The New York Times Bestselling author of Every Little Thing returns to Hart’s Boardwalk in this searing and emotional new standalone romance…Local metalsmith and gift shop owner, Dahlia McGuire, likes her quiet life in Hartwell, Delaware. It’s the perfect place to hide from her family and the tragic events that led to their estrangement. However, when her father, the person she loves most in … father, the person she loves most in the world, needs her Dahlia has no choice but to return to Boston to face her ghosts. One of those happens to be her ex-boyfriend’s best friend, Michael Sullivan. The man she was never supposed to fall in love with.
Michael Sullivan has never forgotten Dahlia McGuire. Some might say he’s never gotten over her. For years he lived with the anger of her desertion, and now, newly-divorced, he’s finally ready to move on. That proves impossible when Dahlia returns to Boston and reawakens their explosive connection. Despite everything, Michael wants her back, but Dahlia can’t seem to let go of the tangled emotions of the past. When she flees home to Hartwell, Michael follows, determined to do everything in his power to convince her they belong together.
However, when the unthinkable hits the quiet seaside town, Michael finds himself trying to unravel more than the mystery of Dahlia’s broken heart. It’s time for truths left unsaid to finally be spoken or Michael and Dahlia might find themselves torn apart forever…
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Amazing. This book was really good from start to finish. It had me in so many emotions and I absolutely love everyone of them. I really love this series, and I can’t wait for more. Samantha Books are amazing and she doesn’t disappoint like always with this one. If you love Samantha’s books then you will love this one as well. A must read!!!
4.9 Stars
We all remember Dahlia!
She’s the jewelry maker with her own little shop on the boardwalk. We don’t know much about her previous life. In the last book we finally saw someone from her past. Michael.
Now we go back eleven years and see how she met him – it was insta-attraction! Unfortunately he was the best buddy of her new boyfriend.
Then some very heartbreaking things must’ve happened because Dahlia left Boston and hasn’t been back home in almost a decade.
That’s about to change because her beloved dad just told her that he and mom are getting divorced!
Off to Boston we go to check on dad and maybe see her siblings again. They probably hate her after everything that happened. Which we still don’t know anything about at this point!
Michael is in Boston too of course – and those old feelings are still there – but he hates her too for leaving …
What will happen with Dahlia & Michael??
Will we get our happily ever after??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT!
Finally it’s Dahlia’s turn to get her Happily Ever After!!!
And it was beautiful!
Heartbreaking and adorable and sweet and sad and funny and so full of love and hate and family and forgiveness. I just adored this story!
It takes them a long while to get that happily ever after – 11 years – but they’ll get there!
And the reader has an amazing time watching them fight for that happy end!
I love that this is a more mature series. Those couples are all in their thirties …. we don’t have any immature 21-year-olds running around.
I loved that we got to see all the other people in town again. We even heard some interesting bits about Emery!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on her book!
THINGS WE NEVER SAID was an adorable & funny & sexy & heartbreaking lovestory! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Michael – this one is MINE!!!
The only tiny little thing I didn’t like. Which is kind of basically the whole point of the book … the reason(s) why those two haven’t been together for the last decade! The stupid thing he/she/they did! Ugh. – But I still really loved reading the book! There just has to be some weird stuff – some misunderstanding or mistake or whatever – otherwise all books would be HEA from the start!
Aww!! I absolutely love this series! I love how the friends of Hartwell stick together and look out for each other. This has been the case in all the Hart’s Boardwalk books. Especially this one! It was love at first sight for Michael. And it was instant attention for Dahlia. But the timing was never right for these two. So when tragedy strikes it was the final straw. Dahlia left with no explanation to anyone. And Michael was confused and angry. Then many years later these two might get another chance. However, with so much anger from Michael and guarded emotions from Dahlia reconnecting definitely was not easy. But these two are only a half with out the other. So when they finally become a whole…ahh! This is another great book. Go out and get your copy!!
ARC received for an honest review
I am slack. I have the other Hart’s Boardwalk books waiting for me to read them, but I haven’t done it yet.
However, this did not affect my enjoyment of Things We Never Said at all.
Oy, what a beautiful yet heartbreaking story is this one. It should come with a “you will need tissues, chocolate and vodka to get through this” warning label!
Dahlia and Michael’s story is adorable, and sweet, and emotional and frustrating. I can’t say how many times I wanted to scream at both of them to get their sh!t together and to talk things out.
Every time I thought that our lovelies had finally gotten things together, BAM Ms Young had me fighting back the tears as things again went awry.
