The Words We Lost (Fog Harbor #1) by Nicole Deese

 Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.

As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony--two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she's also desperate to find the closure she's convinced will come with Cecelia's missing final manuscript.

After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell--the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters--offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.

Honoring Cecelia's last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?

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Confession.  I didn't ever read the blurb for this book.  It's a thing for me with authors that I know I love.  I trust them to write fantastic stories and I want to be completely surprised going in so yeah, no reading the blurbs for me.  This book was the best surprise for me.  I'm so glad I didn't know anything about it going in.

There is a dual timeline happening in this book as Joel and Ingrid read a memoir of sorts that takes them back in time to memories of their youth.  I really loved this because I had the chance to connect the people before and the people now.  The shift in time was seamless.

Emotions of all kinds were swirling in this book.  Sorrow and loss, pain and regret.  Love and laughter, healing and peace.  And plenty of misunderstanding.  It was quite the journey.

I loved the setting and the characters.  Second chance love stories are so satisfying to read and if I had to pick a favorite?  It's Joel.  Unwavering, steady, devoted and protective.  His love was his walk and his talk.  I'm all in for that.

The story had so much book talk- from writing to editing and then publishing.  It was fun to be immersed in that side as well.  I love book talk!!  This is another fantastic book from this author.  I enjoyed it top to bottom, beginning to end, all the way through.

Content:  death, drinking (alcoholism),  depression.  Kissing.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.