What Caz Read

The Promises We Broke by Piper Wylde is the fourth book in the Willowbrook series and is a small town second chance romance.

Gage Farrington left town after choices he made when he was 17 left him feeling guilty and ashamed. He left behind brothers who were determined to find him and Billie, the girl who thought he was her future.

When a motorcycle accident forces Gage back to Willowbrook he can no longer outrun the past, especially when his physical therapist is the girl he left behind broken hearted.

This was the book in the Willowbrook series I’d been waiting to read! There’s been snippets of Gage throughout the previous books and I’d been curious about why he’s stayed away so long.

The Promises We Broke is definitely Gage’s redemption arc. He had childhood trauma combined with some bad decisions he’d made that left him feeling unworthy of love and after his accident his plan was to heal his broken bones and then take off again, until the idea of sticking around and being part of the family started to seem like a possibility.

One of the things I liked about this book is that there was no quick fix and it took time for Gage to really believe that he was loved and needed by his whole family. Every time he was told they wanted him to stay he’d listen and then his self-doubt would kick in and he’d think his family would be better off without him. It took Billie and his family to keep reinforcing how much he was wanted and to keep showing up for Gage before he eventually started to believe them and began showing up for them too.

I really loved Billie. After Gage broke her heart she was absolutely devastated but she put the pieces of her heart back together, as best she could with a piece missing, and she eventually found her place in Willowbrook with a job she enjoyed and a circle of friends.

I really do love a second chance romance, especially when there’s no outside conflict, just two people who learn to trust each other again and in the process heal the part of themselves that’s been holding on to trauma for far too long.

I also enjoyed the family moments with the extended Farrington family, Bullet—the best equine therapy horse there is—and Jasper making amends for his past behaviour and being welcomed into the family again. I cannot wait for the next book to find out what’s going on with Dex!

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Publisher: Tiny Plant Publishing
Format: eBook, 311 pages
ASIN: B0F2ZY5MKC

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Here’s the synopsis

He broke her heart once. Now fate is giving them a second chance—if she can learn to trust him again.

Gage Farrington has spent seven years running from the worst mistake of his life. The betrayal he never thought his family could forgive. When a motorcycle accident forces him back to Willowbrook, broken and ashamed, he never expected to face the woman whose heart he shattered when he disappeared without explanation. But Billie Schulster is now his physical therapist, and she’s the only one who can help him heal.

Billie thought she’d moved on from the boy who kissed her and confessed his feelings, only to drive away that very night and leave her with a broken heart. But seeing Gage again, vulnerable, hurting, and still carrying the guilt that drove him away, awakens feelings she thought she’d buried forever. Maintaining professional distance should be easy. So why does her heart race every time he’s near?

As he starts to work through his recovery, Gage recognises that the betrayals of his childhood may not have been his fault after all. So now that he has nothing to drive him away he’s faced with the realisation that he never should have left the one woman he’s ever loved behind.

Now, Gage is determined to win her back, but can Billie learn to trust the man who disappeared once and left her behind?