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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When my own love story was broken, I turned to stories to heal the cracks of my broken heartbeats. When my world fell apart, the books still believed in happily-ever-afters.
Southern Storms is the first book in the series Compass by Brittainy Cherry. Southern Storms is another emotional book by this author and I can say that I love this book and this story. Southern Storms is a story about a second chance to love and healing.
Jax is a damaged man who had the strength to take care of his father and to have compassion. Even if the people around him think he is a jerk, he is a sweet man who takes care of the persons who matter for him. I love his relationship with Connor and the banter between them.
“You are allowed to go slow. There’s no timeline to healing. You walk at the pace that works for you, and I’ll carry you when your legs get tired. You don’t have to walk this path alone.”
Kennedy is a strong woman who lost the most important persons from her life and her husband wants her to be fine. He doesn’t let her mourn her loves ones and he makes her hide her pain. He gave her the divorce papers when she needed him the most, so she decided to move to the small town Havenbarrow and to start again her life. In this small town, she meets a Jax, her childhood friend. When they needed each other the most, they found each other again and they began to help each other. They realized that still exists the connection between them and they still have feelings for each other.
I love your broken pieces because it shows that you’ve lived. It shows that you are brave enough to give yourself to the world, no matter how hard it can be at times.
I loved Jax because he was so sweet and patient with Kennedy. He respected her pain and helped her to understand that she has the right to cry after her loved ones. He accepted her that way she is and he didn’t want her to change, he just wanted her to heal and to smile again.
Before I could walk into her house, she was on the porch wrapping me in her arms, and for the first time in my life, I realized home wasn’t a place, it was a person. When I was lost that night, I ran away to Kennedy, and lucky for me, she let me in.
I loved Southern Storms and I cannot wait to read more from this new series. I admired a Kennedy because she had the strength to move forward, to heal and to love again. Jax was a sweet man who learned to forgive and to let go of the past and to dream of a new future with Kennedy. Jax and Kennedy were beautiful characters and I recommend everyone to read their journey because is beautiful and inspiring.
“I feel in love with the sun, and she kept my cold heart warm”
While reading this book I laughed, cried, and smiled (maybe a few little goofy smiles) . What an amazing emotional roller coaster . This books speaks to the depth of your soul and leaves you yearning for more . You will fall in love with Jax and Kennedy.
Overall Review: 1/2
When you read a Brittainy C. Cherry tome, you become the recipient of a story layered with angst, the failings of human nature, but most importantly, the abiding truths of love to save and complete its characters. Some readers might run from that assessment, wanting only stories that make us laugh, steam our glasses, or leave us far from strife. Some would argue that literature is meant to entertain and save us from the doldrums of our lives. However, literature is also meant to act as a mirror to the insights of the human spirit. In a Brittany C. Cherry romance, that mirror is oftentimes reflected directly back on its reader, even through its difficult parts, because such is life. Cherry’s newest book, Southern Storms, is no different. It’s a lesson in the resilience of the human spirit to move beyond tragedy and heartbreak to find the depth of a love that cloaks us through our difficulties and our successes. It’s a reminder that second chances are offered everywhere.
From the first chapter of this book, I was hooked. I began it the moment the ARC hit my Kindle, partly because I knew I needed to write this review, and I had only a few days to do so. Mostly though, I was hooked because the story of Havenbarrow’s “black sheep,” Jax, and his former best friend, Kennedy, the spurned former wife compelled me forward. In many ways, Jax and Kennedy are two sides of the same coin: both of these characters have endured immense pain in their past, and it has caused them to put a pause on life. Cherry’s ability to craft this idea in her romance makes it relatable for her reader. We have all lived a life “on hold” whether created through trauma or change. We have all been some version of Jax and Kennedy.
While Cherry hyperbolizes their situations for the sake of fiction, Jax and Kennedy represent “broken times” in our lives, Cherry’s “storms.” How we weather those storms is the second keen attribute of Southern Storms. Cherry weaves the storm metaphor succinctly through her story, reminding us of our own storms. There were a few times when I thought she was a little heavy-handed with the metaphor, but every writer seeks after the emotional connection between her characters and the readers. This metaphor is the tool by which Cherry creates that connection, and it works brilliantly.
