All I wanted to do was run away, I never expected to crash into his arms…
After leaving the city life behind to escape my loveless marriage, I moved to small town Havenbarrow for a fresh start.
What I didn’t expect was to find myself drawn to the town’s black sheep.
They called him troubled. Cold. A man with a dark past.
What everyone seemed to miss about Jax was the splashes of light in … was the splashes of light in his eyes. The random acts of kindness he performed when no one was watching. The way he made me smile and laugh.
Jax helped unpack the baggage I’d been carrying around with me. He was patient with my pain and gentle with my scars. He was the stillness during my hurricane.
Yet when both of our pasts came back to haunt our present days, we realized quickly that sometimes love stories didn’t end the way we’d hoped.
Sometimes you were left with only the damage from the storm.
*Book One in New Compass Series of Standalone Novels.
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You know when you talk with your friends that you want a love life like the ones that happens in the books? This is the book you put in that list. This is the kind of love I want to myself. I never intend to read a book in one sitting, I rather take my time with it. But I just couldn’t put this one down. I had to know how it would end (although it was so beautiful that I didn’t actually wanted it to end). SOUTHERN STORMS is about finding true love, but also find someone that let you be yourself. With your baggage, with quirks, you craziness and love you because of it.
Kennedy as a kid was easily to love, but as she grew she lost a lil bit of that confidence. It was amazing to fallow the path she took to go back to who she really was.
And Jax, OMG Jax. I thought I would hate him in the beging to learn how to love him through the story. But it wasn’t like that. He was a strong and bitter man, but he had the sweetest heart. If you already read the book (I will try to be spoiler free here) the scene on the road, when was raining and Jax appeared? Dude, that’s the scene I thought “just ask me, man. Ask me to marry you and I’ll scream yes!”.
And what about Connor? That boy had my heart right the first time he smiled. I loved his personality. Loved how he pushed Jax just by being a good friend. And he was the one that made me laugh a lot in this book.
This is Brittainy C. Cherry doing what she always do in her books: making us fall completely in love for the hero and heroine, for the story, for the friends, the family and the cat. I don’t thinking I can express enough how much I loved this. I highly recommend it.
4.5 STARS
NO SPOILERS!
Southern Storms was my first Brittainy Cherry novel, and it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed the storyline and characters she created in this emotional, standalone small town romance about two broken people who each experienced a tragedy, found each other again, and helped one another heal.
Jax and Kennedy were wonderful, and I loved the friendship and relationship they had together. Their story was definitely emotional and heartbreaking at times, but also hopeful and uplifting. I was pleased with the conclusion and happy with the outcome. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more standalones in the Compass series.
As usual, Brittainy brings you an incredible, emotional story.
Some of my favorite kind of characters are the sensitive, broken types and Jax and Kennedy fit the bill.
It’s a compelling story of overcoming some traumatic events to find their place with each other after reconnecting. I had some trouble following the timelines and some parts of the story felt unfinished to me but overall I enjoyed this new world. There were plenty of side characters to go along with this that I hope to see more of in the upcoming stories.
I listened to this on audio and I thought Kennedy’s narrator was good, but Jax’s voice didn’t really fit the character so much.
Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry had so many elements that I absolutely loved! I really enjoyed the angst & emotion and small town vibes.
The book flowed seemlessly from present to past, and I loved getting to see the characters as they were before their biggest traumas to adults. Then the angst & emotion came in, and that portion of the book was so great BUT. The big but. What held me back from a five star read, was it felt like some areas were lacking or paraphrased, giving me a feeling of disconnect. Without spoilers, a passage might be, “he revealed everything” instead of the actual dialogue. It left me with a feeling of it’s almost there, instead of OMG it’s amazing. Like some areas needed more depth. That aside, I truly enjoyed the read, the characters, their story, and their connection!
If you enjoy reads with emotion, chemistry, and a soulmate factor, Southern Storms is the perfect next read!
There’s nothing this author can write that won’t get me in the feels and make me fall in love!
