Read More Sleep Less Blog: Waiting On My Reason by Devon Ashley

★★★ 3.5 stars!

"Everything did happen for a reason."

**FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED**

She loves him. He loves her. But sometimes love just isn't that easy…

When Shane Michaels returns to his home town to help out an old friend, he never expected to run into his old flame Melanie Peterson. The one he could never have, because she was dating his best friend Brad in high school . The one who also betrayed this best friend and who broke his heart. Shane still holds Mel responsible for sending Brad off the deep end ever since the moment they broke up.

What he doesn't know though, is that perhaps Mel never really was to blame for what happened with his friend and that the break up wasn't her fault either. Still, it's what he's always made to believe. So, when he runs into her, he doesn't exactly treat her kindly. But running into her also makes all his old feelings come back full force and they're becoming harder and harder to ignore.

"Even after all these years apart, my damn heart was incredibly sensitive when it came to Mel. I still wanted her, needed her."

Mel has always had a crush on Shane as well, but since Brad asked her out first, she's had to keep those feelings at bay. Seeing Shane again makes her remember her past feelings and despite his odd behavior, she can't deny the way he makes her feel. Still, her past has made her weary of trusting men and when it comes to priorities in life, her five year old son Jake will always come first.

"I really wanted him. For once, could life just throw me a bone and let me have some cake? I loved cake, I missed cake."

To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the way Shane treated Mel at first. I know that Brad was his best friend for years, but still it seemed pretty obvious that Mel wasn't to blame in the whole situation and if he would have just opened his eyes a little further, he would have realized that a lot sooner. Admittedly, his behavior did undergo a complete 180 during the second half of the story, and he did make up for his slightly "jerkish" behavior. Mel, on the other hand, was a strong independent heroine, even though I felt like she should have cleared up her painful past with Brad a lot sooner to Shane. That way, a lot of miscommunication could have been avoided.

Overall, Waiting On My Reason was a quick, easy to read story with some funny, romantic scenes as well as some angsty ones. My only complaint was that the many lies and the miscommunication that existed between the two main characters made it hard for me to fully connect with them. Also, the story was quite short which is why the ending felt a bit rushed. Still, I enjoyed the author's writing style and I will surely read more books by her in the future.

If you're looking for a sweet, engaging standalone romance, this one's definitely worth giving a try!