cover image Maybe We Should

Maybe We Should

Melissa Foster. Montlake, $12.95 trade paper (316p) ISBN 978-1-5420-2766-3

Foster breaks hearts and mends them again with her emotionally charged, beautifully characterized second Silver Island romance (after Maybe We Will). Tattoo artist Cait Weatherby is thrilled to have recently discovered her two half-sisters, with whom she now co-runs a Silver Island bistro. Cait grew up with an abusive adoptive father and has since endured a string of bad romantic relationships, making it difficult for her to trust. So when she catches the eye of local boatbuilder Brant Remington, she rebuffs his flirtations. But when Cait, a nonswimmer, nearly drowns trying to save a small dog, Brant rescues them both—and insists on co-parenting the teeny dog he immediately dubs Scrappy. The pooch slowly draws Cait out of her well-fortified shell, but while Brant realizes he wants forever with Cait, Cait must come to terms with her past before she can look to the future. Brant is absolutely endearing (the wearing of a puppy sling charms every time), and Cait will amaze readers with her resilience, though the depictions of physical, emotional, and mental abuse could be triggering for some. This nimbly plotted, captivating romance will have readers cheering every bit of progress its central couple makes. (Nov.)