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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The beauty of this book is beyond words! The love flowing between Jax and Kennedy is indescribable and has to be experienced first hand!
Time changes a person and no one knows that more than Kennedy and Jax! They both have felt the effects of pain, loss and the fear of not being enough. Broken beyond recognition it takes time and a swift jolt to show these two that maybe instead of hate what they were both feeling was recognition.
I can’t say enough about this beautiful book! There’s so much to experience, so much to feel and so much to discover! Jax and Kennedy’s journey is a journey I think we can all find healing in! We all face storms, why should we face them alone? Let Cherry’s word become the balm you need to heal your soul!
If there’s one book you read this year let it be Southern Storms!
-“… I am going to keep loving you and your broken pieces until you feel my love so strongly you forget your heart has any damaged cracks.” – Jax
Rate: 5/ 5 stars
Brittainy Cherry always writes the best kind of romances. Southern Storms was the perfect blend of an emotional story about two broken people on their journey to healing and a beautiful old love finding it’s way back to the surface. This was a beautiful book that will leave you with a happy smile on your face.
I’m really happy that Brittainy is giving us a series like the Elements series because that’s how I met and fell in love with her words. And this book already proved to me that this series will be just as amazing.
I don’t want to be here talking about everything because I don’t want to spoil it for you guys. I legit am so happy with this book. Swoon. It doesn’t start off great… there will be a few characters you’ll hate and the small town people will get on your nerves with their nosiness and judgment but there are also plenty of amazing people who you will love to death… Britainy’s secondary characters are always pretty amazing and feel just as important to the story as the main characters… there were plenty of them in this book that had major roles in the story. I hope some of them get their own books.
Both MC’s are dealing with major traumas and crippling guilt. They are both pretty broken but once they find their way to each other and slowly start opening up to each other after finding out some truths about who they are… you can see how they instantly feel hope and slowly start living, working through their traumas and guilt and start falling in love with each other too. Ah you guys. I really adored this story and these two characters. They were so amazing and the love they had for each other and how they were there to support one another SWOON. They were both so special. I could have read on and on about these two but am also super happy with how their story ended. It was such a good HEA.
Kennedy is starting over, trying to heal from a loveless marriage and a tragedy no parent should ever have to suffer. When she meets her new neighbor, it’s not under the most friendly circumstances. Still, there’s something about the jerk she can’t help but be drawn to. And there’s something familiar about his gorgeous eyes that hold so much pain. Pain that is mirrored in her own eyes.
Jax is broken and in need of healing just as Kennedy. He knows he shouldn’t have been such an ass to his gorgeous new neighbor, his neighbor who somehow seems so familiar. And when the two realize just who they are to each other, how they used to know each other, it seems a second chance is in store for them. If they can open up to each other and let the other in, past all their hurt, all their scars.
Jax and Kennedy are two very hurting souls, so in need of each other. Their journey of healing was quite painful to read, as painful as it was beautiful. Brittainy writes some of the most damaged characters, some of the most scarred hearts, and she does it in the words of a poet, a beautiful, lyrical poet. I will not soon forget Kennedy and Jax’s beautiful, heartrending story.
Southern Storms was a heartbreaking and touching second chance romance. Both Kennedy and Jax stole my heart. When they first meet at summer camp they are able to be themselves and open up to one another. Kennedy was quirky and full of life and light. Jax was always on the sidelines unsure of himself. They become the best of friends and promise to always keep in touch. But life happens and they are separated. Years later, when Kennedy’s life is torn apart, Kennedy decides she needs a fresh start and moves to a new town where her sister lives. She is surprised to find that the town jerk is none other then her best friend from years ago. She realizes that life has not been kind to Jax, but still recognizes the young boy she once knew under all that anger. Jax’s story was heartbreaking. He was such a loving and loyal man, but he doesn’t believe he deserves anything good in his life. I loved how Kennedy was always there for Jax letting him know he is no longer alone. They were beautiful together and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
3.5 Stars
“Bark at them, Kennedy. Bark.”
