I was 15 years old when I stood on a hill in a peach orchard with the girl of my dreams, contemplating marriage.
Now I’m a hockey star, The Maverick Murphy. I have flow on the ice and on my head, but I still have trouble forming sentences when she’s around. And she’s all around—living in my house, sharing my space, so close, I can smell her perfume on my clothes. I’m all grown up, and I’d still do anything for her.
I was 15 when I stood on a hill in my family’s peach orchard with the cutest boy I knew and said I’d marry him on the spot. Now that boy is a grown man, a hockey star with muscles and dimples and smoldering hazel eyes. He’s also my new roommate, but I’m not here to fall in love. Our beloved peach trees are dying, and I’m here to find a cure.
When the town’s rich bully threatens to own our land and me along with it, I kind of snap. I kind of say Maverick’s mine for real. It’s a lie. We’re only faking, but with every kiss, every touch, every stolen moment, reality starts to blur. Still, as much as we want to pretend, he’s LA’s hockey champion, and when the semester ends, I’ll have to leave. That’s reality.
(ARC Read)
Give me all the peach references because Flow was sweet, juicy, and absolutely impossible to put down.
Maverick Murphy might just be one of my new favorite book boyfriends. He’s patient, steady, reliable, funny, protective, and let’s be honest, very easy on the eyes. But what really makes him special is the way he’s loved Dove his entire life. She was his childhood best friend, the girl from the peach orchard, and the only one who’s ever truly held his heart. So when she needs a place to stay while studying abroad for the semester, their chance to reconnect feels like fate finally ripening.
“My Dove is a firecracker, and yeah, I called her mine. She’s hot and explosive and real and fucking good.”
And you can feel it immediately — their attraction is palpable. The sneaking glances, the brief touches, the quiet tension simmering between them… it builds like a storm waiting to break. Living together only makes everything more intense, especially when a fake dating situation starts to blur the lines between what’s pretend and what’s always been real. They try to hold back, but when it finally pours? It’s sweet, intense, and completely earned. Dove grows bolder around him, asking for what she wants, and Maverick is more than willing to give her everything. There’s a deep trust between them that only comes from years of friendship, making their transition from friends to lovers feel natural and incredibly emotional.
“How did I kiss you?”
“Like you wanted to devour me whole.”
Maverick’s devotion to Dove is everything. He’s the ultimate golden retriever hockey hero. He’s warm, supportive, and completely gone for his girl. He’s willing to give up his career, move back home, and stand beside her as she fights to save her family’s peach orchard with no hesitation, no questions asked. His love never wavers… it only deepens. And honestly? A man who’s been in love since childhood and would give up everything for her? I was done for.
“It’s like a hunger that has lain dormant inside me for so long, yet just this fast, it turns into a blazing inferno. We’re a wildfire out of control. We’re the tornado.”
Dove is just as easy to love. She’s smart, driven, and determined to save her family’s land, and I loved watching her chase her dreams while Maverick quietly supports her every step of the way. Their chemistry is off-the-charts, their banter is hilarious, and the closeness between them makes every moment feel more intimate. Add in a hilariously meddling family and a found-family dynamic that wraps around them both, and this story just keeps delivering.
And can we talk about the little moments? Because Maverick getting her a foster husky puppy since she grew up with one? My heart could barely stand it.
“Tell me something no one knows.”
“You belong to me.”
The yearning between them stretches back years, and even after time apart, they fall right back into place like no time has passed. Watching them finally realize they’re better together than apart was incredibly satisfying. And that ending? The sweet culminating moments, the hospital revelation, and that final twist for Knox, I loved every second.
Tia Louise delivers another feel-good romance filled with heart, laughter, emotion, and just the right amount of spice. Flow is sweet like peaches, hot like summer, and full of love that’s been growing for years.
I absolutely devoured this one, and I’m already counting down the days for Knox’s story.
Release Date: April 23rd, 2026
Thank you to Tia Louise and The Author Agency for the ARC read!