Every time I read a book by this author I connect with the characters. They are so real. Their circumstances are real. Their struggles and feelings, so realistic. I loved Kennedy and Jax.
Aww man I have been dying to read this book by Brittainy Cherry for a while and I finally got to read it.
Such a great book. Slow burn for sure and definitely pulled at my heartstrings. I was flipping those pages hoping…praying I was going to get what I had been dying for. My HEA… even though my heart took a beating getting there. It was all worth it in the end. Such a swoony read for sure!! xoxo
Now and then I will come across a story that resonates deeply with me. A story which not only wrecked me, but gave me hope. Southern Storms by Brittainy Cherry did that and more. This a story that will break your heart and then slowly put it back together. It’s a story about two broken characters whom readers can relate to in every way. It’s the kind of story that would make the reader wish she could get their hands on the persons who contributed to their brokenness and deal with them accordingly. It grabs the reader from the start and keeps one engaged to the end.
As stated earlier, the story featured characters which readers would find relatable. There were a few which were detestable and then there were those one could not help but love. The protagonists, Kennedy and Jax, headed the list of likeable characters followed by seventeen-year-old Connor, who spiced up the story with his wit and charm. His personality and positive outlook balanced out the heaviness of the story. One could not refrain from laughing whenever he made an appearance.
Southern Storms is a story of second chances, friendship, acceptance, loss, healing, forgiveness and love. It is a heart breaking, funny and sweet, small town romance. I can’t go into any more details as this a story that readers should go into blindly. Therefore, my recommendation to fans of contemporary romance featuring broken characters is, do yourself a favour and get a copy. However, prepare yourself for an emotional journey.
I really enjoyed this one.
Loved Jax. Loved. Kennedy. ADORED them together. Their shared history at summer camp was sweet, funny & very easy to picture. Their nicknames for each other, the letters, the daisies, the bubbles, the hidden room in the library, basorexia, the way they were consistently there for one another time & time again… Everything about these two beautifully broken souls was amazing. So, so happy that they found their way back to each other & were able to work through all of that heartache.
And oh, that heartache was AWFUL. The losses, the judgement, the guilt, the secrets, the lies… GAH! It was so damn painful to see the way they reacted to it all. I wanted to serve up a giant knuckle-sandwich with a side of whoop-a** to both of their exes, Amanda & Penn, not to mention all of the Judgey McJudgersons in Havenbarrow. Thank gods for sweethearts like Joy, Connor, Marty & Eddie. (Of course, Yoana & Nathan too!)
Very much looking forward to the next book in this series, Eastern Lights, featuring Connor. He was utterly adorable in this book & deserves his own kismet happily ever after!
“If you need to run away, run away to me…”
A beautiful story about personal growth and healing; this is a winner in every sense, the sweetness of the story just grows with you while reading this book, the story is sweet, full of hope and new starts.
Getting out of a troubled marriage is the last thing Kennedy thought might happen to her but starting in a new place and believing in new beginnings is what she deserves after everything she has lost. She is one of a kind a unique soul full of life that just took a detour of her true meaning. In a new town full with new people, there’s just one that stands out, the black sheep of town Jax; who has his own demons to survive but after so many tragedies in both of their lives, how can they even begin to think about sunrise?
I loved this story with all my heart!!
AMAZING! I don’t know how Brittany Cherry does it, but she writes the most beautiful books.
Southern Storms takes turmoil and makes it gold! These characters Kennedy and Jax have had tragedy strike them both. The line in life that “you are not alone” plays heavy in this book.
Kennedy her childhood was one most kids would love to have her parents were a dream. Her life seemed on track one would assume she had it all until tragedy hits. Her husband for lack of a better term is “a real piece of work”. I would like to use a different term, but we are keeping it clean :).
Jax never really had anyone there except his mom and when life happens as it often does he is left with no one in his corner and thinks the worst of himself.
