From NYT bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan, continues a brand new series where second chances don’t come often, and overcoming an unexpected loss means breaking everything you knew.Harmony Wynham has been many things in her life: daughter, friend, student, lover, wife…and now, widow. Getting past those labels and finding who she could be without them was the hardest thing she’s ever done.Then … done.
Then she became friends with Brendon.
Every time she looks at him, she sees a past, she sees a present, and she’s afraid if she looks too hard, she’ll see a future.
Brendon Connolly has known Harmony since before she got married. Before she lost everything. He didn’t know that one day she wouldn’t be just his friend but the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Only he don’t think that can happen.
Not when every time she looks at him, she sees what she lost, and he can only see what he can’t overcome.
He loves her, even though he shouldn’t. Somehow, they need to find a balance.
Because if they don’t, walking away will be the hardest thing she’s ever done—even if it’s the only thing he should do.
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This was definitely filled with emotions. Two people connected by the lose of someone they loved and shared, a best friend and a husband. They were always friends, but they start feeling more, and maybe get just a little scared by that. But feelings prevail, and in the end the heart wins
Harmony has had a rough go of it the last few years first with the accidental death of her husband, Moyer, and then with the suicide of one of her best friends, Allison, a few months earlier, it’s time for things to start going her way, don’t you think! Well, I for one do and I couldn’t be happier with the person that helps her move on to happier times.
Brendon had a rough childhood but was adopted into a wonderful family with Jack and Rose as his loving parents, even though he was always ready for the worst to happen and he’d have to go back to living on the streets. Thankfully that never happened and now he is co-owners of the Connolly Brewery which was left to him and his brothers after Jack’s passing.
This is a friends-to-lovers story but it is much more than that, it is a story about moving on after the loss of a spouse. I have to say that not only did Carrie Ann Ryan do a fantastic job with this story you can tell she put her whole heart into it. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for her to write it especially after loosing her husband last year. My heart breaks just thinking about it. This story will pull at your heart strings with each journal entry and the way Harmony and Brendon both navigate their way around this new relationship that is forming between them. You may shed a few tears but I wouldn’t consider this a tearjerker.&
I listened to the audiobook version of this book which was released before the eBook and let me suggest if you are able to listen to it grab a copy from Amazon or Audible because the narrators, Maxine Mitchell and Joe Arden, did an amazing job with bringing this story to life.
Shouldn’t Have You is the second book in the Fractured Connections Series and although each of the books can be read as a standalone I would highly suggest you read them in order because each of the these books have all the same key players in them it’s just the stars of the books that are different.
Happy Reading!!!
This is a tender, heartfelt book dealing with loss, friendship and love. Through Harmony and Brendon we glimpse the pain of losing a lived one, a husband and a friend, and share some of the grieving process. Written with openness and honesty it chronicles the awakening of a new love and creates a realistic time frame for the acknowledgement that life can bring more.
I loved this book. Carrie Ann writes from the heart, never spilling into sentimentality, but exposing some of the ache that any loss brings to our lives. Congratulations Carrie Ann. A beautiful read.
Harmony’s world has been shattered by the death of her husband. She has grieved, been numb and is just starting to consider living her life again. She reconnects with an old friend, Brendon, when he comes in to the restaurant after her terrible first date post Moyer’s death. Brendon had been Moyer’s friend and business partner as well as witnessing his death. Harmony and Brendon just didn’t know how to be friends after that. Brendon suddenly sees Harmony in a different way now that she is single. Harmony turns to his friendship more and more often. Can they get past their shared love for Moyer in order to build a future?
Shouldn’t Have You is like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Two people who’s lives have been changed forever learn to live again. Carrie Ann takes you on an emotional journey reliving Moyer’s death through both Harmony and Brendon’s eyes. I love her style and that this story could pull me in from the beginning and keep me holding on until the last page. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Shouldn’t Have You by Carrie Ann Ryan is book Two in the Fractured Connections Series. This is the story of Harmony Wynham and Brendon Connolly. I haven’t yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book.
Harmony and Brendon were friends before Harmony married Moyer. Three actually become very close and Brendon considered Moyer a great friend also. But then Moyer was killed in a tragic accident that Brendon feels some guilt over. Harmony has been trying to deal with her husband’s death and having to start a new life without him. Brendon and Harmony somewhat feel away from their close friendship but have started to get back what they had and more. Now that Harmony is trying to move on into the dating world as Moyer would have wanted she is finding it a disaster. Brendon was close to Harmony but after their short time apart starts to feel a stronger love for her then every before.
This was a really good friends to lovers romance both dealing with some drama from their past and how the death of Moyer affected them.
This book is amazing
Yes it’s emotional -but lately I’m crying at stupid adverts so don’t take that into account.
It’s beautifully written and so extremely sensitively written (wouldn’t have expected anything less from Carrie Ann Ryan) that it was such an amazing read and I enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
Of course I cried…..see the first point I made – but I didn’t cry as much as the first book in this series.
Yes this book does tackle subjects that are not all sparkles and kittens – but it isn’t dark or depressing -in fact i found it uplifting and so comforting and a truly heartwarming read.
I think Dillon is truly amazing and the men need to wise up and heed the kids advice cos he knows so much more than they do.
Harmony and Brendon, through this beautifully written story, have to navigate who they were with who they are. The road to learning to open your heart again is never easy. When you have a friendship with someone like Brendon, who makes you happy and you’re okay being you, it is makes the journey to a HEA a little easier. The Connolly brothers are everything. However, throw in a little Dillion and the story is that much more enjoyable.
Shouldn’t Have You is a wonderful story from Carry Ann Ryan about two people trying to find their new path in life after suffering loss. This book has a raw emotion to it that you feel from both Harmony and Brendon during this journey while they are discovering and learning and understanding how life does go on. Be ready for the emotional ride that happens but in the best way that leads to healing.
