He’s commitment phobic. She believes in happy endings. The twist of fate that binds them is a surprise they never saw coming in a bittersweet romance about instant family—and not-so-instant love.

A decade-old animosity is the only thing Liam Davies and Zoe Valentine have in common. Until their mutual best friends pass away and they’re appointed co-guardians of the trusting couple’s precocious toddler, Mira.

Liam is committed only to professional football. Relationship-wise, he’s even better at defense. Still wrestling with a tough childhood, he’s not cut out to be a father. Why his late best buddy believed in him, Liam has no idea.

An optimistic romantic, Zoe has always dreamed of a fairy-tale life. But even though Liam’s biceps make her dizzy and she can’t stop thinking about his lips on hers, he’s not exactly Prince Charming. With or without that brooding Brit, she is determined to make good on her friends’ last wish.

Forced into a predicament they never expected, Zoe and Liam are discovering things about each other that could scorch through boundaries, warm hearts, and change minds. And best of all, with their shared love for a pint-size surprise like Mira, they might just turn a house into a home.

So it has been a while since I have read an American, small town, enemies to lovers novel, and I had forgotten how much I loved them! As with any small town American novel, we’ve got an incredibly handsome, muscly, strong and silent type, as well as a beautiful woman looking for her fairytale ending. Throw in the tragic loss of their best friends, and these two enemies find themselves thrown together as they navigate a new world with their young god daughter.

Liam is the strong and silent type; a man that grapples with his past, and avoids relationships so that he doesn’t have to address his emotional issues. When he loses his best friend in a tragic accident, he shuts down as he discovers that he has been entrusted with the life of his young god daughter, Mira. The last thing he has ever wanted is to be a family man and he just cannot understand why Chris would trust him with something so important.

Zoe is an old school romantic – even her divorce hasn’t made her lose her belief in fairytale endings. When her best friend Amie dies, Zoe automatically moves her god daughter Mira in. She knows that her role in life now is to make sure that little girl get the best life that she can after the loss of her parents, and despite her own grief she throws herself into her new role. However things come crashing down when she finds out that Chris and Amie wanted her to share that responsibility with Liam – the man she has not been able to see eye to eye with for all the years she has known him.

There is nothing new or surprising with this novel – but sometimes what you need is a novel that gives you exactly what you expect. This is one of those novels! I loved the characters of both Zoe and Liam – wildly different but complementing each other in so many ways.

This is a great, easy read novel full of passion, with a great enemies to lovers storyline. I am more than happy to recommend this novel if you’re on the lookout for your next Sunday afternoon read!