I picked this up because a bunch of us on Twitter were dumbfounded and kind of outraged that a Goodreads reviewer had downgraded the book because the HEA involved an adoption rather than a miracle pregnancy. Sharon Kendrick is a very good writer of categories, but often her books are kind of over the top for me (lots of Sheikhs and extremely alpha males, with concomitant dramatics between the hero and heroine). But this is a lovely, quietly emotional book.

Lexi and Xenon separated after Lexi's second miscarriage, and she has rebuilt her life and is living in a quiet Devon village making silver jewellery. Xenon shows up and basically blackmails her into reuniting as a couple for his sister's new baby's christening. I rolled my eyes at the setup because Lexi was being a classic martyr heroine, but the rest of that trope gets subverted a bit by the end. Her mixture of happiness and pain at sharing in christening is beautifully done, and the enduring bond between Xenon and her is believable. The way they resolved their issues felt authentic to me. The book reminded me of how a category can plumb some deep issues and emotions in a tight word count when the author knows what she's doing, and Kendrick does a masterful job. The epilogue is a bit clunky (lots of time and information are compressed), but that's OK, you believe in how they got there. ( )