I’m probably the odd one out but I wasn’t completely hooked.
I’m not even in a particularly moody mood right now but I still caught myself putting the book aside more times than I thought I would and having to force myself to pick it up again later.
I think it had a lot to do with their romance lacking some sparks. The magic was missing because the friendship in this was strong, like EXTREMELY strong, and I loved that. As kids, they were THE CUTEST, simply adorable!
[— solivagant —
one who wanders alone ]
“We can be solivagants together,” I said.
“Uh, that cancels out the whole point of solivagant.”
“Shh, Jax. Just let this happen.”
He smiled and muttered, “Okay.”
As adults, they weren’t any less sweet together but while I felt the sweetness I didn’t feel much of the passion. Maybe it was Brittainy C. Cherry’s intention, to make this story more sweet and mushy but I honestly didn’t see them as anything other than friends.
Now adult Jax and Kennedy as individuals were… fine. Both were likable characters but not to the point where I would say “Wow I loved them so much because of this and this reason.” Unfortunately, there was only a sense of disconnect between me and both main characters.
Simply said, I think I just didn’t “get” them. For Jax, I had trouble connecting his sweet and caring side with the town’s asshole facade. For Kennedy, it probably had something to do with her past (the husband) that hasn’t properly been dealt with. I kept waiting for it but it never came. It made her character a bit “inauthentic” or rather incomplete in my eyes.
To end this on a better note though, these were my favorite things in the book
— Definitely Connor! Simply hilarious and my favorite character from the story!
— Jax and Kennedy’s younger selves
— Not only J&K’s friendship but the friendships in general were pretty amazing here. I particularly loved Jax and Connor’s and Jax and Joy’s friendship.
— I love how Brittainy C. Cherry is able to bring out all these different emotions in a reader. The scenes go from sorrow to cuteness to grief to humor to anger and back again to sorrow etc.. It brings a good balance and doesn’t make the main character’s tragedies too crushingly overwhelming.
— Joy
“I go where the love is. This place is filled with my loved ones’ heartbeats. When love goes somewhere else, I’ll be sure to follow.”
Let it be noted that this was an EXTREMELY hard review to write. Brittainy C. Cherry’s writing is just so good that me rounding down instead of up is extremely confusing, especially if there weren’t any big, fundamental issues to point out.
Every time I read one of Brittainy’s books, I think it’s my favorite but I really do think this one is my favorite. From the moment I met Kennedy, I just felt for her. And Jax? How can you not want to hold him close and never let go? The character development is outstanding. I was drawn in from the first chapter and couldn’t put it down. You will not want to miss out on this book! I can’t wait for the next book!
5 sun-and-moon stars! This was a beautiful read!
“Sometimes, all you needed was for somone to sit beside you in the middle of your panicked storms.”
Kennedy Lost is a broken woman. She arrives in Havenbarrow seeking refuge with her sister and a new beginning. Jax Kilter is a broken man. An unpopular and surly loner, it more than suits him to keep most of the townsfolk at arm’s length. When they first meet, Jax is rude and snarly towards Kennedy. However, in a moment of need, he is there to help her through it. When they realise they have a shared past, kismet begins working its magic between them.
“I just knew she was the first thing in my life that made me feel alive. I kissed her as if time was running out. I kissed her for our yesterdays and I kissed her for tomorrow.”
This was an amazing, heartrending read. They were both such damaged souls and only when they come together do they start to heal. Kennedy was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for. No matter how battered she felt, her true and colourful self just needed coaxing out again. And, Jax! Oh my gosh, I just wanted to hold him close and keep him safe. Such a gorgeous man with a severe demeanour, but hiding the softest and most vulnerable of hearts. I loved these two so much. Their growing connection and relationship was so heartwarming to see and I totally swooned over Jax’s words of love to Kennedy. Adored this story!
Brittainy Cherry consistently nails my favorite tropes. Her writing is top notch, all the way around. Her characters and worlds are lush and I always joyfully immerse myself in them while I can!
