that she had been through, and I was glad that her journey played out the way it did. I will say that I love Brady, and I can't wait to get more of him. He is flawed and has made a ton of mistakes and bad choices, but I honestly can't wait to really get to know him better. I look forward to reading more from Marni Mann in the future and will be anxiously waiting for more in this series.
**ARC Provided by The Novel Tease**
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