I thought I had it all. I lived in the perfect small town in Alabama. I married my high school sweetheart. We were expecting our first child together. Everything was falling into place. Until it wasn’t.Life gets complicated sometimes. You can be happily married one minute and divorced the next. You can become a single father to a newborn baby when that was never in your plans. You can fall for …
You can fall for your ex-wife’s best friend.
Yes, life gets complicated. Sometimes it takes something complicated to make everything else fall into place again.
Something Complicated is book one in the Dirty Southern Secrets series. It is a standalone, full-length novel. It contains adult content, adult language, and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers only.
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This is the first book in a new series from this talented author. Kaler is a single dad who has an unconditional love for his little girl. Jenna is a new teacher at the kindergarten, and was his ex’s best friend. New love finds a way in the most unusual of places. This is a beautifully written story which has engaging characters, and had me totally captivated throughout this addictive page turner. I look forward to reading more form this talented author, and recommend for all readers.
This one was very interesting . I absolutely loved this storyline. It was sweet lovable at times intense. Kaler is raising his little girl in his own. He has been since they find out she was a special child. One of his ex-wife’s best friends is his daughters teacher. But Kaler enjoys spending time with her. Will they be able to be happy or will their world coming crashing down when people find out the truth? I love Kaler and Jenna together. You can definitely see what is between them. Well written enjoyable storyline.
This story is even more complicated than it appears on the surface. It is great. Guy falls for his child’s teacher, who happens to be his ex-wife’s best friend. His ex-wife that deserted them and he has not allowed contact with because of it. His daughter is the light of his life and has some special needs since she has Down Syndrome. It really is a beautiful story to watch unfold, telling a much larger one and starting more.
Small Town living is hard enough, where everyone knows everyone and drama and gossip run rampant. If you want to know everyone’s business just attend church on Sunday to hear all the sinful whispers.
Unfortunately for Kaler Holt, he has always been a favorite topic of conversation. He married his middle school sweetheart, Brynn, at the tender age of 21 despite all the warnings that they wouldn’t last and they were rushing into things. They became pregnant shortly after with their daughter, Willow, and the rumors flowed he was only doing the honorable thing because she was already pregnant which wasn’t the case. Things only became harder for Kaler, when his wife let him to raise their child alone when she found out the picture perfect baby she had hoped for was born with down syndrome.
Being a single father and having the stresses that come with it was not an easy thing for Kaler . Even though he has a very hands on , supportive family willing to help in any way they can, he felt like he was doing it all alone.
Willow is now five years old and ready to start kindergarten which gives Kaler a slew of new concerns to worry about . Will she fit in? Will she be able to learn like the other children? Is he doing the right thing ?
Little does he know the new teacher is town is his ex wife’s best friend, Jenna Winston, who was a staple in their tight knit group of friends that also included his two younger brothers, Tauren and Kipton.
Their teacher- parent relationship takes more of a personal turn when they start spending more time together, trying to rekindle their past friendship, which quickly becomes something more. Something complicated.
How will their friends and family feel about their blossoming relationship? What will their small minded, nosey neighbors think of how close they are becoming and all the time they spend together? What will they think of Jenna dating her best friends ex husband and one of her students father?
Something complicated is an engaging read that is not only a sizzling and sweet secret romance but tackles real life problems as well.
I love how J L Leslie isn’t afraid to touch upon subjects other may see as taboo like postpartum depression and the challenges of parenting a child with special needs in a small town that is insensitive to thing’s they are unfamiliar with and intolerant to thing’s they can’t understand.
I love how far Kaler has come throughout the book, from being a young single dad who feels like a failure, to the overprotective and proud father he has become who loves Willow unconditionally.
Jenna coming into the picture was like a breath of fresh air, helping Kaler shed some of his resentment by making him come alive and feel like a man again.
She is exactly what he needs. She’s supportive of his decisions, protective of Willow and only has her best interests at heart, she is patient and understanding, but also easy going and laid-back.