Reading Brittainy C. Cherry’s Southern Storms is a glorious journey in redemption. Here’s the thing about books like this one: the happy ending for books such as hers have the biggest pay-offs. Weathering the storms of its characters brings the sunniest of happily-ever-afters. And that is all we want in life: to find our rainbow after the heavy rains. Southern Storm’s story of resilience and second chances offers up the most vibrant rainbow, necessary in our current world that feels very, very dark.
I read this book in one day during a time where my attention span has been terrible. I could not put it down. I was transported to this small town of Havenbarrow with these characters and became totally invested in their story.
Jax Kilter is the town black sheep, loner, and ahole. He is angry, broken, self-destructive, and sometimes aggressive. But once he was a broken and misunderstood boy who suffered a great loss and had to deal with other consequences. And even though he puts on a tough and unaffected facade, there are still certain people he does nice things for and a few people he cares about.
Kennedy Lost is suffering. She is grief-stricken, guilt-ridden, anxious, depressed, and unsupported in her home. Her life has imploded, leaving her a shell of her former self and in need of escape. And she finds it when she runs off to her sister’s home. She finds herself staying in a new small town with nosy and quirky neighbors and soon has a run-in with the town jerk…and it is not a friendly visit.
But sometimes things happen for a reason. Some call it fate or kismet. But these two just might be meant to find each other at this time. They are both hurting, drifting, and in need of both and a safe place to run to and an anchor. But their pasts are complicated and have shaped who they have become. They are both afraid of rejection and of getting too close.
This is an emotional and angsty story of friendship and second-chance love that required hope, healing, and maybe a bit of destiny. I absolutely loved these two! Jax was such a dichotomy at times with how he presented himself to others and who he really was. So many times I just wanted to hug him. And Kennedy was trying her best to get back on her feet and find a new purpose. Together they were broken and raw, but fit together and smoothed the rough edges. The flashback scenes from their pasts helped show the change in the characters and let us see how different they used to be, while hoping that they might find some of those same feelings of freedom and happiness again. I enjoyed getting their dual points of view and witnessing all their feelings first hand.
It is about starting over, holding on through the storms, finding light in the darkness, and learning to live again. I finished way after my bedtime feeling like I lived their story with them and went to sleep with a happy heart.
My love for this author is like my love for her books! When I get word that a new book is coming, I pull on my stalker attire and stalk like there is nothing else to do. Southern Storms is a book that had me from the day the cover was revealed….Holy Hotness. For once I could imagine this guy on the cover as the man I was reading about in the book. So many times this is not the case.
What can I say about Jax…broken, sexy, brooding, doesn’t do well in relationships, hard working plumber that I fell in love with the moment he stood ground and didn’t shoot that darn deer.
Kennedy, the free loving spirit who has lost her way. A beautiful, loving upbringing that was tainted with an unforgettable event.
But when these two met so many years ago, it was there…
Now that they are back in the same town, can their love that they had as youngsters still survive even though they have both been through so much?
This is book 1 in a series of standalone books. When you pick up this book, make sure to have tissues on standby, a pom pom for cheering these two along, and a good glass of wine in the biggest cup. Because sometimes you just need the biggest cup for your drink!
“If you need to run away, run away to me.”
There goes my heart!!!
You guys!!!!!!!!!! This story!!! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll swoon. These characters were so incredible! I love love love stories where the male character is an asshole and the female character steps in, stands up to him and doesn’t take no for an answer.
I laughed so hard at times in this book. I. Laughed. I haven’t laughed in a long time guys. I’m so happy I got to read this story and experience these characters. Jax and Kennedy are two broken souls that found their way back to one another. Two people who deserved nothing but happiness. They will tug on your heartstrings but you’ll be left with a fully healed heart.
Some of the secondary characters in the story were so great too. Joy was just fantastic. Connor was the funniest! I want a book dedicated to just him!
I’m always left speechless when it comes to Brittainy’s writing. I just never feel like my reviews do the story justice. Her words are so inspiring!
The desperation is strong in that opening! I knew from then on, my heart was going to be in trouble. And boy was it.
