from goodreads:
One broken down elevator. A deal between "friends." A sweeping love that can no longer be denied. I've been cheated on three times, and I am done with men. So when my elevator breaks down on my way to a job interview that will finally get me out of the same office as my unfaithful ex, I refuse to think of the handsome stranger next to me as a possibility. Even though that triangle of skin where his tie should be makes me sweat. When Charles Sinclair seeks me out to return a hair bow I lost in my mad dash to my interview, he makes me an offer I can't refuse. No strings. No feelings. No pain. But as our little arrangement intensifies, we start relying on each other, confiding in one other. Our deal was supposed to be honest, stress-free fun. If I tell him how I feel, he'll end things. If I don't, I'll be lying to him. He was clear with me from the beginning, that between work and caring for his ailing mother, he doesn't have the time for something more. Yet he's proven to me time and time again that he'll show up for me. He'll listen when I need to talk. Hold me when I need touch. And not once has he lied to me. He's scared of love leaving him heartbroken. But what he doesn't seem to realize is that we're already in deep. Things We've Lost and Found is the first book in a five-book contemporary romance standalone series. Inside you'll find a steamy, friends-with-benefits love story packed with swoon, angst, and spice. HEA guaranteed!
Content warning: This story contains explicit sexual content, foul language, a parent with advanced dementia, and the sexual assault of a side character.
my review:
i was given this ARC in exchange for my honest review and let me tell you i LOVED things we’ve lost and found. i loved getting to know each character “individually” and what made them who they are/how they are before they jumped into a relationship or anything relationship wise.
i got annoyed with charlie that he just didn’t want to admit his feelings but it made the book better. it’s crazy to see how much he cared about women but also in a way didn’t until it finally hit him. everyone seen it before he did. he also had a lot going on in his own life that i understand why he didn’t want relationships and was the stand-offish guy that he was.
Annabel Hall is a great character. she has definitely been through the wringer but it set her up for success and i’m happy that she is FINALLY happy and secure. she’s a kick ass woman, confident, successful, and in charlie’s words sexy. i knew i didn’t like layla from the beginning, she gave me some type of vibes throughout the story and she did the ultimate betrayal. i’m glad bells found her girls group through it all.
overall, i really loved things we’ve lost and found. if school and finals weren’t in the way i definitely would have finished this book in one day. i loved the dual POV because i liked to see how each event that happened had an impact on the character and their own feelings. the suspense of them not being able to contact each other is what made me want to keep reading and of course charlie’s not so great history in annabel’s eyes. not knowing what was gonna happen next egged me on to keep going. i hate that it ended the way it did because i want to know more. i want to know if charlie’s fears of having a relationship actually affected the whole thing or if bells developed some type of trust issues or is it really a happy ending??? i love their relationship though, i love that it was casual until it wasn’t and they both knew it and only she accepted her fate until he knew he needed to as well. it was the perfect mix of everything, friendship, smut, rom-com and just how life generally gets in the way of things. great book and i’m sad that i have to wait for the next one!! good writing ms. ally williams 👏🏼
favorite quotes:
“that’s what life is about, finding people who give you life rather than take it away”
“if you don’t know your own worth, no one else will either”