This really was a slow burn of a story… like an 11 year slow burn! Sheesh, they really did take their time!
There was some great set up for Emery’s story too, which I hope we don’t have to wait too long for.
Beautifully heartbreaking! This is a romance between two people, although something always stands in their way, leading to a slow burn that will frustrate you, but I promise it’s worth it in the end.
The only thing keeping me from rating this a 5 star, is the fact that I had the hardest time keeping the storyline straight with all the time hopping. That might’ve been due to the fact that I was listening to the audiobook, so perhaps reading it on a page would’ve helped me through it.
This was my favorite story in the Hart’s Boardwalk series so far! I loved the character dynamic, even when I wanted to scream at them for being stubborn and clueless, lol. A truly beautiful story that will capture your heart and have you questioning everything you thought you knew in this series.
A fantastic addition to this series! The angst is real! The chemistry is palpable between Michael and Dahlia! Their journey is filled with ups and downs. You’ll be hooked from the beginning to end!
3.5 stars
Dahlia has been in Hartwell for almost ten years. When she crosses paths with a blast from her past, we slowly start finding out why. I liked Dahlia and Michaels story. It was a great premise. I just felt that after all the build up to the “why”, even though it was sad, it didn’t blow me away. It fits well into the series and I am looking forward to Emery’s book.
Things We Never Said is a wonderful read. I loved every moment of getting know Dahlia better. She will pull at your heart once you get her full story. This is a bad timing, second chance romance that will pull you in and have you cheering by the end for Michael and Dahlia. You will love how Bailey is there when Dahlia needs her. You will love how Dahlia’s family lifts her up when she finally returns to her home town. Dahlia is so strong and feels deeply. You feel the pull from the very beginning with Michael and Dahlia. Michael will surprise you and that is all I’m going to say there. I couldn’t get enough of this one. I need more of Hartwell and Hart’s Boardwalk. I can’t wait for Emery’s story and more to come. Each book gets better and better.
I know I can always count on Samantha Young to give me fantastically angsty and wonderful romance. That’s exactly what I got with Things We Never Said, a beautiful second chance romance set in the Hart’s Boardwalk series. Boy did this book have me all u in my feelings while I read. And even after I finished, if we want to get technical.
Dahlia and Michael’s second chance was a long time coming. Things between them were super complicated. Yet, I didn’t doubt for a minute that they belonged together. But, this wasn’t an easy romance where the characters just fall back into each other. They had to work for it. There was a ton of angst and emotions. It hurt so, so good. It was easy to get invested in their story.
I really liked Dahlia. I admired her strength and independence. She was relatable and likable. I was afraid I’d have a little bit of a tough time with Michael, even though I tend to love grumpy heroes. But, I didn’t. He was a really good guy who had me swooning all over myself while I read. These two had such fantastic chemistry and the slow burn they had going on desperately made me hope they could get the timing right this time around.
I hope Things We Never Said isn’t the last book in the Hart’s Boardwalk series. I love the characters and the small town setting in this series and, since I’m a greedy reader, I’m not quite ready to give either of them up.
Favorite Quotes:
“My mom always told me when you love someone, even on the days you hate them, that’s when you know it’s real.” =
“You don’t get to hurt me like that and say it’s because I make you crazy. And don’t blame me for your actions either. Your actions are your own, and I’m not taking responsibility for them.”
“I’ll wait forever for you, Michael Sullivan.”
“No waiting required. I’ve been yours since day one.”
“I’ll wait forever for you, Michael Sullivan.
No waiting required, I was yours since day one.”
Dahlia and Michael
Wow, just wow.
This book is incredible.
Samantha this is out of this world. You took it to a whole new level. I mean what just happened?
All of the tension and drama. The anticipation? I read it in a day. Shocking, right? Well it is not.
I started with the first book in a series The One Real Thing, because I wanted to refresh my memory and I am glad I did that.
These characters are amazing. Such a great community. They really are looking out for each other.
Dahlia looks like a strong girl on the outside, but once you get to know her past you really see how damaged she is. Anything more I say it would be a spoiler, so I will leave it at that.
Michael is an interesting man, to say the least. He had it a hard time growing up but managed to grow up an amazing man. Dahlia wrecked him for all the other women. He tried to move on, but couldn’t.
This book has so many feels. It is angsty and funny and most of all what the hell is happening? All the mystery and surprises. This one really did a number on me. I have to admit it. It is dark and always keeping you on the edge. I really couldn’t put it down. This book was worth the wait, I really am glad that you decided to publish it.
