Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Come Back Around
SERIES: Leaning N #4
AUTHOR: BA Tortuga
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 218 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019
BLURB:
Can two divorced dads get a second chance at a redneck wedding? When Reid Porter agrees to be his best friend’s man of honor, he never considers that his ex, Mateo, will be there too. Which is ridiculous, because Jennifer is marrying Mat’s brother. Reid would never let Jen down, though, so he finds himself at the Leaning N Ranch with his two daughters and a whole lot of baggage about seeing Mat again. Mat loves his baby brother and would do anything for him, including face the love of his life, whom he’s sure has moved on. When he and Reid come face-to-face after more than two years apart, they realize they’ve never let go. Now they have to do what they never could before—balance work, home, and children, while finding a way to come back around to each other’s love.
REVIEW:
I believe this may be part of a series. However, this can absolutely be read as a standalone. The first few pages might leave you a little confused as it’s a very personal, up close, snapshot at people who then become very much background characters. However, once you get past that, it is very focused on the MC’s.
The story is an all too familiar one. Two people break up through lack of communication. That same inability to communicate leads them, through fear, bitterness, loneliness etc, to positions they never wanted to be in, but unable to get out of. They’re fighting because they don’t know how to stop.
Reid and Mat are such endearing characters. They’re both lost in their own way and have made a lot of mistakes. The crucial thing here, and the one thing that is missing in a lot of breakups, is that they each acknowledge their own mistakes and that it takes two to break up a relationship. That is half the battle in making a new relationship, whether that is together as a family or as loving and supporting parents and friends.
I don’t think there is much by way of character development. Both Mat and Reid came to this knowing their own places and owning the mistakes they had made. The work had already been done and they were ready for the reconciliation. There was very little by way of resistance to the mending of their relationship.
The absolute stars of this story are the children Luce and Dani are precious and the author has their voices just right. The thing about children is that they are not always childish. Sometimes they are spookily astute and adult. There are beautiful, touching moments when one or both of the children behave in a sympathetic, almost adult way, and for the rest of the time they are beautifully childlike. These are two of the most well rounded child characters I have read in a long time.
The supporting cast are pleasant, doing their job of supporting the MC’s without stealing any thunder. None of them particularly stood out to me, but that’s not an issue at all. Even though they are well in the background, they all have their individual voices and create a clear enough picture of who they are.
The setting is lovely, with the ranch being almost too good to be true. I absolutely want to stay there. As weddings go it’s remarkably stress free and smooth and all the tension comes from the mending relationship and Reid’s mending foot.
There are so many sweet spots in this story that it’s hard to pick out a favourite, but I have to say the wedding at the end is one of the cutest things I’ve read for a good long while.
Overall this was a gentle, sweet book full of cute images and a lot less angst than the situation could have called for, which is not in any way a criticism. It’s a good holiday read, at home on the side of a pool. A good read for when you want to relax and smile.
RATING: 
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