“If something complicated is what it takes to make us happy, then we welcome the complication”.
That line explains it all! Jenna and Kaler have such a natural chemistry, that makes them the perfect fit! Even though they have a complicated past, they are meant to be together. She is the ying to his yang, the love of his life, and the person he was always meant to be with.
“Something Complicated” is a heartfelt, small town, single father romance that gives you all the feels! It was sexy and scandalous but also had a lot of depth to it with real characters that you either loved or hated but that all played an integral part to making this a must read !
I really liked the plot of this story. Single father raising his special needs daughter on his own, falls for his ex’s best friend, who also happens to be his daughter’s teacher. I liked the characters enough, but didn’t feel all that connected to them. The writing was decent, as well. But there was just something missing in Something Complicated for me. Would I reread? Probably not. Would I consider other books by JL Leslie? Yes. Something Complicated held my attention and I wanted to finish reading, but isn’t a book that wowwed me.
I don’t think that I’ve fallen for a book boyfriend in the prologue, but in Something Complicated I did just that. You learn right away what kind of man Kaler is so how could you not? A divorced single father, raising his daughter, and trying to do the best he can. Jenna comes back home and is the new kindergarten teacher in the small town’s elementary school. Jenna and Kaler grew up together. She is his ex-wife’s best friend. She was also Kaler’s friend. Can they be friend’s? This book was so good!!! Living in a small town with small minded people, nosey neighbors and gossipy church women. The story is so well written and the characters are so good! I think this is my favorite J.L. Leslie book yet!!!
Loved this book. It is. Amazing book to this new series of books. This is a very feeling book that will have you feeling like you are right their.
The three Holt brothers, Brynn and Jenna all hung out in high school. Brynn and Kaler got engaged right after high school, married at 21 and had a baby daughter, Willow. Willow had Down syndrome and Brynn left after three months. Five years later, Jenna returns with a degree in teaching and becomes Willow’s teacher. Kaler and her become fast friends once again hanging out and doing things together. Things become complicated when both seem to want more but too many issues prevent that from happening. Small town gossip, her job, and Brynn. So, she starts dating around! The two are miserable without one another! Then, when they actually do decide to try and have something in secret, the town goes crazy! The school principal and other parents target Willow, Brynn decides she wants custody of Willow, one of Kaler’s brothers helps her see Willow behind Kaler’s back, Jenna has another boyfriend who acts weird and a host of other problems arise! What is going on with everyone? Why has everything seem to have gone crazy? Kaler is contemplating taking a job in another town…will he? So many problems but only one really matters…will Jenny and Kaler finally admit they love one another and be together? This is a small town sweet steamy romance between friends. The author did a great job expounding the issues that arise with a child with special needs and how prejudice can make things difficult for the child and parents. This was a really fast paced read I did not want to end! I loved the story, the characters and the backdrop! I cannot wait to read the next Holt brother’s story! I received this book as a gift and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Kaler married his high school sweetheart, had a daughter named Willow and is now a single dad. Willow is starting kindergarten and her teacher will be his ex-wife’s best friend Jenna. The two have chemistry but it makes things so complicated. Will the couple be able to work it out? This is a beautiful story that I enjoyed and recommend.
I truly enjoyed reading this story. I had many emiotions reading this story. I thought it was well written and a good storyline.
When life sends you lemons you either crumble, cry and run, or make lemonade. Kaler was getting good at making lemonade. A daughter with Down Syndrome, a young wife that can’t handle it and the wonderful people in his small town with their small unforgiving minds. Dealing with small minds and small attitudes isn’t the easiest part of his day but he has moved on. When an old friend returns and things start to heat up, the small town tongues start waggling. Great story about forgiveness and moving on also about acceptance and understanding. I haven’t read much of this authors work but this one is passionate and sweet and has such a ring of truth with Willow and her Down Syndrome. Although it isn’t the focus the lack of compassion and understanding for her and her challenges is addressed. This author does a brilliant job of addressing so taboo issues and gives us a wonderful read at the same time. Great stuff.
