How long would you wait for the love of your life?The Asher Bailey who comes home to his quirky small town isn’t the same man who put a ring on Grace’s finger. He’s bigger, harder, haunted. Forced to give up Grace and everything else that was good in his life for a prison sentence he barely survived. Now that he’s home, he finds himself aggressively welcomed by his brothers and gleefully gossiped … brothers and gleefully gossiped about by his neighbors. He’d counted on both.
But he never expected to see Grace still wearing his ring.
Grace’s fairy tale didn’t end. It was interrupted. She’s spent the last seven years living her life while waiting for one man. Now that he’s back, she’s got her work cut out for her. He’s scarred and angry, and stubbornly convinced they can’t be together. She’s more than happy to educate him otherwise.
Every beer, every prank, every kiss brings him closer to where he’s always belonged. In her life. In her arms. In her heart.
Asher fears the darkness inside him can’t be contained. But Grace won’t give up on him without a fight.
Author’s note: A brooding, wounded hero and the woman who won’t give up on him. A pack of unruly, prank-loving brothers. A wild neighborhood rumor mill. Spectacular BFF banter. This is a love story about soulmates that delivers the heat and all the feels. The Bailey Brothers series is meant to be read in order and Fighting for Us concludes Grace and Asher’s happily ever after.
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“We were two halves of the same whole. Two souls meant to be connected to each other. Nothing was ever going to change that.” ~ Grace
An intense read that gives you all the feels. Asher is a broken man who is fighting his demons. Love how Grace gets him external into her life. Love all the characters and their antics.
ALL OF THE FEELINGS!!!!!!!! Grace and Ashers story is heartbreaking (just temporarily) and heartwarming. Their love is EVERYTHING. Grace is a bad ass, she is one strong woman (I love her!). Asher has been through so much and survived. He comes back a bit broken and scarred. But with Grace and his wild family he becomes who he’s meant to be!!
I love the whole Bailey family! Cannot wait fir the next book!
If you haven’t already read Protecting You STOP. DON’T READ THIS FIRST. You have to read Protecting You first to truly appreciate and understand Asher and Grace’s love story.
Claire told us after the first one that she had our backs and would make the cliffhanger worth it. She totally did that and more.
This book picks up in current time. Grace has continued living her life intertwined with the Bailey family and adding the Miles Family to her life. She still wears Asher’s ring and pretends not to notice the looks of pity she gets from other townsfolk. Her best friend Cara is a whirling dervish of fun and joy which keeps her busy. Gram Bailey continues to offer timely wisdom and the Bailey brothers keep her on her toes.
Asher still has a year left on his sentence and is doing what he has to do to survive and make it home. He’s built a future in his mind that includes Grace already being married to someone else and moving on with her life. Due to a twist of fate, Asher gets out early and is now adrift and doesn’t know what to do. He had a plan to prep for his release but getting out early ruins those plans. He is floored when he sees Grace again and realizes that she waited for him. Him, this broken human that can’t function in society safely.
Combined with feud pranks and shenanigans, the town of Tilikum is holding its breath to see what happens next. There’s also a mystery to solve aroundwhat happened to Eliza Bailey.
Asher and Grace have a long way to go to figure out what their happy ending looks like but they have so many people rooting for them.
This is the second chance romance you’ve been looking for. Super steamy, swoonworthy, funny, and one that will give you ALL THE FEELS. READ IT.
An emotional conclusion to Asher and Grace’s story! I was really glad I could jump into Fighting for Us right after finishing Protecting You.
Grace and Asher are both dealing with the fallout of Asher being sent to prison as well as his sudden return after the end of his sentence is commuted by the Governor. She has waited faithfully for him to return, and never took off the engagement ring he gave her. He broke up with her right before he went to prison and thinks she has probably moved on.
Their romance is heartbreaking at times, but also a testament to real love being able to withstand hardship and struggle. Grace was so strong and patient and understanding of Asher’s struggles after leaving prison. He definitely returned home a changed man, but one with a big heart who still loved Grace and his family.
This book is just as much about family as it is romance. Asher’s brothers Evan, Logan, Levi, and Gavin were amazing secondary characters here. I can’t wait to get to know them better in their own books. There was also a number of little hints of what’s to come and I am already impatiently waiting for book three!
Thank you to the author for providing an ARC for an honest review.
Fighting For Us is second chance stacked on second chance. It’s second chanc-eption and I am in love with it!