Second chance? Town black sheep? Angst? Broken edges that fit together well? YES PLEASE.
Kennedy and Jax are everything. Their love story is so. good.
Recommend!
Holy Wow! Brittainy C. Cherry does it again! She put my heart through the wringer with Jax and Kennedy’s story y’all! This story of two devastatingly broken people that in each other find each find love, healing and new beginnings.
Kennedy is a beautiful person inside and out, but she is emotionally damaged. Emotionally decimated by an unimaginable tragic event then the person she needed the most turned their back on her, hurt her and tossed her aside like garbage. Needing to begin to heal the emotional trauma and find herself again, she heads to Havenbarrow, Kentucky to stay in one of her sister Yoana’s houses. While exploring she meets the town’s black sheep. Who also happens to be the hot, broody and rude owner of the property she wanders onto while out on a walk in the woods. As grumpy and short with her as Jax is, Kennedy can’t help but to be drawn to him and the familiar look in his eyes, he just had this way about him to calm her when she was panicking.
“Even behind the rain clouds, the sun is always there.”
Ignoring the warnings by the nosy nellies of this small town, Kennedy catches herself noticing Jax is more than the reputation that follows him around town. She’s intrigued and wonders if maybe Jax is just what she needs and vice versa. I loved her character. I was devastated for her and rooting for her and Jax to heal each other. Man, how I cried over and over during this book, because I loved Jax and Kennedy and what they had endured was just so gut wrenching.
Jax was the tragically damaged bad boy. Forever emotionally unavailable, but secretly had a heart of gold. I loved this complexity of his character. There were so many layers to what made this amazing man. The circumstances behind what made him the way he was, oh my heart y’all! This poor man suffered in silence and guilt for fifteen years.
Even though he was angry at first glance when he caught Kennedy there was something familiar about her he couldn’t quite put his finger on. I loved how they rediscovered all the old feelings.
“You were my sun,” he said. “After your letters stopped, the world became that much darker.”
His friendship with Connor was hilarious and helped to break up some of the seriousness and sadness in the book. I floved Connor. Actually I loved all the secondary characters. Crazy Joy and even the nosy town ladies. It was indicative of small town life and added a great element to Kennedy’s frame of mind and showcased the ups and downs she went through in her steps towards healing.
This book is most definitely an emotional journey. Both of our mains are flawed and heartbroken and have been through hades and back. But I believe it’s their imperfections that make them perfect for each other.
Don’t miss this highly emotional friends to lovers/second chance romance.
*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book!
My Cr8zysockbookblock blog wrap up for this book!
– This emotionally gripping and riveting book was so much more that I could have imagined it to be. I cried a lot, I laughed a lot too(Connor and Crazy Joy, you guys da bomb yo)
I rooted for these two. This was a journey. The characters we got in the beginning were not the characters that left us, I love when that happens. So Good Guys!
-sweet and hot and absolute perfection !!
Cliffhanger Warning-No Cliffhanger! This was super emotional, I cried so many times because I loved these characters and felt right along with them, but I couldn’t be happier with the way this ended for them! Here’s hoping we get Connor’s story! #PerfectEnding!
Brittainy certainly knows how to bring us a brilliant emotional read. She obviously pours her heart into these words as the emotions honestly flow through the pages. I was completely captivated from beginning to end on Jax and Kennedy’s story.
When Kennedy escapes her loveless marriage and starts a new life in new town she never meant to find someone but despite not getting on with Jax when they first meet there is something about him that calls to her, that feels familiar. Jax never thought he would see Kennedy again after they parted ways as kids. His life hasn’t been easy and embraces the label as the town As**le
I loved the flashbacks, it was sweet to see how their friendship blossomed, how they became Sun and Moon.
This is a great story of grief, guilt, healing, love and passion, how family can be someone that isn’t blood related.
* A review copy was provided by the author *
Brittainy C. Cherry has given us another heartbreaking and heartwarming emotional story. This was an amazing story about love, loss, friendship and healing. I was immediately captivated by the characters and storyline.
