A clean, sweet contemporary romance with the small-town vibes I absolutely adore. It was a slow burn story as both the main characters were relatively shy with each other and a little lacking in self confidence. I did find them charming and relatable. An easy read for a rainy afternoon.
3.5 stars rated up.

"More Than We Bargained For" by Fiona West was a funny, sweet, and heartwarming story that featured endearing characters and an engaging plot. It's the fourth book in the Timber Falls series, but reads as a complete standalone.

The path to happiness was not exactly straightforward for main characters Sawyer Deveraux and Starla Moore, but I found it very easy to root for them to overcome all of the challenges standing in their way. Single mom Starla was fresh off a divorce and doing her best just to keep it all together for her kids, Aiden and Emily. I felt terrible for her because she so often felt ashamed of herself and her choices. Starla was a good mom and a kind, caring person who consistently put others before herself, but living in a small town meant that even her smallest mistakes were often magnified by the vicious cycle of gossip. As for Sawyer, his whole life changed drastically when he was diagnosed with a chronic illness, and he was fighting to hold on to his independence after losing so much else. As it turned out, Starla and Sawyer were able to help each other, and I loved how they came to care for and support each other.

Overall, I adored "More Than We Bargained For" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I will absolutely be checking out more books in this series.

*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a new author for me and I will say that I enjoyed this book. This one brings us Starla, a single recently divorced single mother. She has just gotten a new job as a librarian (my dream job) and she's struggling a bit to fit her footing. We also meet Sawyer who lives as a recluse because of his chronic illness.

Sawyer needs someone to drive him around and Starla needs to get out of her friend's apartment which makes for a perfect arrangement. This is a very warm and easy book. There isn't heavy sex scenes or anything of the sort. It is very heartwarming.

Having not read any of the other books I didn't have a hard time keeping up although I did feel like I could have gotten more from this one if had read them. Although it is a standalone. All in all this was the perfect read for a lazy, rainy day.

thank you netgalley for making sure i got to read this book early! it was so fun and sweet and i really love that!! i'm glad these characters exist.

Books, small towns, and romance...what more could one want in a cozy romance? In “More Than We Bargained For,” readers follow Starla Moore, recent divorcee, librarian, and mother of two, in her quest to find her own way post-divorce and maybe fall in love. With obstacles (both financial and social) popping up, Starla Moore finds a friend and confidant in Sawyer Devereaux. When Starla and her kids move into the cabin near his, sparks begin to fly.

This book was so cozy and sweet! I really enjoyed reading it. The banter between Starla and Sawyer had me laughing, and I loved how Starla’s kids were characters in their own right, not just props to Starla’s story. Sawyer had his own issues to work out, and the two main characters truly supported each other and didn’t rely solely on the other for happiness, which made for some very sweet moments. While this story is part of a series, I didn’t have to read the preceding three to understand it (though I definitely will have to check them out since I liked this one so much!).

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy romance, stories with busy-body neighbor interference, light reads, and happily ever afters.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

To start I would just like to say I love this cover! I love a good small town romance and this was pretty great. I would have liked a little bit more "smut" since this isn't a YA book. I don't usually like reading about characters with children since I find it harder to relate to the MC but I didn't mind much in this book. I loved Sawyer's interactions with the kids. I also didn't feel like I was missing anything by not reading the previous books. I definitely want to read them now though!

I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

Thank you so much for providing me this arc via Netgalley!

Starting this book was quite slow for me. It was a drag but it picked up in the middle. I liked the friendship and vulnerability between the hero and heroine. They were really cute. I like how hero wasn't portrayed as an ultimate man without his own flaws and it was beautiful to see him own his feelings.

Loved the lessons on divorce and moving on. I liked the character growth of the heroine. It was beautiful and the ending was cute.
Many times, I wished I could knock sense into the the heroine's parents, her son and even her ex's head. It took him too long to understand she had moved on from him. Such a gaslighter.

Starla is trying to keep it all together after finally leaving and divorcing her cheating husband, he may be great with the children but he can't keep to one woman. She finds it difficult to get to the library on time to open up and never manages to find out who is mysteriously leaving parcels of books at the door. Sawyer is a regular visitor reserving books but never asking Starla for recommendations. He has been harbouring a secret crush but his health issues mean he can never take it any further, however, its his health that suddenly pushes their lives together. Another warm yet down to earth visit to Timber Falls I really love this series.

Thank you so much to Tempest and Kite Publishing for providing me this arc via Netgalley! I loved everything about this - the cover, the title and the book itself. I have been craving a small town romance for a while, and this was perfect. I would have liked a little bit more of spice, but at the same time, I liked that the story wasn't overly sexual, as some romance novels. I don't even like children, but Starla's were absolutely adorable and reading about Sawyer's interactions with them absolutely melted my heart. The MS representation was a novelty as well, and appreciated, even if it was hard to read at times.
I'm also extremely interested in the other characters and would love to read about their stories!