Following the events in Protecting You, we have a major time skip and our boy next door is finally coming home! It’s not the way he planned and it’s throwing him for a loop but with a steady family and his gritty resolve, Asher Bailey is headed in the right direction. But the one piece he’s missing to leaving the past behind is the woman he shared it with. Grace – the girl next door – has been moving forward while anchored to the past. She was waited and waited steadfastly, never giving up or admitting defeat. But now they both need to learn to live fully in the here and now!
Asher is just so stressed trying to reintegrate into normal life. His fears are all so real and the way they manifest themselves into how he perceives the world is so heartbreaking. And even though he’s free it’s a reminder that those years changed him and he’ll never be the boy he once was (which is ok, because the man he is now is pretty incredible). Grace, on the other hand, is just so steady. She has never doubted Asher and has been living at a brisk pace to keep building the life for them they always wanted. It isn’t that easy, but she is overflowing with understanding and acceptance – and at first I was a little frustrated but as the story went on, I realized how hard it is for her and felt her unwavering loyalty and faith was her biggest strength.
Grace and Asher get a second chance at love together, and integral to that is their second chance at each closing the door on history and figuring out what they want now, as new people free of the past. The way their individual development unfolds as they explore defining their new relationship just made their entire struggle feel so emotional and their character development feel so personal!
Protecting You was all sweetness – best friends to lovers with a whirlwind summer and youthful innocence. Fighting for Us shows off a different set of emotions – it’s handling emotional devastation, fighting against the hand the world has dealt you, and overcoming new insecurities. It is still sweet in it’s own way, but not because it is pure or innocent. It is sweet because in the end no matter what life throws at them or how much they change, their love is the one constant they can count on.
Oh my gosh! What a spectacular conclusion to Grace and Asher’s story. I’m so emotional after reading this book. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to hit Asher more times than I could count. I wanted to yell at him and tell him he was wrong about the life he had. And Grace was so, so strong. She stood by him until he finally made a decision that almost took his one true chance at happiness away. Years stood between these two, years of grief and heartache. Years of guilt and pain. Years of yearning for a life that one thought he could never have and the other thought she could just make fall in place. But love never gave up. Family never gave in and two people who were destined for each other before one fateful night almost ruined it all, just might find their destiny after all. This is a story of hope and healing. It’s a story of family and perseverance. It’s absolutely amazing!!
This book grabbed me by the heartstrings from the very beginning – and it didn’t let go until I read the last word.
I was expecting some angst, some drama, and some heartbreak. With Asher coming home from prison, I knew he wouldn’t be the same – and I knew Grace wouldn’t be the same, either. What I wasn’t expecting was the depth of the angst, the depth of the heartbreak, the extent of the drama. Asher and Grace go through so much more than a simple readjustment in this book, and it was so emotionally complex that I was a literal wreck at some points in this book.
I love Asher and Grace. I hate what they went through but love what they made of it. I love the Bailey brothers, I love Cara and Gram, I love the town…I just love everything about this series so far. I’m so ready for more. What a spectacular read.
4.5 Stars!
As soon as I finished reading Protecting You I couldn’t wait for the next book! I had to pick this one up right away and I loved how I was pulled back into this world so quickly. I had to find out what was going to happen next with these characters. I loved it!
This second installment in Grace and Asher’s journey wasn’t easy. It got me right in the chest and I felt every bit of it! I was so happy to be back in their minds and get more of their story. I loved how these characters made me feel so much and how their emotions became my own!
I so enjoyed what the other characters brought to the story as well!
With Protecting You and Fighting for Us, Ms.Kingsley has created a unique story filled with emotion! I can’t wait for the next Bailey Brothers book!
*I volunteered to read and review a copy of this book from the author*
This book. This Family. An undeniable connection. A love that will weather any storm and live forever!
But not only that every character plays such an important part in the story of Grace and Asher. Especially Gram she makes me miss my own. Her way of never sugar coating things yet always bringing comfort when it’s needed.
Ashers brother’s omg they are the best comic relief and the most loyal friends and watchdogs at the same time.
There is some much to say but I don’t want to reveal any spoilers. I can’t say enough good things you need to read this book!
Asher is in Prison and has a year to go. He is sitting in the library when he gets attacked by four inmates but is interrupted by guards who bring in to an office. He is told he has served his sentence and is being released. Asher is in shock as he sees his three brothers and gets into a car and goes home. Grace goes over to Gran’s house to see if she needs anything and sees a man and it’s Asher the love of her life. He says hello and asks her to leave not the homecoming she expected. Asher and Grace have been through so much and have baggage. Can love be big enough to keep them together? Great book and storyline. Love Asher and Grace Amazing Book.