Samantha, I really am humbled that I can be on your arc team. It means so much to me. I love leaving a voluntary and honest review.
“ . , . ’ , . ’ .”
by the amazing Samantha Young is such a beautifully written love story. It was an exquisite balance of drama, suspense, angst, and romance. This nail-biting, breath-catching, powerful story about second chances and redemption had me on the edge of my seat, practically forcing myself to blink, let alone breathe. The emotion and depth Samantha brings to every single page warms my heart and brings the biggest smile to my face. Dahlia and Michael were wonderfully complex characters that had my heart from beginning to end. Time after time this author delivers stories that hurt so good, and this was no exception!
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When Dahlia and Michael met the connection was instant but their timing was off. Love will find a way. I love this series and can’t wait for the next book!
Epic second chance love story. Samantha Young is an amazing author that knows how to pull you in from the very beginning of the book and keep you hooked all the way through. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Dahlia and Michael’s story but it was so good and filled with lots of angst. The chemistry between the two of them is hot and instantaneous. They have a magnetic pull between them and even though there are so many forces trying to pull them apart, their love is worth the fight. I have enjoyed every single book in this series and hope there is more to come for all three couples. I can’t wait to see which couple comes next. Be ready for some serious angst with this book. It is soooo good. Enjoy!!
I’m a huge fan of Samantha Young’s storytelling; she crafts emotionally rich stories with multifaceted characters who change and grow dramatically as they face the issues that surround them and deal with the complications that arise as they work for their happily ever after.
In Young’s newest release from her Hart’s Boardwalk series, Things We Never Said, she gives readers Dahlia McGuire and Michael Sullivan’s
second-chance love story – one that spans more than a decade of time spent apart as they face the past and deal with the fallout of their decisions as well as the loss, grief, drama, and guilt that weighs them down.
Dahlia and Michael’s book is quite an angsty read, which makes sense given the events that transpired between them when they were younger as well as the reasons behind Dahlia’s return to Boston and the frustrating and heartbreaking confrontation that ensues.
There’s a lot for Dahlia and Michael as well as readers to unravel as they toggle between the past and the present, shedding light on how they developed feelings for one another and the impossibility of their love lasting due to extenuating circumstances that break both of their hearts; then from there, we gather insight into the reasons behind Michael’s frustrated and callous behavior when Dahlia heads back to her hometown and then the steps he takes to make things right after she leaves his life, yet again, returning to her quiet life in Hartwell, Delaware.
It’s made abundantly clear that Dahlia can no longer runaway from her past and from everything that happened to estrange her from her family – it must all be confronted and dealt with, and it’s not going to be easy because there is a lot of anger and resentment coming at her from a number of people. But the fact that she accepts the mistreatment and works to repair the relationships that were torn apart illustrates the kind of person she is and what she’s willing to do to make things right for everyone involved.
I have to admit…I found these two quite frustrating, at times, because they weren’t completely honest with each other or themselves and they didn’t talk things through enough to make one another understand the choices that were made. But I held onto the fact that the love between them never truly left…it just laid dormant, waiting for them to stop merely existing and start truly living.
Things left unsaid fester and scar in ways that people would never imagine and that’s exactly what happened to Dahlia and Michael, which means that forgiveness is necessary for both of them to move forward, hopefully together, but unless things are said that need to be said and issues explored, understood, and forgiven, they’ll not be able to truly find their way back to each other, even though that’s clearly what they both want and need.
Things We Never Said is a slow burn, highly emotional story, which makes sense given all that must be dealt with, both individually and together. But by the time everything is laid bare between Dahlia and Michael, readers will understand both sides’ feelings and be able to see why they made the decisions they did, even if they knew exactly the kind of fallout it would cause.
4.5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)
Another instalment in the Hart’s Boardwalk series and another duo of characters to love/hate and everything in between. Michael and Dahlia’s story is emotive and thought-provoking and yet thoroughly refreshing and enticing but boy, did this story challenge my perception of right and wrong.
I was all over the place trying to decide who was to blame for Dahlia and Michael’s situation. I wanted to blame Michael, then I wanted to blame Dahlia, then I wanted to blame Dillon, then I wondered if the author was to blame, and, oh my head is spinning again…..
Irrespective of who was in the right, or the wrong, here, what I was sure about was that this was a story which will remain in my thoughts for a long time to come. I may need to re-visit it again in order to review my perceptions from a different angle now that I’ve finished the story and heard all of the arguments!
