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A review by cjcharding
What Heals Us by Maggie C. Gates
4.0
3.75/5🌶️, MF, small town, age gap (13 years), virgin FMC, ok as a standalone better as part of a series, KU
The second book in this small town, first responders series by Maggie Gates is about an older firefighter and a virgin, chronically ill teacher who is ready to experience life. Again, since I am incapable of skipping books in a series, I wasn’t really excited to read this book because of the tropes. I’m not a fan of age gaps (this one is 13 years), virgin FMCs, or the “teach me how to sex” trope, which this book is filled with. However, all of these tropes I’m not a fan of were tolerable because of the MCs. I really liked the MMC - he’s sweet and caring, his love language is acts of service almost to the point of smothering. The FMC is very shy and timid but she does come out of her shell a bit. I wish we got to see her shine even more. I am starting to get a sense of how Maggie Gates write and I like it a lot. The small town might be ridiculous and someone is always in peril but I’ll put up with that because there is no miscommunication (in the books I’ve read) and there’s been no third act breakups. The couples have good communication and connections and treat each other with kindness and respect. Plus, I like how Gates write spice. In this book it was sweet with a little bossy MMC but mostly he just wanted to make her feel good. So, while I wasn’t super excited about this book, I turned out enjoying it (even if I did mentally close the age gap as I was reading).
The second book in this small town, first responders series by Maggie Gates is about an older firefighter and a virgin, chronically ill teacher who is ready to experience life. Again, since I am incapable of skipping books in a series, I wasn’t really excited to read this book because of the tropes. I’m not a fan of age gaps (this one is 13 years), virgin FMCs, or the “teach me how to sex” trope, which this book is filled with. However, all of these tropes I’m not a fan of were tolerable because of the MCs. I really liked the MMC - he’s sweet and caring, his love language is acts of service almost to the point of smothering. The FMC is very shy and timid but she does come out of her shell a bit. I wish we got to see her shine even more. I am starting to get a sense of how Maggie Gates write and I like it a lot. The small town might be ridiculous and someone is always in peril but I’ll put up with that because there is no miscommunication (in the books I’ve read) and there’s been no third act breakups. The couples have good communication and connections and treat each other with kindness and respect. Plus, I like how Gates write spice. In this book it was sweet with a little bossy MMC but mostly he just wanted to make her feel good. So, while I wasn’t super excited about this book, I turned out enjoying it (even if I did mentally close the age gap as I was reading).