Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score was one of the best books I’ve read this year. The book length was definitely on the longer side but the characters, story plot, and ending, makes you never want to stop reading. 

Naomi Witt is a runaway bride who drives all the way from Long Island to a small town in Virginia called Knockemout after her evil twin sister, Tina calls her to tell her she needs help. Although Tina and Naomi have drifted, Naomi was excited to come back to help her sister and hopefully reconnect with her. To Naomi’s surprise, Tina disappears after tricking Naomi and stealing her car and all the money she brought. The one thing she did leave behind was her eleven-year-old daughter, Waylay, that Naomi didn’t know existed but is now suddenly in her care. 

Helping Naomi discover Waylay’s existence and get settled in this new town is Knox Morgan, a wealthy bar owner who has a nasty demeanor when he first meets Naomi due to Tina’s past actions. He offers her a job at his bar to help her with money and no matter how hard they try to hate each other, after an incident happens where Knox opens up to Naomi, they begin to accept and work through their romantic feelings for each other. 

Naomi does not know her sister’s whereabouts but she does know that she loves Waylay and hopes that she will be able to be her caretaker forever. She develops many relationships in the small town and Naomi’s parents even get settled there after they learn about their granddaughter. Naomi is forced to rediscover herself after her runaway wedding and learns to love the town and the people around her so much that she can’t find a reason not to stay and create a new life with the people she has learned to love.