Things We Never Got Over
Things We Never Got Over
A grumpy, guarded man and a sunny, optimistic woman clash and connect in unexpected ways in their quiet hometown. He's been burned before and doesn't believe in second chances, but she sees something in him worth fighting for. Their slow burn romance is witty, steamy, and deeply moving.
Everything You Need to Know About Things We Never Got Over
Naomi Witt leaves her own wedding and drives to Knockemout, Virginia, to bail out her estranged twin sister Tina. Tina takes her car, her money and her dignity, and leaves behind an eleven year old daughter Naomi did not know existed. Waylay is feral, sharp and entirely unimpressed by adults. Knox Morgan owns the bar in town, is aggressively uninterested in other people's problems, and gets dragged into Naomi's anyway. He is grumpy in the load bearing sense, with a family history that explains it. It is a long, comfortable small town romance with a real plot underneath, because whatever Tina is mixed up in follows her back to town. Grumpy sunshine done properly, and the kid steals the book.
Lucy Score's gift is making small-town dynamics feel lived-in and genuine. Knox is genuinely grumpy, not the performative kind, but the exhausted kind, and watching Naomi chip away at his walls is satisfying precisely because it takes time. The secondary characters in Knockemout are distinctive enough that they feel like real people, not just supporting props. The town itself becomes a character: tight-knit, gossipy, but fundamentally good.
The romance doesn't overshadow the real plot: Naomi's concern for her sister. That thread doesn't get sidelined for kisses, which gives the book actual weight. The ending feels earned rather than convenient.
Implied domestic abuse (sister's relationship, not graphic). Alcohol use (bar setting). Brief violence.
Naomi ends up with guardianship of Waylay, and the found family between the three of them is the actual love story. Tina is not redeemed. She comes back with a dangerous accomplice and the climax is a rescue, with Knox and Nash getting Naomi and Waylay out. Knox and Naomi close on a solid happily ever after with no ambiguity, and Nash and Lucian are set up for the next two books.
Perfect for readers who love grumpy/sunshine dynamics with genuine emotional stakes. If you enjoyed small-town romance that doesn't feel saccharine, or Lucy Score's other work, this is essential. Fans of forced proximity will love it. Not ideal if you prefer high-heat romance (this is moderate spice) or if you want pure escapism without real relationship messiness.
Book one of the Knockemout series, followed by Things We Hid From Each Other and Things We Left Behind. The romance resolves completely here, so this is the right place to start, and the later books follow Knox's brother Nash and then Lucian.
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