Never Over by Clare Gilmore

Summary (from the publisher): A swoony second-chance romance where facing the one who broke your heart could be the thing that makes your dream come true.

Twenty-five-year-old Paige Lancaster is one contract away from earning a living doing her favorite thing in the world: writing songs. But when a music industry professional suggests she might be holding back with her lyrics to lessen the heartbreak of an old flame, Paige doubts if her music is ready to be heard.

In a rare, impulsive move, Paige contacts Liam Bishop after four years of no contact to ask him for a small favor: date her, and then re-break her heart, all so she can remember what those big, songworthy emotions felt like. And since Liam is the one who first set Paige on this career path, he hesitantly agrees.

Across three months of Liam’s summer work travel, the exes are forced to share hotel beds, rehash the past, and date in the present, all while navigating the building attraction between them they both swore was the one line of their agreement they wouldn’t cross.

But when it becomes near impossible not to act on their rippling chemistry, and as ever intensifying feelings blur the lines of what’s actually real and what’s driven by the music, Paige and Liam will both have to decide what’s more important: art for the sake of it, or love over everything.

Review: Paige is an aspiring songwriter who is struggling with her craft. After four years apart, she reaches out to her old flame Liam to see if time with him can ignite her creative flame. But their time together is creating sparks in more than just her song lyrics. 

It's not you, Never Over, it's me. I typically enjoy second chance romances, but I just could not connect to this story or the characters. I thought it was exceedingly far-fetched that an ex would agree to hang out with her to help kickstart her career. Obviously, they have unresolved feelings, but I could never really bring myself to care all that much.

I did like the song writing aspect of Paige trying to make it in Nashville, the way Liam is a baseball player, so this is almost a sports romance, and the flashbacks to give some background to these characters' history.

I do think I was probably just not in the mood for another romance. I also did not care for the narration style, that chose to give the characters over exaggerated twangy country accents. I listened to this to the very end but just never really enjoyed it. This felt fluffy without a lot of substance behind it. 

Stars: 2.5