Series: Blue Collar Romance, #6
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: October 8th, 2021
Add to Goodreads | Amazon.in (Available on KU)
When bad boy Dylan Turner walked out of Penelope Spark’s life six years ago, she was convinced she’d never see him again. Now a single mom to her daughter, Tabitha, and the owner of a small candle shop, Penelope looks forward to a stable life without heartbreak.
That was before Dylan Turner showed up in Oak Bend like a relic from the past. Even worse? He’s rented the apartment next-door. A few years older and more mature but still with a bad boy edge, Dylan is a firefighter just trying to figure out what he wants in life. Could that be his first love, Penelope?
But there is one minor problem. Penelope has a secret that’s six years in the making. One that might destroy their relationship for good. If they’re meant to be together, they’ll need to learn to trust each other again. Can they overcome past heartbreak for a second chance at forever?
Welcome to Oak Bend where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder, especially when it comes to landing their happily ever after.
Mila Nicks joins the Oak Bend gang with a single parent, second chance romance that made me feel the feels. I’ve always enjoyed reading Mila Nicks and this one was no exception. It was a quick, fun read filled with giggles thanks to an adorable little girl and a wonderful small town.
Penelope and Dylan are high school lovers. Their relationship spans years and even though they’ve been apart for almost six years, that love has never died. Penelope was always the good girl who followed rules and did well in school, while Dylan was the bad boy getting into trouble and growing up with absent parents. Their relationship was strong enough to make all of that work, to make it everything it’s meant to be. But when one road trip with fake IDs goes wrong, Penelope and Dylan are pulled apart. And instead of hanging around and making life more complicated for Penelope, Dylan enlists in the Air Force and leaves Oak Bend and Penelope behind.
I liked Penelope a lot and her relationship with her daughter, Tabitha, was absolutely precious. That little girl was the star of this book, no doubt about it. As a new business owner with her candle shop, Pen works tirelessly to contribute to the town of Oak Bend, while also doing what she loves. She’s got her best friend, she’s well known and liked in town and she’s also a fantastic mother. Dylan was great! Even though he was painted as a bad boy by the town as a teenager, I think that was a mistake. He’s just lost and looking for someone and something to ground him. And as an adult, when he returns to Oak Bend, he’s even better. His tattoo sleeve and his firefighter job all feed into the hot bad boy vibe, but Dylan is actually an amazing guy.
I was a little disappointed that the big secret was revealed pretty early on in the story. Reading the blurb, I expected that to be a big point of conflict. While they do clash and fight about their past and how all that time has damaged their relationship, I do wish we got more of their childhood and the original relationship they shared.
All said and done, When You Were Mine is a good addition to the Blue Collar Romance series and it made me happy to read another Mila Nicks book again!
Thanks to Mila Nicks and Indie Pen PR for generously providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
anna reads here 