What I can say is that you have to read these books! Fighting for Us picks up Asher and Grace’s story when Asher comes home from prison. He is a very changed man and Grace has to look deep to find pieces of the boy she grew up with and knew so intimately. She has changed, too, waiting for Asher. Everything she has done has been for their future. Now she will have to convince him that they have one and she will have to fight with everything she has.
This book gutted me. My heart broke for both of these two young lovers, for the future they had ripped from them, and all the lost years. The Bailey and Miles families were so supportive and also comical. The pranks were hilarious and made me laugh out loud after crying a chapter before. Cara was the best friend we all want-the ride or die friend! And Grams was as always the matriarch of the group and was not only the glue that kept them all anchored together, but also held everybody accountable.
The times Grace and Asher were together were fraught with memories and so sweet. the sexual tension was hot I needed a pot holder to continue reading! The squirrels had me laughing, the feud had me puzzled and the mystery had me intrigued. The chapters with Grace’s letters were such a nice touch, filling us in on the years they were apart. This book is everything! This is my favorite read from Claire and I am so excited for the rest of the Bailey Boys’ stories!! This is a PERFECTLY PERFECT FIVE STAR READ!!!
After reading the first book in this series I couldn’t wait for this book to come out and I have to say that Claire Kingsley totally made up for the ending of Protecting You. This book continued to follow Asher and Grace after he is released from prison. We got a story full of uncertainty and love and laughter. We also get to keep up to date on the Miles family. Such a good book!
I loved Fighting For Us – the second part of this two-part new series opener. For some reason, I didn’t react as emotionally to it as I did to Protecting You (I think that I was somehow more mentally prepared for this one). But, believe me, it has ALL.THE.FEELS.
This is the story of a woman too stubborn and too much in love with a man for him to tell her to stop loving him because he is too broken and not worthy of her love – or anyone else’s. Grace Miles refused to give up on the man who went to jail because he defended her from a brutal attack. Asher Bailey was a broken man, tested almost beyond endurance every day he was in jail. Having built walls in his mind and around his heart to protect himself, he was not mentally and emotionally ready for the day he would get out of jail – expecting Grace to have moved on with her life and built a family with someone else.
When Asher returned home after serving his sentence, so much has changed and yet some things remain the same. His Gramm is still the solid foundation of the family doling out words of wisdom and maintaining family traditions that have kept his four brothers a close knit bunch. But his absence was felt by them all and affected them in many ways – some very noticeable and others remaining to be revealed. One brother went from open and friendly to closed-off and reclusive. One twin seems to think he has to make everyone laugh no matter what while the other is filled with so much anger. The youngest is a huge flirt with a death-wish given his fearlessness and the reckless adventures he gets into.
The nicknames for the brothers are priceless!
As Grace was first introduced to us in The Miles Family series, I enjoyed seeing the puzzle pieces of the Miles/Bailey timeline come together. The visit they made to Salishan Cellars was wonderful – it brought the story full-circle and helped Grace’s half-siblings understand why she was willing to wait for him.
The town’s colorful and uniquely quirky residents become more familiar and we discover some of the roles they may play in future books in this series. There are sneaky squirrels, a cocktail drinking knitting club, an ongoing town feud, and a mystery that will play out as the series progresses. Also, Grace’s best friend, Cara, is introduced and I want an awesome friend like her!
There are ups and downs, make-up and break-ups (and more make-ups), some moments that make you fist-pump, moments that you laugh out loud and others that have you grabbing for tissues.
Claire, thank you for this “girthy” book. It was the perfect conclusion to Protecting You and carried the “hopeful ever after” theme through until the time came for hope to be replaced by reality. But, as Asher says, “Together, we were unbreakable.”
I am eagerly anticipating Evan’s story!
I knew I would love this book from the start. Claire writes amazing books and she did not disappoint with the start of this series. Asher and grace’s story is truly an incredible read.
Adored Asher and Grace’s story!
“I’d spent the last seven years thinking it was over. She’d spent those same years believing it wasn’t.”
My heart really went out to Asher as he adjusted back into normal life outside of prison. I felt for his struggles, his emotions, his doubts and his desire for Grace. She was ever patient, hopeful and devoted. These two were steadfast in their love, but I understood Asher’s feelings on the possibility of a future relationship between them.
“She was the moon to my ocean. I couldn’t escape her gravity.”
I loved this story. It had the classic Claire Kingsley hallmark of strong family bonds. I loved Grace and Asher as a couple, as well as the craziness that was the Bailey brothers and her bestie, Cara. I also enjoyed the little of mystery in the story. There was plenty of feel-good about this novel, as well as some angst, some laughs and whole lot of love. Adored it!
