The Confidence of Wildflowers

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The love-story itself was... just no? There was no spark (hell, there wasn’t even a little microscopic twinge), no chemistry, and the whole plot was just a succession of embarrassing moments and equally embarrassing dialogues (and actually unspeakably embarrassing thoughts from our brilliant contradiction of a MC). And it was just so BORING. Gah.

I love Caleb and I hope that he will have his own book in the future because he is one of the sweetest human beings ever. also, i find it quite distasteful that salem is now pregnant at the end too. like seriously? one child dies and is now being replaced with another???? 😭😭😭😭 Btw the pain that I had to endure towards the end of this book was insane. THAT part was so unexpected and took me by complete surprise, I have still not recovered. There might be nothing sweeter or more emotional than this little girl talking to her brother’s grave. Thayer and Salem spend most of this book fixing what was broken and reconnecting. They never fell out of love. To me her marrying Caleb and spending years away from Thayer was in a way needed? She needed to grow up and have experiences that he so desperately wanted her to have and why he pushed her away. They both met each other again with a bigger understanding that their love was the ultimate one and they needed to never let go.Micalea Smeltzer’s writing style seamlessly navigates the highs and lows of the characters’ emotions, delivering a rollercoaster of feelings to the reader. At times somber, at others sweet and swoony, the chemistry between Salem and Thayer is portrayed with poetic precision. Their connection feels authentic and soul-deep, making it impossible not to be emotionally invested in their love story.

Now, before you read this review, refer to my review of the first book to understand this better: (if you haven't read the duet)

Series Reading Order

So much of this book didn’t need to be there and added nothing to the story. (Also a problem in book one but I was willing to let it go) But by the end I was just mad at myself for wasting my time. Also not to just keep going in on this book but given the amount of times she says in her inner monologue how much she loves Thayer(which was just read really odd, lots of telling and not showing in this one) by the end of the duet I couldn’t remember like a single thing that she does for him other than bring him cupcakes. That mans entire existence pretty much revolved around thinking of things he could do for her, which honestly got to be a little much anyway, like I don’t know if this man had a personality by the end of it outside of ‘must do random nice things for Salem’ There are so many more things (even worse ones) that I could mention, but I really don’t have the energy. Just spare yourself this.

Caleb stepped up to the plate because you NEVER TOLD THAYER. THAYER JUST LOST A CHILD. God this idiot you never planned on keeping seda a secret??? Really? I’m supposed to believe that when she thinks someone else is her dad? SHES never heard of Thayer? A heartbreakingly beautiful read. I cried so much towards the end.😭😭 Kudos to the author for being a heart breaker. the EXACT same thing happened in Malum: Part 1 by amo jones and it made me so angry i couldn't get over it, and then the same thing happened here.tropes: grumpy x sunshine, single dad, one bed + nightmare trope, age gap (13-14 years), employee x boss vibes bc she’s sometimes babysitting his son, cheating & small town. The beginning brings us six years after the end of the last book and Salem has returned to be with her dying mother. Thayer and Salem’s relationship started out as this professional neighbor relationship that grew into friendship and slowly turned into something more. It was unexpected and slow moving but their attraction was explosive and you felt it when they were close to each other. But with an age gap and Thayer being a newly divorced single dad, what does that mean for their future relationship? Will they finally give into Temptation? One thing to mention, Salem is in a relationship when she meets Thayer so I wasn’t a fan of the “love triangle” aspect but that is more of a personal choice.