Southern Storms broken my heart into a million little pieces and was slowly put back together one piece at a time.
Kennedy and Jax are two incredibly strong characters who will grab your heart and not let go. They are both going through hell and trying to deal with it the best the can but man does it hurt.
They are 100 percent Kismet!! They both came into each other lives at the perfect time and help each other, all the while helping themselves.
Southern Storms is an amazing read and I recommend it to everyone! I can not wait for more in this series!! A MUST READ!!
Brittainy books, for me, are like putting on my favorite pair of slippers. They are comforting, warm and make me extremely happy. I always know I’m going to savor and adore the characters in her books and this was no exception.
Jax and Kennedy met at summer camp and were the best of friends. Fast forward to present day and they are reunited at a time when they both sorely needed each other. This was for me a very sad story with a lovely, happy ending. Brittainy’s wonderful words take you along this journey of healing. I think my favorite thing about her books are her characters.
Years ago, I fell in love with Brittainy’s words, and with each book, I fell in love a little more with the poetry of her words.
This time I fell in love with the sun, the moon and all the flowers in the garden. My heart broke in the first page, and was mended little by little, with all the love by the sunrays and the moonbeams.
Told between past and present, we follow the journey of Kennedy and Jax from their childhood friendship to their adulthood love. In completely Brittainy fashion, she grips ours hearts in the first sentence and during the whole book we are cheering for her lovable characters. I cried, I laughed, I swooned. This book is the perfect book for her old fans and also a great book to introduce new readers. If you like lovable *ssholes, incredible heroines and amazing side characters with a pinch of angst, this book is for you.
“I missed you more. I missed your light so much. I’d been living in darkness for so long…I missed you…”
Southern Storms is a nice and straight-forward contemporary romance. It is a bit less emotional than what I am used to from this author, but there were still a couple of scenes that brought me to tears. It is fast-paced and it sometimes felt a bit rushed. However, the author did a good job in making me connect to the characters and be interested in their (back)story. Jax and Kennedy are both broken and dealing with their issues. Jax is broody and the black sheep of the town. He keeps to himself and only interacts with a handful of people. I have to say that he picked the best people to surround himself with. I will get back to these side-characters later in my review. Kennedy used to be a colorful, happy, and sassy young girl, but along the way has lost her self-confidence and deals with panic-attacks due to a very traumatic incident. My heart broke to see her dealing with so much pain.
“I love your broken pieces, because it shows that you’ve lived. It shows that you are brave enough to give yourself to the world, no matter how hard it can be at times.”
Jax and Kennedy were a great match, and I loved seeing them grow stronger together. Especially Jax stole my heart, even though from the outside he looks unapproachable, he was one of the sweetest people who would do anything for the individuals in his life. They were both living in the dark and they brought each other back into the light. I also have to say that both of them had a great support system. Especially Jax had the best people around him. One of my favorite side-characters ever is Connor, who is a seventeen year old who is his assistant/side-kick. He was hilarious and such a bright young man. I enjoyed the flashbacks, which showed me another side to the main characters. They were both such beautiful and innocent young kids, and they were just dealt such a bad hand in life. But I was thankful that they came together and healed themselves and each other. I wish the book was longer, because it felt rushed especially at the end. I wanted more time with them and see them grow stronger even more.
“You’re everything I wanted and everything I never knew I could have.”
This is one of those stories that despite the HEA still leaves your heart hurting in the end.
Like all of Brittainy’s stories this one is a top read! I blew through the story because I just had to know how it was going to end. I was not disappointed at all. Her stories always hold such a stronger message and allow the reader to feel connected to the story and characters.
Has any one ever read one of Brittainys books and not had at least one tear fall? Because I haven’t. I was on chapter one when my eyes teared up the first time, I think that was 5% into the book. I was sure I was going to sob the whole way through and while there were a few parts after that, that pulled at my heart strings it wasn’t until 87% that the first tear actually fell and at 89% I kind of lost it.
Y’all, this book? This book has some of my favorite characters, definitely my favorite side characters. You never realize how much you need a friend until you have that friend.