Their story line and chemistry make this book one of the best books of 2020. Really, I was crying because how much can two people endure and still go on with life until perhaps they life comes full circle and the planets a line to bring these two lost souls back together. I can’t quite put into words how I feel about this book and do it justice!
You need to brighten your day by reading this book. We will feel so many emotions, but isn’t that what life is about living and feeling?
This book gave me so many disgrace vibes and I love it!! Kennedy and Jax’s story was so beautiful, it’s about losses but it’s also about how love can be a powerful help in the healing process if allowed.
It was incredible to watch Jax and Kennedy development as characters and as a romantic partners, the slow burn… oh god! The way they called each other sun and moon, please, that was too cute for me. Kennedy is this soft human being that even going through the worst still has so many light in her and Jax is the kindest asshole in Havenbarrow who I would fight the whole city for, alongside with Kennedy.
Brittainy’s writing is perfect as usual, I could easily read more and more about all this characters, I absolutely adored every single side characters who was important to Kennedy and Jax, they were funny, caring and so supportive, it was moving to see how much they loved the main characters and were really important for their development.
I really liked this one and I can’t wait for the next books in this series.
All_you_read_is_love Instagram
Southern Nights was a dream book! I loved every second of it! Each character had their own amazing story line and when put together made one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read! It was so full of heartbreak and loss, but that was what made the love and happiness so much stronger!
Kennedy was such a strong character and her kindness was infectious.
Jax was the grizzly teddy bear that I adore! He was so caring for those he loved and reading his story was heartwrenching.
I adored the supporting characters in this! Especially Connor and Joy they were just hilarious and I can’t review this book and miss out these hilarious phrases that they said.
90 year old Joy: ” ‘Hi Sweetheart, yes. I just wanted to see if you’d like to come over for a cup of tea’ ‘Um, it’s past ten at night, Joy’ her smile spread and she nodded once. ‘So wine?’ ”
17 year old Connor: ” ‘Dude! I told you to play it cool, and that was the complete opposite of cool! Could you be any more awkward?’ Jax told Connor to shut the hell up, making me laugh to myself.”
Another 5 read for me. Every book I read this year is getting better and better!
Every book Brittainy has written, has torn me apart in a good way. I’m never disappointed. This book was beautiful, funny, emotional and more. Jax is an amazing character and I’m so glad that him and Kennedy got their happily ever after. With every book she writes, she pulls you into the story and makes you feel like her characters. I cannot wait for the next book in this amazing series. Prime example as why Brittainy is and always will be my favorite author.
Brittainy Cherry is a genius. She continues to write books that captivate me with her unique and intriguing characters and Jax and Kennedy fit that bill perfectly.
He’s a “bad boy”, the town “asshole” and she’s a damaged/broken girl who’s relocated to be closer to her sister after a tragedy. How two people who you would never have seen helping each other together can heal each other is beautiful.
This second chance, small-town romance is everything that you want and need in a book that’s unputdownable. The character growth from the first to the last page is such a pleasure to watch unfold. Brittainy Cherry’s writing is, again, beautiful and engrossing!
Another beautiful tale! I love Cherry’s style of writing. The back stories of each character made them really stand out. I liked that both characters equally experienced growth by the end of the story. Highly recommended! One of my favorites from 2020!
If it’s one thing you can be absolutely sure of with a Brittainy C. Cherry story is that you will need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps or you’ll just become a jumbled mess of emotions pooling at your feet. I mean you gotta go in with your game face on or it will eat you alive! Just sayin …
*sigh* but it never fails man … no matter how prepared I am, I AM NEVER PREPARED! I’m actually laughing as I type this but it’s not a haha laugh but more of a what are you gonna do laugh. It’s the woman’s superpower. And she wears it well!
This story broke me from the very first page and I never quite recovered! Don’t get me wrong, it was glorious, but a breaking, nonetheless. Kennedy and Jax parked themselves on my heart and have yet to leave. Truth be told, they might never leave and I’m okay with that. Their story was relatable and emotional and full of passion. I could not have asked for a more beautifully written romance story!