It is a light romance set in a small village. The book is the 4th book of a series called Timber Falls but I feel it can still be read seperately. I loved the previous books a lot & this was the same. It took me a little time to get engrossed in the story initially but the latter half was better. The characters both old & new were great just like the previous books. It was an enjoyable & funny read.

Starla is divorcing her husband while pregnant with their third child. Sawyer is the town recluse with a crush on Starla. Romance happens. It's a fairly straightforward idea, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

The dialogue felt unnatural, and the pacing was a mess with the HEA just dragging on and on. Aside from that, there's a ridiculously convoluted book fairy element to the plot, and the ex-husband honestly made my skin crawl at times. Whether with disgust or murderous rage, I still can't be 100% sure.

While I enjoyed the setting and the overall experience of this book, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and that went to the point of really annoying me.
It’s a new to me author and the story is okish for me but not a favourite or memorable one.

Thank you Net Galley and Tempest and Kite Publishing for this arc.

A sweet, clean contemporary romance taking place in a small town. A slow burn story as both the main characters were a little shy with each other and a little lacking in self confidence. I still found them charming and relatable. An easy read for a rainy afternoon.
3.5 stars rated up.

I haven’t read the previous 3 books in the series, but this was such a cute read!! I love how the relationship between Starla and Sawyer begins. This is a perfect story about two people who happen to find each other, and work well together! This was a nice change to the usual dramatic and unrealistic romances I read.

I found this book really sweet and wanted to like it more than I did. Starla and Sawyer were lovely main characters you couldn't help but root for, but their attraction felt a bit forced and unnatural. I read this without reading the first 3 Timber Falls books, so perhaps that was my disconnect.

I LOVED this book! It was actually the first one in this series I read and I immediately went and purchased the rest! The story line, the main and side characters! It just checked so many boxes for me! Definitely add this to your TBR

I would like to thank Fiona West and NetGalley for an advanced copy of More Than We Bargained For in exchange for an honest review. Ladies and Gentleman, Fiona West has done it again! I have become such as fan of the Timber Falls community that she has created. Starla and Sawyer’s love story may be my favorite one thus far. Starla is recently divorced, a mom, and pregnant with her ex husbands second child. Sawyer has MS that continues to escalate. Even with their own separate issues, they fit together so perfectly and each page I found myself loving their relationship more and more. I can’t wait to purchase this installment and add it to my collection!

4 out of 5 stars for More Than We Bargained For by Fiona West.

I loved the fact Starla was so independent and willing to start over, even if it was a pain in the butt. What I wanted to see more of was her fortitude when moving to Arizona. Less tell, more show, basically.

Also the discussions with Aiden were difficult because we weren't shown their resolution in any real manner. Clearly he had issues but it was ignored, it felt like, to push the romance at times. Because, for me, that was a major part of the family dynamic that Sawyer walked into. Aiden went through a lot in nine months and didn't really get any good closure before the next stage.

I think Sawyer was a great addition to the story line and it was nice to see positive disability representation as well. I just wanted to see more of his time outside the romance, I wanted to see him more at his new job, how it affected his moods more. Successes and failures. As someone without MS, but with a physical disability, that matters. More conversations as he integrated into Starla's family would have helped, too, I think.

For the romance, sometimes it felt a little too rushed. Pushing nine months into a small space with a lot of story lines made it slightly difficult to cheer for them as a couple. I wanted to watch their build up more as they went from friends to lovers to partners.

That's not to say I didn't like the book. Book fairy was genius, especially as Timber Falls seems to be a smaller place and every little bit helps. I found that really sweet and helped the community build a kind of network of taking care of each other. I also really, really enjoyed the friendships among the women. When Starla's family showed out, the friends stepped up. Or when Starla did the scene at the library, Ainsley stepped in.

The town reminded me a bit of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. And Sawyer's Atlanta references and mountain areas worked, too. It felt like a small town without being cloying.

Solid 4 out of 5 rating. Review will be available at link below on 1/15/2021.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so sweet! When I first read the synopsis, I thought that maybe it wouldn't be my jam, since I usually only read YAs, but I decided to give it a try and I didn't regret it!

Starla Moore is a single mom and recently divorced. She is temporarily staying with her friend but is looking for a new place to stay since her friend Ainsley is moving out. She works at a library and is usually late for work due to single-handedly handling her two kids - Emily and Aiden.

It's such a good romantic comedy, with a lot of countryside vibes and the chemistry between Sawyer and Starla was really beautifully written. I especially loved their talks about books and all the SW references.

This story made me feel warm inside and it's a perfect read for a rainy day.

Super cute story!

First time I read the author, but I'm now looking forward to reading the rest of the the series. This is a standalone and I was able to pick it up without problems.

When the story starts, Starla is going through a divorce from a man who's never respected her. They have custody of the kids and she's staying with a friend but it's not ideal.

Sawyer has been coming to the library where she works and sending her books anonymously. When his health problems become worse and he can't drive for a while, he strikes a bargain with Starla: her driving in exchange for free housing.

This was an adorable story with real characters facing serious problems and changes in life. It's a clean romance, well written, and engaging.

I'll be looking to read the rest of the series.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.