First of all I would just like to thank Claire for bringing Asher into this world and into my life. Without him I would not have lost so much sleep.
Fighting For Us is the conclusion to Protecting You, which introduces us to Asher and Grace. The duo grew up as best friends, drifted apart once they got older, and finally reconnected in their early twenties. Neither expected to develop romantic feelings for the other but once they got started.. boy did it take off. Wellllll that is until tragedy struck.
Now Asher is back in town but not quite ready to pick up where they left off. There is quite a bit of emotional turmoil that each character has to overcome which pushes the other away. Asher is hot AF so he’s definitely worth the wait in my opinion and it makes it that much sweeter that Grace never gave up.
This book was an emotional, all-consuming read that I honestly could not put down (hence the lack of sleep). The characters were all amazing. The town, in all its quirkiness, has history that is easy to learn about. You. An certainly feel the heartbreak with every page you turn. Loved this book y’all. And thank you again, Claire. Asher. That’s all I gotta say.
Fighting for Us is the second book in the Bailey Brothers series by Claire Kingsley. It is the conclusion of Grace and Asher’s story. I highly recommend reading Protecting You first in order to experience the beginning of their story. It’s so sweet!
It’s been seven years since Asher was sent to prison, and he severed ties with his fiancé Grace. Seven rough years that he spent fighting day in and day out, doing whatever was necessary to stay alive. Then with one year left to serve, he suddenly finds himself a free man with no time to prepare for what lie ahead. Now he is faced with learning to live again, seeing his brothers, his Gram, and Grace, the love of his life. The woman he let go in order to give her another shot at happiness. A chance to find someone else, get married and start a family. So when these two cross paths again, he is shocked to learn that she hasn’t moved on and still wears the ring he gave her.
Grace has waited seven long years for Asher to come home, and when he does, it’s not the reunion she had dreamed of. She knows it will time him some time to get reacclimated to life on the outside. But what she wasn’t expecting is for him to keep pushing her away. She is very strong and determined though. She pushes back, willing to fight because she knows deep down that he’s still the man that she fell in love with all those years ago. He is her soulmate, and she won’t let anything deter her from winning back his heart.
This book is packed full of feels. SO MANY FEELS. There are painful moments, sweet moments, humorous moments and steamy moments. I absolutely loved Asher and Grace’s journey to happily ever after. It wasn’t an easy one, but it was beautiful. I loved Gram’s words of wisdom that she dished out to help her family. I loved Cara, Grace’s loyal and selfless best friend. I also enjoyed getting to know Asher’s brothers and look forward to reading their books. In the end it was hinted as to whose story is next, and I can’t wait! Five stars and more for Asher, Grace and Fighting for Us!
There is no doubt in my mind that this is Claire Kingsley’s BEST work! Asher and Grace’s story consumed me. From beginning to end, I fell in love with this emotional, angst-filled story in which the two main characters had such an amazing connection, you could feel it jump off the pages. I love a good small-town family romance that has all the feels and THIS IS IT!
I fell hard for Asher and Grace in Protecting You, but we knew their troubles were far from over. Picking up this book, I was immediately immersed back in their world. My heart broke for Asher and Grace and the struggles they faced as Asher returned home. There were times I wanted to scream at him to get it together, but this story is so well written that I could completely understand why that just wasn’t possible in the beginning.
However, even with such a push and pull with so many struggles to overcome, I still found myself laughing and smiling several times throughout this book. The pranks and shenanigans that go on had me laughing, and I found myself falling even harder for all of the other Bailey brothers. Even when Asher was having such a hard time, his love for Grace was never in question, and he made me swoon more than a few times.
The real star of this book to me, however, was Grace. I absolutely love Grace. She is the perfect combination of sassy and sweet. She loves Asher with all that she has. She is strong and supportive, but she also lets herself fall apart from time to time. And while she stands by Asher and loves him so, so much, she still has a backbone. I loved her from beginning to end and can’t wait to see her pop up again in the rest of this series! This is some of Kingsley’s best writing, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series holds!
This book was incredible. I freaking loved Asher and Grace and the road they had to take to find their HEA.
Grace was such a strong willed girl, even when things looked dismal she just found the strength to persevere. The way she handled herself just spoke to me.
The way Asher was written, his paranoia, his rage and isolation at times was spot on to how a person can feel after coming out of prison. But, the one thing that remained constant was his love for Grace, even if he felt like he was no good for her, she never gave up.
Excellent start to what will be an amazing series, love all the Bailey’s, the mystery with Eliza and who ever ends up Cara better have the strength and patience of a saint.
On a side note: Grandma Bailey needs a recipe/cook book!!!