Small Town | Emotional Romance
Brittainy C. Cherry has impressed me with each of her novels since I started reading them. Her specialty with these emotional romances is her tortured heroes. I think it’s these men and the way she writes them that keeps bringing me back for more. Not only that, she’s a vivid storyteller. It’s not hard to get lost in her novels. One minute you can be merely reading words and the next your transported into a dreamlike state and living through her characters. It’s rather exquisite to be able to do this and time and again I’m able to while reading her novels. In this one, readers will meet Jax and Kennedy. Both are suffering immensely but fate has plans for them. You’ll see when you read.
One of the things I always take away from Cherry’s books is how endearing her male leads are. The women are great too, but these men are truly something else. I find it truly inspirational to watch men who we perceive to be stronger in an emotional light deal with tragedies that bring them to their knees. It’s inspirational to me because more often than not, the heroes of the story are alpha males who don’t let emotion play a role in their behaviors. Not here though. Sure, Jax is broody in the beginning but as the story progresses, we see a mental and emotional change in him when someone from his past charges back in his life…
Kennedy… I loved her to pieces. She too is experiencing emotional turmoil because of something that happened in her life a year ago. She feels weak, damaged, and unlovable. However, sometimes in order to get through the darkness you need a hand to hold and an old friend from the past (Jax) makes this possible. Seeing them together, what an achingly beautiful thing. I was THERE with them from beginning to end. I smiled with them. I cried with them. I weathered the storm with them. An author who can transport you into a book and make you feel the things the characters are going through is an author that needs to be read. That my friends, is Brittainy C. Cherry.
All in all, this is another gorgeous book by the author. I’m not surprised given the fact that all her books are magical to me. I hope all romance readers (and I mean ALL) get a chance to experience her work because it’s a game changer. If you haven’t had the chance yet this would be a great time to do so. This is the first book in a brand new series (each will be a standalone like this one).
5 “I want you forever” stars!
Wow! Just wow! Southern Storms blew me away! It consumed me and I was overwhelmed with the amount of raw emotion this story evokes. The words in this story lit me up and filled me with so much joy even though the heartache and unimaginable pain crushed me at times. I felt like I was right there with the characters, suffering with them, healing with them, and loving with them. This is my new favorite story and I know it will stay close to my heart for years to come!
Kennedy grew up with a wonderful family full of love. She was free, wild and her own unique person. She was a force to be reckoned with when she was a child and but things changed when she was an adult. Her spark was taken away from her in the most horrific of ways. Not only did she face the unimaginable, but she was beat down and belittled until she was just a sliver of her old self. She moves to Havenbarrow to try to take control of her life again when a ghost from her past reappears. She isn’t ready for the things he makes her feel and just how much he would change her life.
Her best friend from childhood who she hasn’t talked to in fifteen years lives in Havenbarrow but Jax is not the same sweet, shy boy he was when they met at summer camp. He is hardened and broken, and known as the town asshole. He does not need new friends, especially one who is stirring up old feelings he doesn’t want to have.
“The man I’d become was not the boy she used to know.
I didn’t need visitors from my past to come back to haunt my present day. My mind was already a professional at haunting me with past regrets every single day. I didn’t need more ghosts coming back to me.”
Kennedy and Jax had a wonderful connection when they were children. I loved seeing flashbacks of their childhood and the budding friendship that turned out to change their lives. It felt real and it was everything to them. When they disappeared from each other’s lives, they never expected to see each other again. Then, Kennedy shows up in Jax’s hometown and they aren’t prepared for how they make each other feel or how their lives will change because of the other.
The romance in this story is beautiful and heartwarming. The healing of two broken souls who find a second chance at love is one of my favorite plots and Jax and Kennedy’s love story is everything I could have wanted and more.