This is the second book in the Fractured Connections series. Three friends Violet, Harmony, and Sienna are learning to live without their fourth, Alison, after her passing. At the same time the Connelly brothers Cameron, Brendon, and Aiden are learning to save a bar, be brothers again, and add a forth into the mix, all while grieving Alison’s loss and trying to help the girls keep going.
Harmony has already lost one love in her life, and is only just starting to try and date again but the dating pool seems very limited. Brendon was close friends with Harmony’s husband Moyer and feels like he could be stepping on toes with the feelings he has developed for her.
This was such a great book. The build up in the series has been so heartbreaking and real, but also very healing for the group. I love that Harmony & Brendon weren’t left for last. It’s such a touchy topic moving on to the next steps in life after losing a spouse, but also doing it with a friend makes the step easier and harder at the same time. I love that C.A.R doesn’t gloss over these hard touchy topics like some authors do by adding them in like side notes. The grief these six people share and have to learn to live with everyday IS the story.
As always the audio by Joe Arden & Maxine Mitchell was amazing and this series was the perfect series for the duel narration.
Labels. People label us, we label ourselves but what people don’t see is that our internal labels can shift and change.
Harmony and Brendon have so many intertwined internal and external labels. This is a complex friends to lovers story. Harmony and Brendon were friends as kids. Harmony and Moyer married. Moyer and Brendon worked together. Brendon watched Moyer die. Brendon and Harmony grieved together and throughout to book, we watch their friendship morph into something more.
This story has many deep themes and isn’t for the faint of heart but the friends and situations lend themselves to lightness and hilarity. I think this is one of those stories that will stay with me.
“I was holding the one woman I shouldn’t have, and yet she was the person I wanted, the one I loved.” ~ Brendon
I’m going to use Harmony’s least favorite word…I love the women of this series. They’re all so strong in their own ways and collectively hold each other up. I’m so preparing for Siennas story and I feel that’s going to be a hard one for some reason.
Sweet and angsty second chance romance. This is Brendon and Harmony’s story. Friends in the past and present but what will the future hold for these two? If they can get out of their own heads they could have it all. I really liked Harmony. There were times I wanted to put Brendon through a wall. All in all a very sweet read.
This is book #2 in the “Fractured Connections” series. It’s a friends-to-lovers book with such a beautiful story. It touched my heart in the best ways, with all the feels. Grief, Love, acceptance, healing, hope, friendship. You can feel the relationship building between Harmony and Brendon. Harmony is struggling with moving on after the death of her husband Moyer, who also happened to be Brendon’s best friend. Brendon is struggling with not being able to save Moyer as well as his traumatic childhood that still gives him nightmares. Brendon and Harmony have been friends far longer then either have know Moyer, yet they never had feeling other then friendship before. They are enjoying the friendship they share now and are afraid of the feelings that they are having for each other. Your heart will hurt for these two as they struggle to move past their losses and past horrors. Carrie Ann kept me riveted from sentence one. You will laugh. You will definitely cry, so keep a box of tissues handy. It was such an amazing emotional read. I loved watching these two get their HEA. I also enjoyed that we get to see characters from the previous book as well as the ones for future books. The bond between the Connolly brother’s and Harmony’s “sisters” is such a strong one that you feel can feel the bond between them all. This is for sure a must read.
I had a hard time with Shouldn’t Have You, not because it was bad, or poorly written, because it was just the opposite. It was good, and it was so realistic that I found myself having to put it down and step away for a while. I love my husband, and not in the he’s an asshole but I love him anyway kind of love. I love him like he is the very air that I breathe, so the reality that at any moment he could be taken away? I had to put the book down and step away.
Every single thought and emotion jumps off of the page at you, it is that well written. While tragic, Harmony and Brendon’s story was beautiful.
Shouldn’t Have You was emotionally charged, but worth every minute it took to read.
Shouldn’t Have You is the second book in The Fractured Connections series. Another emotional roller coaster, this time for Harmony and Brendon. I am loving this series.
Shouldn’t Have You is the second book in the Fractured Connections series and is a soul-stirring and impassioned read. Two people connected by not only a friendship but a tragic event. As an intensity of feelings stirs between these two, confusion reigns and anxieties increase. Brendon and Harmony will have you walking a fine line between sorrow and happiness as their past, present and future start to entangle. As these two discover that they are each other’s perfect melody it will take acceptance and inner strength to embrace their feelings. A story that at times is heart-rending, will take you on a powerful journey of an uplifting friendship that will evolve into a passionate love that will steal your heart.
This is a beautifully written story that touches on some hard topics but is full of love and hope. Brendon had a very rough start to life and though his life is good now he still has the scars. Harmony’s husband, Brendon’s best friend, was tragically killed in an accident two years ago, and Harmony is just starting to move on with her life. Can they be together as a couple? This is a touching story of finding love within a friendship. There is loss and tragedy but there is also love, friendships and most importantly hope.
This story is about love lost, friend lost & finding away through it all. Harmony & Brendan have been friends since they were children, but now everything has changed. Harmony lost her husband to an accident & Brendan saw it happen & could do nothing to stop it. Then their friend took her own life, this is their story of how they found their way through!
This story was emotional and healing at the same time. Brendon and Harmony had been through so much together and even more individually. Watching them figure it out and also getting pushed by the people who love them. The Connolly brothers are fun to watch interact and then with the addition of Dillon, he at times is full of gems that the guys are in awe of. This story was well put together and thoughtful. Loved it!!!
As always, Carrie Ann Ryan writes throwing a lot of emotion into every. Book she writes. While this one was hard for me to read for personal reasons, I still admired the way the book was written. The characters are strong and the action keeps you reading.