This was a very beautiful story. Being my first book by this author I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really liked her writing style. The story was beautiful. It was about a fathers love for his daughter and not caring what people think. I really did love Kalers love for his daughter. It took center stage for me. I won’t go into details but it was a great book. I did dislike how he wouldn’t hear out his ex but at the same time I totally agreed with him. I can’t wait to see what this series brings with the other brothers. 4 stars #2OCCJD
I received and ARC in exchange for an honest review. What a great small town read. Definitely had a great storyline. My heart broke for Willow and Kaler and how people treated her throughout the book. I loved Jenna she was great. I also wanted to throttle Brynn in this book. I loved how Jenna and Kaler built a good friendship before things took off. Great read!!
Sweet southern small town romance with quite the complicated twist! This book certainly fits its title. As a small town girl myself I certainly get how the gossip mill works, but the town in this book even out my hometown to shame. And I once had the whole town knowing I was pregnant before the announcement because I’d left the windows open when I told my husband, so that’s saying something. Obviously reading this was a bit like being home again for me lol!
Jenna and Kaler both were exceptionally sweet both as a couple and as individuals. Kaler is a single father to an adorable little girl with Down’s syndrome that has him wrapped around her little finger. He’s so dedicated to being the best father and giving her every opportunity in life. Then there’s Jenna with a heart of gold, just as dedicated as Kaler is to being an amazing teacher.
These two have a past that ties them together and makes the chemistry that sizzles between them quite the big complication when it comes to their happiness, but through every hurdle they find a way to just grow closer.
Something Complicated is the first book in the new Dirty Southern Series by J.L. Leslie. This was absolutely an amazing small town, second chance romance. This book gave me all the feels, it was heartfelt, wonderfully written, and captured my attention and kept me fascinated and turning the pages. Kaler and Jenna have a wonderful connection and great chemistry. This story was heart warming, the characters are undeniably charming and relateable. Overall, this book was fantastic and I definitely recommend you read it for yourself.
The cover absolutely expresses the feel of this book, it’s simply beautiful! I immediately fell in love with the characters and empathized with the situation they found themselves in. This story is not at all what I originally expected, it is so much more. It leaves you with a lump in your throat and often a heavy heart, but it also fills your hear with so much happiness and pride and hope for humanity. The story has a lot of ‘real life’ struggles in it, which makes this so much more beautiful. I loved it!
This was a really enjoyable read and we loved it ! The title for this story really fits but, I think that this couple wasted a lot of time without each other because if they had just communicated with the other parties involved things may have been different and then maybe not but, in doing so they were creating a whole lot of other problems for them and a whole a lot of distrust..
One of the things we loved most about this couple’s story is that the challenges that a parent or parents can go through when their child is different and born with disabilities.Even though this is just a book of fiction I am quite sure a lot of parents have been in several similar situations depicted in this story and how small towns can be and just how cruel and mean people can be .Kaler and his daughter never deserved the towns scorn they were shown and its shame that their prejudices got in they way of what could have been a friendship filled with love and kindness. The story made us feel that it was all the more real and that you were living in the here and now.”We just loved that about this story !”
I fell in love with Kaler’s character right from the onset of the story as he was just an amazing parent and just loved his little girl with everything he had and not only that he put her needs first especially when he was making decisions that would effect their future and he was always thinking of her first and foremost. “Can you say heart melting?”
“We loved the sexy as sin single dad !”
Jenna the friend and school teacher we found to be totally awesome as she had this vibrant and amazing personality who tried to enjoy all life’s little gifts and she has this amazing connection with Kaler’s little girl Willow.”We loved Willow she was such a precious sweetheart that brought sunshine into all their lives.”
