Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother’s eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she’s sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she’s tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under. As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He’s always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau…until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath. When Hudson’s niece shows up on Allie’s doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson’s past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.
Tags
Variation: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This adult contemporary romance contains steamy romantic scenes and deals with mature themes including injury recovery, family secrets, and the emotional weight of past regrets.
What to know going in
This book has no graphic violence, steamy sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include pressure/perfectionism, injury/physical trauma, and abandonment (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers will connect with the emotional journey of a ballerina healing from injury who reconnects with her first love, now a Coast Guard rescue swimmer.