Review: No One But You by Brenda Novak

Title: No One But You
Author: Brenda Novak
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 2017
RITA Category: Contemporary Romance - Long
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Okay, so you see that sweet-looking cover with the rain boots and the lavender and the cute font and the blurb from Debbie Macomber? Doesn't that make you think this will be a feel-good, small-town romance? Well. You're in for a bit of a surprise. I know I definitely was, because this book centers around spousal abuse, stalking, and a murder. I typically do not read summaries of books before I read them, so needless to say I was a little shocked when I started this one and the first chapter is describing the heroine going to an apparent murder house for a job interview so that she can support herself and finally escape her loveless marriage to a man who emotionally abuses her. No One But You is kind of like the most bananas Lifetime movie in book form but to be honest I enjoyed it and all of the out-of-control drama.

In No One But You, Sadie is doing everything she can to make a new life for her and her young son, Jayden, in an attempt to finally move on from a marriage to a man she no longer loves and whom she is growing to fear. The man in question is Sly (yes his name is really Sly), who is a local cop who abuses his power in order to keep Sadie under his thumb and convince the townspeople of Silver Springs that he's a stand-up guy. He does everything he can to assert his dominance over Sadie and shows almost no love to his son Jayden; in short, he's the literal worst. Meanwhile, Sadie is so desperate for her own money that she decides to apply for a job posted by the town Boo Radley, Dawson Reed, who like a year before was acquitted for the murder of his adoptive parents, who owned a farm in Silver Springs. Although innocent, the entire town thinks he's guilty anyway (fyi I hate all these townspeople) and everyone thinks Sadie is better off with her abusive ex (who they don't believe is abusive because enablers) than working for Dawson.

Warning: once you start reading you won't be able to stop if only to see how this bananas book ends

Except...Dawson is super hot! And he just wants to take care of his mentally disabled adoptive sister! And he actually likes Jayden! Unsure of who to believe, Sadie decides to have an open mind and get to know Dawson while helping him get his farm in working order and plans to help care for his sister once she can be released from the facility that cares for her. Novak does an excellent job getting the reader invested in these characters; all I wanted throughout this book was for Dawson and Sadie to get together, be happy, and for everyone else to just leave them alone. However, that wouldn't make for a very long novel, so there is quite a bit of intense drama, especially with the ex-husband. It was a pretty fun ride, but I did find some sections a little repetitive and had to stretch my suspension of disbelief for some parts of the plot, which is what prevented this read from being a solid four stars.

The preferred approach to reading this book.

Still, I really like Novak's writing and I like that the theme of this series seems to be recovering from past traumas and still being able to find a happy ending. So despite my jaw dropping for the majority of this book and the totally misleading cover, I will definitely be reading every single other book in the Silver Springs series ASAP. Recommended if you like complicated romances featuring imperfect leads and, let's face it, a bit of juicy melodrama.