BOOK REVIEW- WHEN THE STARS COME OUT by Laura Trentham

#WhenTheStarsComeOut #NetGalley

Cottonbloom. A beautiful, faraway place where a woman can escape her past—and find reason to stay forever in Laura Trentham's When the Stars Come Out. . .

Willa Brown never planned to stay in Cottonbloom. She was on the way to somewhere else when she landed there and found work at the Abbot brothers’ garage. . .and a sense of comfort and safety that she had never known. The same holds true for Jackson Abbott himself. With one glance in her direction, he can make Willa’s heart melt. But what begins as an unrequited crush turns into something far more powerful than Willa could have ever imagined. . .

Jackson’s most meaningful relationship has always been with his car—and he’s not afraid to admit it. Still, he can’t help but become emotionally entangled with his new star mechanic Willa, who is definitely hiding some dark secrets of her own beneath the hood. Jackson desperately wants Willa to trust him, and to seek protection in his arms. But even as the two slowly surrender to their shared attraction, the danger lurking in Willa’s past remains a stubborn obstacle. Can she open up enough to give them both a chance at having real and lasting love?   AMAZON 4 STARS

I liked this book although I will say at times it was kind of slow.  The thing that kept me going was that I did like the main characters.  And I wanted to see how things were going to work out for them.   See, I was optimistic that it would.

Willa had quite the interesting change of circumstances and you could almost feel the weight of her worries.  She went from being a pretty, wanting to be the center of attention girl to a woman working to be invisible.  She was a great mechanic and at times her spunkier side did show up.  I liked both of those facts.

It took awhile for Jackson to really see Willa but when he did it was intense for him.  He was going to do everything he could to keep her from running.  He wanted her to stay. 
Jackson's brothers added a good dimension to the story.  So did the fact that although most of them had each other's back, they also had pain in their childhood as well.  Jackson usual way of dealing with trouble or pain was by burying it or taking it out on his punching bag.  He was the quieter brother and in his own words said that he wasn't good with emotions or words.  Seems to me that he did okay once he pushed through his fear.  I liked that his vulnerability was shown as well.

The story wraps up in a way that satisfies so that is why I gave it 4 Stars on Amazon.  With the reservation of it could have had a bit of a faster pace.  The story is definitely character driven though. 

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion of it.