Kaler and Jenna’s chemistry was super hot and by the way they could keep their hands off each other just proved it . lol
We loved this sweet romance between Kaler and Jenna and the rocky road they had to travel and that it was filled with ton of scorn,and tons of town gossip and a whole lot of town drama.We have to say that they busy bodies made us laugh a time or to but, overall the story was emotional and heartfelt and we loved it from beginning to end. Second chances are possible and if your brave and persistent enough to go after what you want you might just attained the life you should have had all along…..”We are rooting for you Kaler!”
” a well crafted story ”
A recommended read to all !
I LOVE KALOR’S AND JENNA’S SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED LOVE…
In my opinion, with SOMETHING COMPLICATED, JL Leslie has given us a little different story from those we usually read,…. It’s a heartfelt story with lovable characters, (Kalor, Jenna and Willow, specifically) and characters we don’t like so much, and it’s about subjects we don’t usually get to explore in our books…important subjects, and I absolutely loved this book!!!! This book teaches compassion, tolerance and love for everyone…including anyone different from us…….
SOMETHING COMPLICATED tackles some big issues…. severe postpartum depression and Down Syndrome, to name two, while still retaining the humor….Truthfully, because I live in small town America, the small town humor, in SOMETHING COMPLICATED, is something I understood and appreciated…. and, I can honestly say, JL Leslies’s command of small town politics, small minds, rumors and gossip and life, in general, is spot on….One of my favorite examples is: Kaler says, “It’s church, Jenna. How bad can it be?” Jenna says “The same type of people inside are the same type of people who crucified Jesus.” I LOVED THAT!!!! It made me laugh, because I’ve always said I’m glad God will be the One to judge me, and not the people at church…..
SOMETHING COMPLICATED is the first book in JL Leslie’s Dirty Southern Secrets Series….And it looks like she has another good one…..
I really loved Something Complicated, and J.L. gave me so many things in this book I love…small town, single dad, second chance…I was in heaven!! I may have a little crush on Kaler, he is something special, and he’s such a good dad to sweet Willow his daughter with Brynn his now ex wife, and he’s reconnected with high school friend Jenna who is a teacher at the elementary school, and Willow’s teacher. They start hanging out again thinking they can just be friends, they are denying the chemistry that is between them cause they are so worried about being the “talk of the town”…until they can’t deny those feelings anymore, they start sneaking around, Jenna is best friends with Kaler’s ex and is worried about what her reaction will be, so she decides to say nothing. This book was so awesome, and recommending it is a no brainer!! I can’t wait for the next book in this series and see what J.L. does with it!!
There are so many things I loved about this book. I don’t know where to start. Okay I’ll start at what it’s about. This is the story of Jenna and Kaler. They grew up together in a small town as friends. But what really connects them is Brynn, Jenna’s best friend and Kaler’s high school sweetheart, ex wife and mother to his daughter Willow. Brynn is also the woman who left her family behind because being a mother to a child with down syndrome was too much. Jenna becomes Willow’s kindergarten teacher and Kaler and her reconnect. Kaler is an amazing single father. Hot single dad lovers get ready to swoon. He just wants his daughter to live a normal life. As if being a single father wasn’t hard enough, being a single father to child with special needs and dealing with the woman who was supposed to be the love of his life abandoning them makes it that much harder. Jenna is a breath of fresh air. She doesn’t treat Willow any different than the other children. She also knows how to really connect with her. No matter what the town say. This book really showed the ugly side of society to anyone that’s different. I was so glad Jenna was there to be beside Kaler and stand up for Willow’s right to be treated normal. That touched my heart so much. Jenna and Kaler try to deny the attraction to each other. They know the town will look down on them and Jenna doesn’t want to betray her best friend Brynn, who is now trying to be in Wllow’s life even though Kaler won’t let her since she abandoned them. The chemistry between them is too strong to ignore. Sometimes in life we need to do what makes us happy. Even if others disapprove. We also get Brynn’s story and get ready to full on hate her through the book but then understand her towards the end. This book had me feeling so many emotions. It’s a beautifully told story. I couldn’t put it down. And it’s just the first book in the series. I seriously can’t wait for more. This is a great story and get ready to fall head over heels for these characters.