I absolutely LOVED this book!! No one writes like Brittainy C. Cherry. Her stories are full of heart, emotion and thought provoking storylines. I find her writing to be effortless and truly one of a kind. I know that when I pick up one of her books, my heart and soul is going to be taken on a ride that I won’t want to get off. Every time I finish a book by her, I always hope for more!!! I never want her stories to end.
Southern Storms is Brittainy’s latest story. I think this might be my favorite of her books so far. I don’t know exactly what it is, but this book took hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I was completely invested in both Kennedy and Jax’s lives. This book is told in Dual POV. I believe this will be a complete standalone, but it will be built into an interconnected series of standalone books. This book is a second chance story. It’s based on a friendship that spans over time. As always I thought the writing of this book was phenomenal. The pace and flow of this story was perfect!!! Trust me when I say you want to read this book!!!
In this story we follow the journey of Kennedy and Jax. Kennedy and Jax met when they were younger at a summer camp. They formed a friendship neither thought would break. But then something happened and they lost touch with each other. Years later Kennedy, after a tragic loss, has decided to move to the country to be closer to her sister. Little did she know, that move was going to change her life in ways she couldn’t have predicted. Will Jax and Kennedy have the reunion they both thought they would?? Can these two broken souls begin to heal and see there is more to life?? Can they get their HEA?? Read this emotionally charged story to find out.
If you have read any book by Brittainy C Cherry, then you know you are in for a treat. You also have to know that things aren’t always what they seem when reading her stories. I love that even when you think you know what is going to happen, she is able to shock us and shake things up a bit.
READ this book…..you won’t be sorry!!!!
I loved this book! Brittainy Cherry has a way of tugging on your heart strings and making you feel emotions you’ve never felt before.
Jax and Kennedy had an amazing and tragic story. The fact that they’re both still surviving is amazing. Especially Kennedy. Between her tragedy and the way her husband treated her, the fact that she was still able to heal and be strong was admirable. I felt the same about Jax. One of the things I loved most about him was how he was actively seeking help. The two of them together had such great chemistry and they really leaned on each other. I just love them as a couple.
Overall, yes I definitely recommend this book! I can’t wait to see what BC has in store for us next!!
I don’t think I can ever give this authors books anything less than 5+++++ stars. Whenever she announces a book release, I am beyond excited, cause I know its going to be freaking amazing. And it totally lived up to its hype (well according to me)
Kennedy and Jax’s story it was freaking amazing and EPIC. Two best friends who became best friends when they were kids because one needed the light in his life and the other just wanted a best friend.
Years later, both have had their own trials and their own dark paths, meeting again. According to one its fate and according to the other nothing but coincidence.
Kennedy was the light in Jax’s life when he was a young boy. His childhood wasn’t all that good, now he’s the town’s blacksheep and he is fine with that. His living his life and doesn’t need anyone. Until his childhood best friend comes back in his life. And he finds out that he needed a light more than he even knew he did.
Kennedy’s childhood was amazing. She had the best parents and the best sister. She got married and then a tragic accident happened, now her life is a nightmare. She can’t cope with what happened and her husband just kicked her out. So she goes to the only person she has left, her sister. And it was the best decision she made. Slowly her life is getting on track, but she has her moments. Until she meets Jax when she trespassed on his land. And he lives up to his blacksheep, grumpy name. And then she finds out his the same Jax who was her best friend, her best friend who just stopped writing to her and her best friend that she lost.
Jax and Kennedy both have so much in their lives they need to deal with. Both of them coming to terms that what happened in their lives wasn’t their fault. But also coming to terms with the fact that they are more than enough and that they deserve to be happy and that they deserve each other.
Whenever I start this author’s books, I know its going to be a tearjerker, but also its going to make me so happy in the end. And this book from the first chapter till the end I couldn’t put it down. Jax and Kennedy both broke my heart but it was awesome to see their relationship develop, getting their friendship back but also finding so much more in the end. Definitely a book that is in my 2020 Top 10 books. I can’t wait to see what is next in this series.
