Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove #1) by Catherine Cowles

 

Summary (from the publisher): He spent a lifetime trying to escape his dark past…but to save her, he’ll wade back into the shadows.

Braedyn Winslow never expected to return to Starlight Grove—the town that took everything from her. Not after her best friend, the one who’d sacrificed so much for her, vanished without a trace. But with a young son to raise and a past that won’t stay buried, Brae is back…and determined to uncover the truth.

She just didn’t count on the brooding, reclusive mountain man living next door.

Dex Archer is the stuff of local legend—silent, rugged, and surrounded by whispers of his and his brothers’ violent father. But Brae sees through the scowl and his parentage to the man beneath: fiercely loyal, unexpectedly kind…and just dangerous enough to protect her when someone starts warning her off her search.

The closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to stay away from Dex. And as things get more perilous, Brae realizes the only person she can rely on is the one man who swore never to trust again.

Only someone isn’t happy that Brae has been digging, and they’ll do anything to stop her. But Dex? He’ll do anything to save her, even slip back into the dark…

Review: This was my first Catherine Cowles novel, and it did not disappoint! This book starts off with a bang as we see Braedyn "Brae" Winslow on a hike with her best friend Nova in the first chapter, only to come home alone when her friend disappears on the trail. After nearly a year, her best friend is still missing and Brae will not give up, even when law enforcement has. She moves to Starlight Grove, the town where the disappearance occurs to be closer to the search, and quickly meets Dex Archer, a man with a past but also a skillset that could help her find Nova. 

Honestly, the love story in this was relatively average. If this had been a love story alone, it probably would have been a three-star book for me. I really love Dex and was intrigued by his profession and backstory, but they just get together very quickly with little hesitation or buildup. But the suspense elements ratcheted this up to four stars for me. By the end, I was so invested in finding out what exactly happened to Nova and how they found her. There was a lot of high-stakes tension in the final chapters of this and I was so hooked. I was so nervous for Brae's safety and felt her pain over what her friend suffered through. 

I really loved the Archer brothers and cannot wait to hear more of their stories in future books!! This is a group of brothers with a tragic past and as a reader we still don't know all that happened. I am particularly curious in getting to Orion's story, as he has not spoken since a traumatic event in the brothers' past and I find him extremely interesting. But despite everything I love how the brothers have turned their pain and past into good and how close they are. Their group text message exchanges were really fun to read. And I loved the playful relationship they have with their great-uncle Waylon that took them in and all the fun animals on his farm. 

I also loved Brae's son Owen, and the relationship Dex slowly develops with him. Brae also has a trained search dog named Yeti who is massive and affectionate, and she was honestly one of my favorite characters in this book. Brae is a strong single mother and I loved how much she loved her son and how she refuses to give up on her best friend who helped her raise her son. This was a great found family element to the book.  

I have to say, not loving the nicknames. Apparently, this is a Catherine Cowles trademark, but it was very cringe to me. Dex calls Brae Hellion and she calls him Buttercup and they even use these terms in front of others. Not my favorite element. 

I toggled back and forth between the eBook and the audio for this one. The audio was extremely well done with duet narration and a full cast, and I would have been happy to have listened to the whole book if time had allowed. 

Also, backstory, I applied for an advance copy of the second book in this series on a whim, never guessing I would be approved. I didn't even know it was book two! I didn't even know this was a romantic suspense series! But I was approved. And frantically went off to read book one. I am so glad I didn't skip reading this book first because while they are technically standalone in the sense that a different couple is the focus of each book, I think you lose a lot of context and history on the story if you skip this one. 

Stars: 4