I would like to thank GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Ooooooooohhhhhh i think i just found my favourite in the Big Bend Bears series, and i think maybe my fave ND of all time, because Hail Mary had me feeling all kinds of feelings and i could not stop reading this!!

ND romances -for me anyway- tend to be wild melodrama wrapped up in soft and sweet new love. Happily this installment dialed back on the intensity of book 1 which had pretty much knocked me on my ass...i'm srsly still emotional about DALLAS because of all that pain and turmoil he faced DAILY...as a HS senior!!! It still hurts me.

In Hail Mary the drama itself was significantly tempered, and with ND's light and breezy narrative style lifting some of the more darker aspects of small-town bigotry, i very much appreciated how this installment all came together in both tone and quality.

I'm just so tired of the hate, Fam, and i'm starting to really distance myself from that low fkin vitriolic vibe when i just want to snuggle up with boys kissing. ***People, media, discourse AND books, actually. And it's been very liberating saying NO to that energy!***

I loved how this book was filled to the brim with supportive love, and Benny shone so bright that it was impossible to not fall in love with him. Rowan and i did not stand a chance!

ND really captured being a new adult really well in this. the insecurity over security and safety, and learning how to navigate what's important in the same breath as figuring out what you can stand to lose, and trusting that you'd survive letting that go...ok i'm choking up just remembering both these boys' journeys and i'm just so happy that Benny's parents were AMAZING, and two young people got the opportunity to know true love and support at this very crucial point in their lives! ND made my heart all squishy and i can't stop feeling feelings for these babes from Big Bend.

So what i was trying to say before getting all teary eyed, is that being 18 IS tough for myriad reasons, and scarier still when your fundamental identity IS tied up to your physical safety when you're still a dependent. And all of that uncertainty and fear was very present in this narrative but with just enough edge taken off so that the churning anxiety Rowan felt did not, thankfully, give me a bout of queasy heartburn!

All of this to say that i was really moved by Hail Mary. and while some of ND's other titles may not have been ecstatic wins for me, this series is turning out to be a gem that manages to reach me on a level most NA romances do not. It's got a ton of heart, a solid bit of characterization that makes these young people read substantially to me, while delivering some harsh realities with deceptive ease.

Or maybe i'm just feeling for hurt communities rn, because all i want to do is hug and protect these scared kids (like Rowan and Dallas who don't have folks like Benny's in their lives) just trying to survive this world on fire.

So ymmv.

Mine gave me this win, as well as excitement for False Start, book 3 in the series, featuring darling Vaughn who will hopefully hijack my feelings as much as books 1 and 2 did! Can't wait!