Kennedy and Jax are both broken in their own ways, they’ve been devastated by loss before, had people that didn’t understand their pain and been hurt again and again, but together? They can mend themselves back together with the help of one another. It’s okay, to ask for help and to lean on someone else sometimes.
Yet another Brittainy Cherry book blew me away, she never fails. Grab your copy today and binge read like the rest of us, you won’t be sorry.
*4,5 stars*
Every time I read a book by this author, I can’t help but feel emotional by just the way she writes and how she can make you feel the story, it’s really exceptional and one of the reasons I will always read her books! I really enjoyed Jax and Kennedy’ story and was captivated from beginning until end. You don’t want to miss this.
Kennedy escapes her loveless marriage and through her sister she starts a new life although there will still be ups and downs as she hasn’t yet fully dealed with the past few years. When she and Jax meet they get off on the wrong foot but there’s something familiar about him that she can’t seem to shake. Jax never thought he would see Kennedy again after all these years and when they reconnect, it’s hard for him to find his footing as he’s dealing with so much. But with one day at a time their bond gets stronger and they seem to be finding their way to each other but both still need to heal from their past and it’s not easy. Will both finally heal and will they have a chance to be together?..
Being a voracious reader, I love to pick up books from new authors, while there’s some that I keep coming back to. Brittainy is one of them. Her stories are empowering and generate confidence, to believe in oneself & stand up for oneself. All bursting with flavors in her sentimental prose and poetic delivery
“If you need to run away, run away to me.”
Every once in a while comes along a book written with a purpose. One that motivates you, inspires you, makes you a better human being for understanding apathy and pain. Brittainy is a soft and gentle person in her real life, very endearing & full of smiles. This carries over in her writing style too. Her books are nuanced in matters of the heart, emotions displayed in full spectrum and her characters are not ashamed to show their weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
“no matter how big the storm, they’d always pass no matter what. After every storm, the sun would shine again.”
Just like Kennedy Lost, who’s just forgotten her way in life. So used to the stressful life of trying to be a perfect wife to her ambitious husband. She’s laid her self worth and mental health at his feet, disregarding and neglecting her own struggles with grief and guilt.
It takes another woman to show her the way.
“Know your worth….and charge more”!!
What a compelling sentiment, I want to give Brittainy a standing ovation
(I have to mention here, this scene where a woman takes Kennedy by the shoulder and figuratively shakes her out of the stupor, is fresh and creditable. Generally we see women undercutting women in Books)
Jax Kilter is the Moon to her Sun, their friendship spanning years, sealed with letters and friendship bracelets. She’s a bubbling energizer bunny to his silent, shy introvert personality.
“Kennedy Lost—the tree-hugging, mud-castle-building oddball at camp.”
It’s the most adorable budding friendship that gets lost and misplaced.
Now they’re both broken and hurt. Weighed down under mountains of guilt which keeps them tethered in their respective corners.
“Mama said the best people are the imperfect ones, because the best adventures in life don’t come from perfect things.”
Embellished with southern charm and earthy feels, this book should be on your Must Read list.
I can sing praises galore, but her avid fans will auto click this and if you’re a newbie, dive headlong in it ASAP
“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.” and Brittainy’s books are soaked, seeped, dripping with all parts of love- heart melting to angsty, you’ll experience them all!!
5 Basorexia stars
4.5 Stars!
Kennedy is a 28 yr. old woman whose felt broken for a while since tragedy touched her life. She’s spent the last five years in a loveless marriage and hasn’t felt like herself in a really long time. Needing to be close to family she heads to the small town of Havenbarrow, Kentucky to be closer to her sister. She could use a safe place to rediscover herself and have a fresh start. Then she crosses paths with the black sheep of Havenbarrow. He’s drop dead gorgeous, but full of attitude. Still she can’t help feeling drawn to this sexy, brooding, rude stranger that seems familiar in some way.
Jax has the reputation of being the emotionally unavailable town jerk. At this point he just rolls with it. He wasn’t a people person, and preferred to be left alone anyway. He’d made many mistakes that had altered his life, and had so many regrets that had changed him and created the man he was today.