Southern Storms, the first book in Brittainy Cherry’s newest Compass series is everything you expect from this author.
Told from multiple points of view – the heroine Kennedy and the male led Jax – with both current time and flashbacks mixed throughout.
An emotional rollercoaster of a story. Both main characters have faced trauma in their pasts and are struggling to overcome them. They’ve been reunited with one another and their past connection is strong enough to help the to heal from their past hurts.
And the character development is phenomenal. Both Kennedy and Jax are really well developed. It’s one thing you’ve come to expect from a Brittainy Cherry novel. And her secondary characters are fabulous. Connor is fantastically funny and Joy is just that; a joy.
Another great story from one of my favorite authors! The love story of Kennedy and Jax from children to adults was amazing. They both faced huge tragedies in their lives before being reunited as adults after losing touch with each other for many years. I loved it so much that they were best friends as kids and then randomly came back into each other’s lives at a time when they both desperately needed each other. Brittainy Cherry is an author that never writes a bad story. I can buy anything she writes and know automatically that I will love it.
Brittany Cherry is the queen of emotional and beautiful stories and I will read anything she writes. And this seemed like just the book I needed at this time. Southern Storms was definitely emotional and had two characters fighting their demons that they’ve held on to.
Kennedy and Jax are the two characters this story is centered around. They were at one time old camp friends. Best friends, actually. But they hadn’t seen each other in years. Time and actions tore them apart. But what happens when Kennedy shows up in the small town that Jax resides unbeknownst to either of them? Will they figure out who each other is? Will they become friends like they once were? Or are they now both too jaded with life and history?
“Maybe you’re just so messed up in the brain that you can’t love another person-or even let them love you.”
Told in dual POVs, we get Kennedy and Jax’s story of friends to lovers/second chance romance. The story is mostly told from the present, but we also alternate with the past to understand their journey from childhood to where they are now. Things have not been easy or predictable for either of them, but they have both weathered the storms around them. I loved seeing their relationship as young children and almost wanted them to just remain friends. Because that’s what it seemed like they needed. The build up Ms Cherry took of their friendship back in the day to present time was believable and emotional. They were both obviously two very special people, even at a young age. You could feel it. But with time and tragedies, they changed.
Kennedy can’t seem to let go of the past that is haunting her current life and relationship. And Jax has a heart of gold, but he lets no one see it. He is holding on to a guilt that has eaten away at him for most of his life. He is like the grumpy young character with the thick skin that you have to dig deep to find the love he is hiding. Luckily, he surrounds himself with a couple of amazing characters (Joy and Connor) that show him love and laughs when he needs it most. You gotta love a grumpy, mean character that really is neither of those things.
“Mama said the best people are the imperfect ones, because the best adventures in life don’t come from perfect things.”
This small town romance was emotional, yet sweet. Funny, yet hopeful. And filled with a handful of great characters. I especially enjoyed the times we got to see Kennedy and Jax when they were at camp. Childhood friendships are the best. But I really enjoyed the quirky and at times weird neighborhood they lived and it’s inhabitants. I found myself reading in a southern accent (yes, I know that’s odd) and seeing characters that I may have seen on the streets of Stars Hollow (and yes, that was mentioned in the book). It was like a more emotional Gilmore Girls season. I laughed and I teared up and I felt for these characters. Their journey and their story pulled at your heartstrings. There was no perfection in these characters, but with each other, they made their own perfection. And that “perfection” saved them both.
“He wasn’t the villain of my fairytale; he was the broken hero, the one who wasn’t meant to save me, but who was meant to save himself….”
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters’ journey. The ending was a bit quick and wrapped up a little suddenly with answers, but by the time we got to that point, I didn’t need too much more. I got Kennedy. I got Jax and I got their friends and family that made them them. A fun yet emotional read that was just what I needed at this time.
