She never believed she’d be chosen and he never believed choosing someone was safe.
Ava James learned a long time ago not to expect too much from people. It was easier to keep relationships casual than risk disappointment. Between her law career and her family, her life is exactly where she wants it to be—controlled and uncomplicated.
At least that’s what she tells herself.
Professional baseball player Cohen Jordan has spent years avoiding anything that looks too much like forever. After losing his mother, detachment became second nature. He learned young that the more something matters, the more it has the power to wreck you. It was easier not to risk it.
Unfortunately for both of them, life has other plans.
Cohen has always been Ava’s older brother’s best friend and wildly off-limits—until one impulsive night changes everything.
Now tied together in ways neither of them expected, they find themselves navigating blurred boundaries, undeniable chemistry, and a connection they’ve spent years pretending doesn’t exist.
Wanting each other is one thing, but letting someone in is another.
With more than just their hearts at risk, they’ll have to decide if friendship is enough—or if it’s finally time to take a chance on the one person who’s always seen them.
(ARC Review)
“I’m not walking away from something. I’m choosing something.”
There is stubborn, and then there is Ava James and Cohen Jordan. These two were absolutely infuriating. I spent an unreasonable amount of this book wanting to reach through the pages, grab them both by the shoulders, and make them actually TALK to each other. Watching them convince themselves that being together was somehow the wrong decision was painful, especially when it was so obvious that the risk was worth the reward.
But underneath all that frustration is what made their story work so well for me. For all the ways Ava and Cohen are different, their biggest fears are essentially two sides of the same coin. Cohen has spent most of his life believing control is the same thing as security. Losing his mother taught him early that the more someone matters, the more power their loss has to destroy you. So he keeps relationships casual, avoids forever, and convinces himself that if he never fully chooses someone, he’ll never have to experience the pain of losing them.
Ava, meanwhile, has spent her life believing no one will ever fully choose her. She’s independent, successful, intelligent, and completely capable of taking care of herself, but underneath that strength is a deeply rooted belief that asking for more will only lead to disappointment. She doesn’t need Cohen to rescue her. She needs to know that someone can look at her, choose her completely, and stay.
Do you see why I wanted to pull my hair out? These two are almost perfectly designed to hurt each other without ever intending to.
One impulsive night between Ava and her older brother’s best friend results in an unexpected pregnancy, and one of the things I loved most about Cohen was that there was never any question about whether he would step up. For a man who has spent years running from anything resembling commitment, he doesn’t run from this. He takes care of things Ava doesn’t even realize she needs and makes it clear from the beginning that when it comes to being a father, he’s all in.
I’ve never craved a woman the way I craved her.
Once Ellie arrives, she becomes his entire world, and Daddy Cohen was easily one of my favorite parts of this book. I loved their daddy/daughter dates, the way Ellie lights up when he comes home from an away series, and all the little moments that show how completely devoted he is to her. Cohen didn’t have the kind of father he deserved, and instead of allowing that experience to dictate the father he becomes, he consciously chooses differently. Ellie never has to wonder whether her daddy wants her or whether he’ll show up for her. She knows.
The real mess of Ava and Cohen’s story comes after Ellie is born, when they’ve essentially created this little family without allowing themselves to acknowledge what that family could mean. They’re friends, they’re attracted to each other, they care deeply for one another, they’re raising a daughter together, and their lives are completely intertwined. Yet somehow, these two stubborn people can still find approximately seventeen thousand reasons why actually being together is a terrible idea.
Loving someone wasn’t supposed to feel like this…like choosing them meant losing them at the same time.
That’s where Verdict became less about the accidental pregnancy for me and much more about fear. Cohen can take care of Ava, anticipate her needs, and be there for both her and Ellie, but fully choosing Ava means admitting just how much she matters to him. For Ava, being together isn’t enough if Cohen is only there because of Ellie. She needs him to choose HER—not because it’s convenient or because they’re already tied together forever by their daughter.
Their journey through those fears is messy, raw, frustrating, and at times downright ugly. There were moments when I desperately wanted one of them to stop overthinking everything and just SAY IT. But there are also so many sweet and tender moments throughout that show exactly why they belong together. Even when they aren’t ready to put a name to what they’re building, you can see the family they’re becoming.
Every touch, a promise. Every kiss, a devotion. This man was everything I never knew I could have.
I also loved the role their friends and families play throughout the story. The James family and the larger Primrose Hill circle are top notch, and practically everyone around Ava and Cohen seems to understand they’re meant for each other long before those two stubborn idiots are willing to admit it themselves. The meddling, support, friendships, and found-family dynamic brought so much warmth to their story.
“Don’t let the fear of losing someone stop you from loving someone.”
That really is the heart of Verdict for me. Cohen has to accept that loving someone means there are no guarantees and that refusing to take the risk doesn’t actually protect him from getting hurt. Ava has to believe she deserves to be chosen completely, not because circumstances connected their lives, but because someone looks at her and decides she’s worth the risk.
These two made me WORK for their happily ever after. They frustrated me, made me want to shake some sense into them, and had me questioning how two intelligent adults could be so spectacularly stupid about their own feelings. But somewhere between Cohen becoming the father he never had, Ava realizing she deserves to be someone’s unequivocal choice, Ellie becoming the center of their world, and an entire group of friends and family waiting for these two idiots to figure out what everyone else already knew, I fell hard for their little family.
Because in the end, the reward really was worth the risk.
Release Date: September 4th, 2026
Thank you to Brittany Storm for the ARC read!