ARC REVIEW Close To Home by Lily Everett

Book Five of the Sanctuary Island series. If you are just getting into it that's fine this can be read pretty easily as a standalone. It's a pretty emotional story without a bunch of angst, but the lack of communication between Tessa and Johnny just really made you want to strangle them at points. I mean really you've known and been married to each other for how many years and you never sat down and talked?! How do you know you love each other if you never really talked to each other! Thankfully that all gets fixed. Sanctuary Island is a quaint little island where everyone knows everyone else and all their business.

Tessa was raised in a commune but when she got sick and her father refused to let her get help she ran away. She found her way into Johnny's Mom's barn. Johnny took her in and married her so she could get on his health plan. Johnny just joined the military and promised the naive "Teri" they would just have a marriage of convenience. Over the years "Teri" fell in love with the man who made it his life's goal to save people, but after eight years of loving someone who didn't love her in return was too much. She left when he went undercover for the ATF and filed for divorce so she can start a new life a new life where she wasn't reliant on someone else or their obligation. When "Teri" moved to Sanctuary Island she back Tessa and feel in love with the town and the people.

Johnny has a lot of guilt to the point that everything in his life is dedicated to saving people to make up for the one he couldn't. Johnny fell in love with Teri almost immediately but at first she was so innocent he didn't feel right doing anything more than hugging and a peck on the cheek. But eight years have passed and he is so desperate for his wife to finally be his wife. But then he gets a Dear John letter and divorce papers. Johnny is determined to find her and convince her they need to stay with each other. Because of Johnny's childhood he doesn't feel like he has the capacity to love. He wants Tessa but he can't give her what she needs and that is to admit he loves her. Tessa has given up already and even though she promised him a month of therapy and getting to know each other she has no hope that it will work out.

Johnny practically placed Tessa on a pedestal in their marriage. She was something fragile that he had to protect and through the therapy they finally really talk to each other and learn things they never knew. The suspense bit at the end also helped Johnny realize that Tessa didn't need him to save her. There is also a side story that kind of gets in the way, it's nice but it's only there to build up the back story between the characters in the next book.

Overall, it was a nice read, kind of sweet good story. It did have a stretched out ending it seemed like it would never end.