Won't Back Down by Harper Jackson

Book Review

Won't Back Down is a gently thrilling brother's-best-friend romantic suspense. Harper Jackson creates this charming and idyllic small island town with interesting characters coupled with an intriguing underline plot that is sure to draw this series to a gratifying conclusion. Jackson's writing is clear and descriptive, transporting me to the charm of this community, her pacing helps to create the charm of this town and its people and then ramps up as the reader starts to unravel more of the threads to draw us to the ultimate conclusion. Jackson's characters are interesting and the reader can easily establish the friend/found family group that is going to hold this series together, and we become attached to each of them as we grow fond of this community and what might happen to it.

Won't Back Down centers around Willa and Sawyer. I found their friends to lovers, marriage of convenience romance to be on the gentler side. Their romance was soft, built from respect and trust, and smoothly settled into place. The focus of their story then became more driven from outside plot sources and helping to further establish their friend group and the over arching plot thread that is sure to drive this series. The spice/heat level of this novel is also on the lower end, so if you like a gentle romance that is less focused on physical elements of the chemistry building you are sure to enjoy.

This is the first novel I have read from Harper Jackson and I found it to be a really lovely introduction to her tone and style. This romantic suspense felt like a really good starter/introduction to the genre. It deals with some deep topics, but the way Jackson approached them felt really relatable and was not steeped in the overly dark side of things.

I would definitely recommend this novel as a great intro to a new author or a great way to explore this sub-genre of romance. I am looking forward to seeing this series grow and the Wayward Sons all finding their HEAs!

Thank you so much to Harper Jackson for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.