He likes his personal space, and then it’s invaded by a breathtakingly beautiful woman who knows just how to get under his skin. Kennedy shows up in his hometown and seems to be everywhere he turns. They have more in common than they realize, and both have their silent struggles from the past that haunt them. Can they help one another through the storms raging inside to find the light they so desperately need.
Southern Storms by Brittainy Cherry is book one in her new Compass Series of stand-alone novels. It’s an emotional, friends to lovers romance about second chances and destiny that’s full of angst and the most beautiful love. I really enjoyed this story, and love Brittainy’s words! Her books always touch the heart and give you all the feels!
Brittainy C. Cherry has crafted a heartbreaking and angsty second chance romance in Southern Storms. She excels in writing about loss, sadness and healing. And this story is no exception.
Kennedy and Jax were bestest friend for three years after which life and it’s tragedies changed their paths. Now Kennedy is back to the small town to live with her sister to get back her broken pieces together after a big storm in her life. And she had no idea she will meet Jax again. But gone is the sweet boy from her childhood. This man is distorted and shattered almost beyond recognition. Life has been extremely unfair to him. Can two broken souls repair each other’s cracks and wounds?
This story is the journey of finding peace and closure after suffering insurmountable conditions. And so it was expectedly raw and heartaching. The author takes us to the core of Kennedy and Jax’s pain and depression. And it touched my heart deeply. They have a special kind of camaraderie . Jax helped Kennedy to feel cherieshed and whole again. And while doing so, he mended his broken parts too. What I missed in this story was the intensity I have come to expect from her books. The ending came a bit too easily and looked really simple. After all the struggling with panic attacks and flashbacks, Kennedy recovered rapidly for Jax. Though it makes sense, it was unfulfilling somehow for me. But the characters are inspiring like anything with lessons of resilience and self belief for all of us.
Southern Storms by Brittainy C. Cherry is not an easy love story. It’s raw and brutally honest. The people in this romance are imperfect and that’s why close to my heart. The brilliant writing expressed the soul deep emotions perfectly.
Received ARC for honest review
I was blown away by this story, Miss Cherry is the queen of tears and feels! what a heartbreaking, but beautiful story, I fell in love with the characters within chapters and I had to read it in one sitting. I can’t wait to see what else comes from this series!
Be still my heart I just loved this book. This kismet moments with Jax and Kennedy. Friends meeting again after so long and with so much tragedy in their pasts. It was heartbreaking and beautiful and had all the fun of being in a small town. The side characters were just as great as the main couple in this book. Also makes me want to visit my library to check for hidden rooms! 😉
“If you need to run away, run away to me…”
Gahhhh!! This first book in the Compass Series by Ms. Cherry absolutely moved me.
This is the story of Kennedy and Jaxson, Sun and Moon and their story of heartbreak and kismet. This is a story of owning someone else’s blame and survivors’ guilt.
Kennedy was the sun, she owned her kind of weird and she would shine brightly. That’s what drew Jax to her when they were kids. Time and space separate them, vengeful miscommunication keep them apart. Over the years, Kennedy’s light begins to dim, horrible accidents and horrible marriage almost snuff out the brightness.
Jaxson, oh Jaxson. He is the Moon, he is the still waters run deep. He has built such a wall around himself over the years after the tragedy in his past. He becomes the dark side of the moon, ever bleak.
You are going to get all the feelings in this book! I laughed like crazy with the interactions between Jax and Connor, I cried when I read the backstories of both Kennedy and Jax. I held hope and swooned over the chemistry between Jax and Kennedy and who they both navigated their grief.
This first story in this series is phenomenal and I cannot wait to see where the next stories in this series take me.
One thing that is guaranteed when we open a novel written by Brittainy C. Cherry is that she will take the reader on an emotional journey. Southern Storms is no different and she certainly had me reaching for the tissues during certain scenes in this book.
Jax and Kennedy’s story is one not to be missed. They are both struggling to come to terms with events that have happened in their lives but they have a special connection which I hoped would enable them to help each other. There is so much for them to overcome and the locals in the small town where they live don’t make life easy at times, especially for Jax. However there are some folk that you would love to call your friend.
Southern Storms will bring out every emotion as you turn the pages of this book. It is the first book in this new series and a definite must read! I can’t wait to see what Ms Cherry gives us next.