REVIEW: Starting Over on Sunshine Corner by Phoebe Mills

In Starting Over on Sunshine Corner by Phoebe Mills, single mother Rebecca Hayes takes her best friend, Jackson Lowe, to a wedding where both give into the attraction they’ve shared for years. It was supposed to be one night, until Rebecca ends up pregnant.

Jackson doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, but it’s not to take over his father’s landscaping business. Yet, after Becca discovers she’s pregnant, he feels pressured by both her and his father to do so. They both seem to believe that Jackson doesn’t take anything seriously and that he needs to grow up, despite him showing them otherwise.

Becca has issues regarding feeling secure due to her childhood, but will she be able to overcome them in order to see that Jackson isn’t being irresponsible, but that he is, in fact, trying to do the right thing for this new family they’re building together? Or will Jackson have to sacrifice his newly discovered dream to prove to both Becca and his father that he’s willing to put Becca and his child first?

I felt badly for Jackson. He was railroaded into a job he didn’t want, and it felt like no one in his family, other than one of his brothers, really knew the type of man he actually was. Yes, he loved surfing, but that was his passion. Yes, he enjoyed playing video games because those were times he spent with his brothers and friends. He was a hard worker, yet his father never seemed to acknowledge that. Then pile on Becca who had her own doubts about his readiness to be a father, and it felt like very few people who should have been in his corner actually were.

I liked Becca for the most part, but I struggled with her seemingly inability to trust Jackson’s feelings of responsibility towards their growing family, even though he proved time and time again that he was going to be there for them no matter what. Considering they had been friends for so long, I would have expected her to have more faith in him than she did.

Despite my issues with Becca, I enjoyed her and Jackson as a couple. The chemistry between them was great, and he easily slips into a father-figure role with Becca’s young daughter. He proves that he’s ready to be a father, no matter what anyone else things.

This is the third book in The Sunshine Corner series, but it can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the previous books but didn’t feel like I had been missing anything but not have read them. This book would be for readers who enjoy stories about small towns and friends-to-lovers and unexpected pregnancy tropes.

Book Info:

Publication: February 7, 2023 | Forever | The Sunshine Corner #3

Single-mom Rebecca Hayes has been so focused on raising her daughter and building her finance career, she’s not sure she even remembers how to date. The only man she’s been out with is Jackson, her very close—and very attractive—friend. But Becca isn’t getting her hopes up after they crossed the line one memorable night—she knows Jackson too well. So when she discovers she’s pregnant with his baby, Becca isn’t sure she can count on Jackson anymore . . .

Fatherhood isn’t something Jackson Lowe saw for himself. He figured he’d just keep working at his family’s landscaping business, surfing and being a happily unattached bachelor. But in his heart, he longs to build a family with Rebecca—his secret crush and the real reason he never settled down. He’s got a lot of work to do before she’ll believe he’s all in. He’s been the man Becca wants. Now, Jackson has to prove he’s ready to be the man she needs.