It Was Nothing by Susan Henshaw: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

He’s America’s favorite heartthrob. She’s a broke single mom who loathes every lyric he sings…. and she just became his wife.

Ford Dupree has two Grammys, eleven platinum albums, and a reputation that keeps him on the cover of every tabloid. Yet, for all his success, there’s still one thing missing: the love of his best friend.

Peyton Jamerson’s been side-eyeing his fame and dodging his proposals for years …

Until she walks back into his life in crisis and drops to one knee herself.

A fake marriage to save her son? Easy.

Sleeping in the same bed with a pillow wall between them? Harder.

Pretending she’s not the love of his life? Impossible.

Perfect for readers who love hilarious banter and a mix of sweet and sizzle. It Was Nothing is a devastating, second chance, small-town, ‘rock star’ romance packed with longing, secrets, and a love story that was never supposed to happen this way.

The Author

Susan is a sucker for any story if love's involved. When she's not writing, you can find her trying to get her adult children to text back, her teenage daughter to eat something not covered in chocolate, teaching fitness classes at the local gym, or cowgirling on her family's farm in rural Virginia.

Book Review

It Was Nothing is the fifth book in The Seddledown Series. While this could likely be enjoyed as a standalone as well, I think readers will get the most out of this story if they read the series in order. The Dupree family has had a lot of complicated history and drama to get to this point, and I think readers will especially appreciate how far Ford has come if they first see where he started. 

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful...it's as simple as that. From the moment I read the first book in this series, I absolutely fell in love with the Dupree family. They were certainly a family that had their fair share of issues throughout this series... but there was also so much love. Ford was definitely a character that I was intrigued by throughout the series, and especially after the last book, I found myself looking forward to seeing his story. Not only did it not disappoint, but it absolutely blew every expectation I had had out of the water. Throughout the series, we have seen the progress of Ford and Peyton's relationship...which has been complicated to say the least. As the story picks up, they are best friends, but Ford's love for her is abundantly clear... he repeatedly asks her to marry him and she repeatedly turns him down... until her cheating ex-husband takes custody of her 13-year-old son, and she needs to get married to get him back. Ford seems to be getting everything he ever wanted, but she's keeping a big secret that could change everything. I won't give too much away, but again, their story was absolutely beautiful. None of the Deprees has really had an easy happily ever after, but Ford's is absolutely the most hard-fought. This truly was such a redemption story for Ford (especially with the epilogue). He'd had a difficult past filled with addiction and lots of women, and as such, it wasn't an easy read by any means, but it is having seen that journey that made the ending all that much better. I absolutely loved this story and found myself unable to put it down. This one is easily a new all-time favorite for me. 

It Was Nothing is a closed-door romance with fade-to-black/implied intimacy. There is a good deal of innuendo, some minor language, mentions of drug use, one nights stands, etc. that may toe that line of what some closed-door readers may be comfortable with, BUT it is handled well and so important to Ford's story. While this story is NOT a Christian romance, there are a few mentions of God and church throughout and particularly in the epilogue. While the author notes that you can skip that if it's not your thing, I personally thought it was the perfect ending to Ford's redemption story and highly recommend it, particularly for Christian readers. I loved the story even before we reached that point, but it was this moment that really solidified it as a favorite. 

You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/41b5WMx