What I do know was that this was another brilliantly written story by Samantha Young. It was gritty, very gritty, and it was perhaps more raw than some of her stories to date, but I loved it. Stories can’t always be all hearts and flowers, despite how much two people are destined to be together, and that’s what readers will find with Dahlia and Michael’s story. If you could have reached through the pages and banged their heads together the story would have been finished by 25% but they would have not had the opportunity to right their wrongs and to reason with their emotions, something which becomes very apparent as the story progresses.
The suspense element continues to worm its way through these stories courtesy of the Devlin family and despite them always having the upper hand they find themselves in for a shock in this instalment.
I always fall headlong into the Hart’s Boardwalk books. I love the setting, the characters and their complicated lives. I love how their lives intertwine and how we revisit the characters we have come to love from prior stories. We still have Emery’s mystery yet to be revealed and if love will ever be on the cards for her, Bailey and Jess and their respective partners continue down their HEA paths and now we also have Ivy’s complicated life to consider as well. I just hope we don’t have to wait too long for their stories.
I truly adore this author and have pretty much read everything she has written, so I was in rather unfamiliar territory with her new release Things We Never Said, which is Dahlia and Michael’s story. I have never skipped pages in this authors books, they’ve all been page turners, but I found myself getting rather bored with how many times Dahlia turned Michael away, and the secrets that they kept from each other, not to mention some of her family members drove me nuts. Thankfully this book is divided up into two parts, and part two definitely redeemed the entire story for me. Once the story moved back to Hartwell, things took on a whole different vibe for me, which in turn made the story much more interesting and developed, and things picked up. I adore the Hartwell ladies that make up a special group of friends that you can just see yourself sit and have a great time with. Loved the suspense and when things finally started to look up for these two characters, the ending ripped my heart out, loved it. Will definitely add this to the series on my bookshelf, and am very much looking forward to Emery’s story! Give this one a chance, you won’t be sorry.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.
This book hooked me from the first sentence and did not let go. Just reading the prologue gave me all the feels. I could not put this book down. My heart was racing the entire time. There was some predictability, but it did not detract from the story at all. I loved Michael and Dahlia. They had great chemistry and I loved seeing the path their journey took. This was the first book in this series I’ve read. I did not feel lost at all or like I was missing anything. I will definitely be checking out the previous books.
This is the third book in the Hart’s Boardwalk series, and it’s a second chance romance full of angst, heartache, forgiveness, bad decision after bad decision, true love and friendship. Dahlia and Michael have had so many obstacles to get through over the past 11 years. Dahlia is running from her past, being stubborn and afraid and refuses to emotionally deal with her issues. Michael is heartbroken and angry about the way Dahlia took off and how she handled things. Especially since he doesn’t have the full story. This book deals with a lot of realistic issues that pull at your heartstrings. I love that with all of Samantha’s books you get the individual stories of the main characters and you get to revisit with the previous ones from the series. The bonds that they all share is something we all hope for in relationships and you feel like your living the story. I can’t wait for Emery and Jack’s story. This is a must read!
Wow, this was one emotional, pulls all the heartstrings, makes you want to yell at the characters at certain points, swoon over the guy story. This was a fantastic story. Dahlia was a go-getter, be who you are, speak the truth, until she a life changing event occurs that alters Dahlia and her life choices. Michael, is the swoon worthy, hot cop. He meets Dahlia and only to learn she is with someone, however, these two build a friendship while ignoring their instant connection. These two face so much and go through so much, without ever being fully open with one another. This story is emotional, rips your heart out and puts it back together with Michael and Dahlia’s journey. It’s a beautiful story that everyone should read!
Oh my stars the heartbreak of this story. I was blown away at the emotions that Samantha Young had woven into the words of this book. As a HUGE fan of hers and this series, seeing Dahlia’s story unfold was stunning, raw and emotional! I had a really hard time putting it down. I think this one is my favorite out of all the Hart’s Boardwalk books to date.
The one thing that got me about this book is the guilt that Dahlia carried with her the whole time. About her sister, life with her family, everything. When she goes home, everything implodes when her family realizes what exactly happened that fateful night that changed everything. I wanted to smack some people but as things progressed, their eyes opened. Including Michael’s. The whole situation between these two is heartbreaking but I honestly do not blame Dahlia for doing what she did. But their love endured. Once things played out in Boston, I adored Michael and how he fought for Dahlia in Hartwell. Their chemistry was undeniable and so much more!
As a whole, this book was breathtaking and honestly one of my favorite books of the year so far. If you have not taken a chance on Samantha Young, do so please! These books will hit you hard with the feels and the intrigue!