Welcome friend! Get Lost with You is the second book in the series centred around the Keller siblings and their Get Lost Lodge in the small town of Smile. While the first book was about Beckett and Presley, this book follows the story of Beckett’s sister, Jillian, and her high school crush, Levi. Here are more details about the book, followed by my thoughts:
Sophie Sullivan | Goodreads | Rock Bottom Love #2
A second chance at love, small-town romance that’s all sweet with just a hint of heat from the “queen of sweet romance” (Falon Ballard) Sophie Sullivan.
Jillian Keller took the long route to her best life, but is now happily settled in her hometown of Smile, raising her little girl alone while helping her brother run Get Lost Lodge. A lover of structure and routine, she doesn’t need anything, or anyone, disrupting her carefully curated life.
After chasing and achieving his culinary dreams, Levi Bright realizes he’s still missing something. Something he can’t find in a big city. Returning home to Smile, he intends to build a different future for himself that includes mending fences with his dad, reconnecting with friends, and creating elevated comfort food for a town he loves.
When Levi and Jilly run into each other one day in Smile, once requited feelings that never had a chance to bloom as teens flare between them immediately. Jaded from her past, Jilly is cautious and convinced that she can handle being just friends, as the two have to work closely together to prepare for Get Lost’s official summer opening, spending time together, camping, laughing, kayaking, and reminiscing. But when her brother hires sweet, funny, ridiculously hot Levi as the new chef at the lodge, and she and Ollie are getting more attached, things are moving more quickly than she anticipated–and Jilly has been hurt before. If she wants to be head over heels in love, she’ll have to learn that the past doesn’t always repeat itself. Sometimes, it just leads you where you’re meant to be.
Get Lost with You – Book Review
A Second-Chance Romance
Jillian and Levi had feelings for each other when they were young but before something could come of them, Levi left town to pursue his dream of becoming a chef in the city. Jillian settled down with another man and had a child with him. Their marriage did not work out due to his actions and feeling betrayed, Jillian moved back to her hometown and family home with her daughter. In Get Lost with You, Jillia’s daughter, Ollie, is nine years old and her father has not attempted to have a relationship with her. Levi arrives back in town, looking to take care of his father who went through surgery recently and maybe even for a fresh start. Though the city life treated him well, he wants something simpler. He runs into Jillian and realizes they still have the makings of a great romance.
One of things I loved about this story was that Levi and Jilly’s chemistry has the innocence and first love from their teenage romance-that-could-not-be. They are shy at first but ready to jump in when they accept that their feelings are truly reciprocated. Levi was originally friends with Jillian’s brothers and that had stopped him from asking her out but now that they are older, this dynamic no longer plays a role. I liked contrasting what could have been when they were teens to how things turned out now. I also enjoyed seeing elements from those younger years such as passing notes integrated into their romance now in the 30s.
Small Town Feel
Smile is filled with loving people who are in everyone’s business. The beginning sets the stage really well. When Levi goes to Pete’s diner on his return, he finds a community poll of whether Beckett should propose to Presley. There are so many great characters that support Jillian and Levi in their unique ways. Through Levi, I got the tour of the town and how much it has changed in the decade or so that he has been away. I enjoyed the community activities in the book and how everyone helped each other’s businesses thrive and honor the hard work.
Challenges
Jillian works for her brother Grayson’s Get Lost Lodge and is the creative program director there. She brings business through unique avenues and organizes activities for the clients. When Levi renteres her life, it is a great time in her life. She has been prioritising her daughter all these years, never going on dates but it is hard to say no to Levi who she always had feelings for. Levi starts to help out at the Lodge too and he gets to meet Ollie. They hit off right away!
However, when things are so good and changing for the better, a few unexpected changes overwhelm Jillian and she starts to question her decisions. Does she want a life with Levi? What would happen if they don’t work out? What about Ollie? Would he want to stay in Smile?
Ollie is a wonderful kid and she makes the story cuter. At nine years of age, she is her own person, making friends, gossiping and repeating what her uncles say. She loves Levi and that he lets her help with cooking. She clearly disapproves when Jillian stops talking to Levi. I loved how she helped bring happiness to her parent’s life. I got the impression from the story that she had a role to play in bringing the couple together in the previous book of the series too.
Get Lost with You also has the perfect mix of challenges of adult life and parental expectations, that doesn’t really go away when we get older. Levi left on bad terms with his father and in the book, they continue to have their clashes. Jilly has come to rely on her parents for support. She lives with them and seeing them embark on another phase of their lives where they travel more and see her less is a difficult change for her. She may be 30 years old but in many ways she is still a kid in her heart. I like the familial conflicts in this book.
If you are looking for a sweet romance that holistically shows how a second chance romance grows between two people in the midst of family obligations and work, give this one a read! I look forward to returning to Get Lost Lodge in the future.
Pair this book with a song: That’s When by Taylor Swift & Keith Urban
Would you like to give it a read? Add it to your Goodreads shelf.
I was just finished it when I hosted Sophie Sullivan to talk about this book. Check out that interview,
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book for an honest review and for connecting me with the author.
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