4.5+ stars
Kennedy Lost is struggling with so many pieces of her life. At one time she believed in fate and was a free spirit. Now her life has caused her to work hard to keep her head down, to focus on not drawing attention to her or her frequent panic attacks. She’s hoping a new start in a small town will get her back to herself.
Jax Kilter is known around town for being gruff and standoffish. The entire town knows his tragic past, and is watching as his a-hole of a dad is at the end of his life. His closed off public persona protects the hurt he has held in since childhood.
These two needed each other, and the connections between them ran deep. Letting cracks show is not easy for either of them, they have been trained to hide, and I loved the way they (but Jax especially) showed a different side when it was just the two of them. He doesn’t trust easily, but he is drawn to Kennedy’s spark.
I loved several of the side characters almost as much as the main characters. Connor never failed to bring humor into the storyline. His boyish exuberance was a great counterbalance to Jax’s stoicism. Kennedy’s neighbor Joy played a meddling role in several aspects of the story, and I’m always drawn to those older wiser (is a little cooky) characters.
This was a sweet blend of emotional depth and small town expectations.These two had a lot of grief and trauma to overcome in their journeys. I was pulled into this story from the very beginning and fell in love with both main characters.
In Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry we get an emotional and engaging second chance romance with great characters. It is one the trademarks of this author. Stories that will grip you and make you feel. After going through so much heartbreak and anguish, Kennedy needs a fresh start. What she never expected was to see someone she once knew. Jax was not a likable man, but there was so much to him than what others saw. We get to see them in the past and now and go on this journey with them.
Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry was a story about two damaged people who found each other when they were not expecting it. They were each dealing with so much, but together, could they find the peace they needed? Another great read from this author and I am looking forward to reading more of this series.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
I sit in silence. Waiting. Searching. Antagonizing. Words, I need words to write this review. But as is the norm with a Brittainy Cherry book. They don’t come easily. They don’t fall eloquently. They will never be enough. They will never touch upon the talent this woman encompasses.
Cathartic . . . providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions.
Powerful . . . having great strength
Compelling . . . admiration in a powerful way
These are just a sample of the words that a Brittainy Cherry novel can evoke. Her gift is God-given. Her words are heart-wrenching. Her novels are balancing.
Grief runs amongst us, and sometimes we hold it in until it becomes a darkness within our soul and causes us to distance ourselves from life. It makes us angry, bitter and mean. – Jax
Grief injects itself into us and we allow others to beat us down while we are barely holding on to the will that says to us hold on. – Kennedy
It creates a raging storm that we sometimes forget what comes after the storm. That there is a brighter day ahead. – Jax & Kennedy
Jax & Kennedy have spent so much time in the storm. They have fought an uphill battle to release the raging tide that lies within. But they always lose . . . until. Until they find each other once again. And there is no one better to guide them through this path of self-discovery, of healing, of love, of finding their moon and sun again than Brittainy. There is no one greater than putting pen to paper to find strength than Brittainy. There is no one able to touch our souls in the midst of turmoil than Brittainy.
There are many quotes in this book that resonate with me:
“If you need to run away, run away to me”;
“The tears a person sheds on the inside are always the worst. They are always filled with the heaviest amounts of regret and sorrow.’;
“There’s no straight path. Healing isn’t linear. Healing comes with curves, bumps in the road, and potholes.”
But if I had to pick just one:
“Know your worth and then charge more”
After I read this quote, I yelled it from the top of my lungs. I messaged Brittainy to tell her once again, she stirred something within me. And then I settled down as she helped Jax and Kennedy find their worth. Amazingly beautiful! Stunningly captivating. Emotionally, Brittainy.
First book in the Compass series and Brittainy Nailed it!! Moving back to a small town after her marriage fails Kennedy meets a long lost friend Jax. Times have definitely changed them both, Jax seems miserable and grouchy and Kennedy has lost her confidence and spark for life. This stand alone, friends to lovers romance stole my heart. I find Brittainy has always had a unique talent for creating characters we just long to comfort. Two broken hearts that need to find someone they can trust again. This story has it all and I highly recommend it. grab your copy today!