Eastern Lights by Brittainy Cherry

Contemporary Romance
Publication date: ​02/17/2021
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

Connor-Effin'-Roe. We met him in Southern Storms. I loved him then, and I REALLY love him now that I've read his story. I would've read an entire book about him going to work and doing his job every day, frankly. The fact that he was given a beautiful love story was just a bonus. Here's the scoop:  

Plot overview: Connor meets Aaliyah on Halloween night. They spend a lovely night together (no sex...just a great, romantic evening), not exchanging names, Serendipity style (the movie with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale). They run into each other years later when she's engaged to his business partner, who is scum. 

Trope bingo:  Cinnamon roll hero, slow burn romance, roommates   

I'll part with an ugly secret. I thought the movie Serendipity was awful. There. I've said it. Even though I adore John Cusack and think Kate Beckinsale is awesome, I just couldn't deal with a romance that had the main characters separated for 90% of the movie because they were too dumb to exchange names and contact info early on. Folks, if you meet a great man or woman, GET THEIR NAME and NUMBER RIGHT AWAY. Why leave it up to chance?? But in the case of this book, the setup worked for me. Connor and Aaliyah met when she was fresh off a breakup and vulnerable, so she wasn't in a relationship-y place. It made sense that they didn't make plans to date after their one perfect evening together. (Which, to be clear, did NOT involve sex) This book was pretty much what I wish Serendipity had been--lovely, heartwarming, super romantic, and sexy (eventually...it was a SLOW SLOW SLOW burn).   

Connor was almost perfect in every way. (More on the "almost" later) He was hard working, cared deeply about helping people, had a great relationship with his mom, treated women with respect, and fell ass-over-elbow in love with Aaliyah, but never rushed her into anything. He was a sweet, gooey cinnamon roll hero of the HIGHEST order, and I would gladly add him to my list of perfect book boyfriends.   

Aaliyah took a little longer for me to warm up to, frankly. She has some emotional issues and baggage which made her act like a bit of a doormat for her scummy fiancé. I understood why she was the way she was, and Aaliyah as a character was delightful...but I hate seeing heroines who don't stand up for themselves. And while Aaliyah came to realize her worth in the end, she never really got an opportunity to rip that scummy fiancé a new one like he so richly deserved, and that bugged me. *stern frowny face*

Aaliyah also keeps a secret from Connor longer than I would've like. And when he finds out that secret, he acts like a total jackass. But, given his past, I understood why he acted the way he did. It was a tough part of the book to read, though. I'd made it that far in thinking Connor was flawless. Seeing him screw up that bad made me sad. (Which is stupid because he's fictional, but that's how I felt. #SorryNotSorry)

But, that one nitpick aside, this book is everything I've come to expect from a Brittainy Cherry read: 
1. A lovely, emotional, angsty story
2. Drool-worthy hero
3. Fun banter between characters and TONS of sexual chemistry

If that sounds like your kind of read, pick this one up and be prepared to fall completely in love with Connor Roe.  Highly recommend.    

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one's clean and sober. ​ ​