Must Be Crazy by Deborah Garland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“At times she felt like the pesky last candle on a birthday cake that wouldn’t light because she didn’t have a man in her life.”

Must Be Crazy is the incredible third instalment in the Darling Cove Series by Deborah Garland. This story is every bit as wonderful as the previous two books, and surprisingly is now my favourite of the series, so far! Why do I say surprisingly? Well, because we have met these two characters in the previous books, and while I was curious about them, I wasn’t sure I would love Skye, or be able to fully connect with her, or the story. I knew Edward would be a shoo-in, but if I hated Skye, then that would make this reading experience quite difficult.
But, I needn’t have worried, and should have trusted Ms. Garland, as she’s never let me down before. Not only did she (and Skye) win me over- Edward and Skye have now became my favourite couple of the series! Yeah, I was surprised, that’s for sure!! But in a really great, “OMG! I love this book and you have to read it” kind of way!
The story is a touching contemporary romance with a second chances element that really tugged on my heart-strings. It’s romantic, sweet, tender, emotional, heartbreaking, and incredibly steamy story: with wonderful family dynamics (the Mallory’s and the Morgan’s), loyalty, longing, passion, drama, camaraderie, and love.
There are all the brilliant characters we’ve grown to love from the previous books, as well as one who I grew to hate with a passion. That’s one of the things that Ms. Garland does so well- she is able to get her reader to completely invest in her characters and their story, whilst also imbuing the story with so much emotion, which had me smiling, laughing, and sobbing all within the same chapter/s. I think I spent much of the final third of the book sobbing my heart out , struggling to read the story through all of my tears, reading as fast as my eyes would allow just so I could see what happens next.
Skye Mallory is Gwen (Book #1) and Greg’s (Book #2) sister. She’s an attorney who has her own office on main street and lives in the apartment above her office. She’s worked hard to get to where she is and is quite good at her job. But, now that both her siblings have found love, she knows that there is an expectation for her to do the same. Problem is, she’s still stinging from a bad, and quite embarrassing breakup, and isn’t interested in getting hurt again. Plus, there’s the matter of her long-held and devastating secret that she fears to expose. But when her office and apartment catch fire, She’s saved by the very hunky volunteer fire chief. The sparks fly between them and she can’t help wondering if things would be different with him.
Edward Mendelsohn is an architect, volunteer firefighter, single father, and all-round good guy. He hasn’t had a relationship since Julian’s mother walked out on them. Edward’s had his eye on Skye for quite some time, but things hadn’t gone his way when it came to asking her out. He also has Julian, his 7year-old son to consider- he’s Edwards number one priority. When he saves Skye from the fire, things quickly heat up between them and he start to imagine sharing his future with this gorgeous woman.
But a strange turn of events sees them in a legal conflict of interest, which brings their budding romance to a screeching halt. Then to make matters worse, the past comes back with devastating consequences for Edward. Can these two work out these various roadblocks and get their romance back on track? Or have they detoured too far off their path to ever find their way back? What happens when her ‘secret’ is revealed? What does the future hold for these two?
Well, Ms. Garland certainly put these two through the wringer and made them work hard for every ounce of happiness. There was one crisis after another that had me anxiously sitting on the edge of my seat and quite emotionally invested as I followed along. But I just ADORED how Ms. Garland brought everything together in the end!! I was a grinning, teary eyed idiot.
This story/series really deserves to be read and should be on everyone’s TBR list!
I am excited to see what “A Must For Christmas: A Darling Cove Novella” has in store for us and have already pre-ordered it!

Thank you, Ms. Garland!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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