Review: "You're Still The One" by Erika Kelly

You're Still The One by Erika Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"You're Still the One" by Erika Kelly was a heartwarming second chance romance featuring endearing, well-developed characters and an engaging plot. It is the ninth book of Kelly's Calamity Falls series; several characters from earlier stories make return appearances in this one, but it still works as a standalone.

Seven years after leaving town and cutting off contact with her family because of an incident at her sister Lulu's rehearsal dinner, Stella Cavanaugh made the difficult decision to move home to Calamity Falls, Wyoming. As a fledgling wedding planner, Stella looked forward to learning from her new boss, Diane, and potentially taking over the business one day. Unfortunately, she arrived in Calamity to learn that Diane had been called out of town to care for her sick mother, leaving Stella on her own with the plans for several weddings, including her estranged sister Gigi's.

Meanwhile, Stella's former boyfriend, Griffin James, had become the temporary guardian for his friend Peyton's teenage son, Austin, while Peyton was deployed. Austin's strict maternal grandparents, the Pilsons, were displeased with Peyton's decision, so they were constantly hovering and trying to find reasons to remove Austin from Griffin's care. When Stella learned of the situation, particularly the terrible rumors the Pilsons were threatening to spread about Griffin, she couldn't help getting involved in an effort to ensure both Austin and Griffin's happiness.

Before I started reading this book, I was a bit worried that what I knew about Stella from her sisters' stories would make it difficult for me to like her. Now that I've learned her side of the story, however, not only did I like her, she ended up being my favorite of the Cavanaugh sisters. Even though some of her past decisions weren't the right ones, I completely understood why she made them. One of those decisions, an impulsive, misguided attempt to protect her sister Lulu, was what led to the end of Stella's relationship with Griffin. Their messy past was a lot to overcome, but Stella and Griffin never stopped loving each other, and their chemistry was as strong as ever when she returned to Calamity. In order for them to find their way back to each other, Stella needed to earn back Griffin's trust, while Griffin had to stop playing it safe and start living his life.

Overall, "You're Still the One" gave me all the feels and I loved it. I highly recommend this book for all contemporary romance fans and look forward to the next book in the series.

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

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