Shadowed in Sunshine - TK Drake

The book blurb painted a picture in my mind of a brooding man crossing paths with a bright, sunny girl through innocent, everyday moments: chance meetings in restaurants, brief interactions on the street, quiet exchanges that felt simple and sweet. And while the blurb is accurate, there is an entire, unexpected understory that is not hinted at at all. That deeper layer is what truly made this book a wow for me.

Lucy travels across the country hoping to uncover the identity of the person who left her a mysterious trust. Her search leads her to the Sinclairs, the family she believes is connected to it. There, she meets the family matriarch, Blanche, and accepts a job without fully understanding what she is agreeing to: Lucy is cast to play Blanche herself in a movie Blanche is directing about her own life.

This is how Lucy meets Sasha, the man cast to play Blanche’s husband. Sasha immediately sees Lucy as pure sunshine, but his past and life experiences keep him guarded and emotionally distant. From the very beginning, their connection feels inevitable. Forced to live together to build chemistry for the film, Lucy and Sasha are pushed into close proximity that slowly chips away at his defenses. While Sasha tries to fight it, every shared scene and every moment spent building comfort and trust pulls them closer together.

The film Blanche is directing is something else entirely, featuring some of the spiciest scenes in the book. I loved the little ways Blanche meddles to draw Lucy and Sasha closer, and the quiet, adorable things Sasha does even as he insists on staying brooding and distant. And that third act? Absolutely something else. I received this book as an ARC and this reflects my honest opinion.

Trying the only way I know to tell her exactly how I feel. That I need her more than air.