I cried with Kennedy and my heart broke alongside hers with the devastation she felt and horror she went through. But she is stronger than she thinks and experiencing her growth alongside her was amazing. I loved that she had a backbone yet still was vulnerable in so many ways. It made her real and relatable and my heart really felt for her. I appreciated that she knew when to ask for help and that she found the strength to face her fears and her past.
Kennedy is hurting when she sees Jax again but there is pain in eyes, too. No matter how she is pushed away she lets her kindness reach out to him. She is determined to find the boy she once knew.
“Jax didn’t sound like the jerky villain in this town’s story. What it seemed more like was that he was the broken hero, the one who’d fallen apart so much he’d retreated toward the darkness over the light.
Very much like I had after tragedy found me.”
Jax is so much more than meets the eye. He is such a great guy. A tender heart that had broken so completely that it no longer beat. He doesn’t allow people to see his pain and refuses to let others get near to him with the exception of the few people who were there for him when he needed them most. Those people mean the world to him and to them he shows how big his heart is even if he denies he has one. He is swoony and sweet, and I loved him!!
Jax had worked through so much already but he still has farther to g, and Kennedy is there for him. They are each other’s rocks and the connection they shared as children never severed despite years apart. I loved that they could be themselves and accepted each other unconditionally. They were happy to just be around each other.
“His stillness felt so comforting, as if his silence was the warmest blanket he was wrapping around me.”
As I read their story, I experienced not only the grieving and pain, but the healing and growth and love that they share when they open up to each other. They are far from perfect but they are perfect for each other. When it is most important, they show up for each other, and they stay. And that was everything.
I fell hard for Jax and Kennedy. I feel whole when I think about them even though I still have pain from their pasts. Their love completes them and I had the biggest smile and warmest heart by the ending. The epilogue is believable and I couldn’t have asked for more.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Anything.”
“The day I realized it was you, it turned back on.”
“What turned back on?”
“My heart.”
I have to add that the secondary characters are absolutely wonderful. Kennedy’s sister and her neighbors each hold a special place in my heart. Their support for both Kennedy and Jax was uplifting and they proved just how much they loved them.
Overall, Southern Storms is easily one of my favorite reads of 2020. It is emotional, raw, real, and unputdownable! A fantastic friends-to-lovers romance beautifully blended with second chances, and a must read!
Loss and hopelessness are lingering just around the corners of Kennedy’s daily life. The marriage that was once the comfort through the storm, held a turmoil that only punished Kennedy throughout the darkest days. The pain only grew in intensity and Kennedy finally decided to walk away if her heart was ever going to heal. That’s exactly what Kennedy’s tattered soul did. Refuge was only a phone call away. An open-ended invitation to look towards brighter days.
Moving to the country was everything that Kennedy didn’t realize she was missing. A warm and comforting welcome from her sister certainly filled an empty spot in the soul. While exploring the neighborhood, Kennedy crosses paths with a guy that is known as the town jerk. Jax is a complicated man with one heck of a ‘bite’ to him. What made the interaction even more jolting was the fact Kennedy and Jax knew each other during their youth. Life has certainly changed since summer camp, and Kennedy and Jax know that things will never be like they were for their friendship from years past. Can Jax lead Kennedy down a path of redemption? Or will the realization of their turmoil cause them both to give in to the pain?
What an interesting and complicated tale Brittainy Cherry has written in Southern Storms. As usual – when I realized the author was coming out with a new book, I knew that it would take me on an unforgettable journey. Kennedy is dealing with an insurmountable amount of heartache. Jax not only has a chip on his shoulder, but he is hiding his own set of secrets that haunts his soul. Through the storms, two destinies quickly unite. A friendship formed in childhood. The duo gives fate a chance in this journey of life.
I loved the fact that Kennedy and Jax were long lost friends. In fact, it made their ‘reunion’ that much sweeter. The tug of war between pain, longing, and wanting to find happiness was……well….inspirational. Tragedy, heartache, and pain know no age, location, or circumstance. This story left me ending the last page with a heart that felt so full. Southern Storms is a MUST READ for everyone!!