Brimming with Southern charm and irresistible cowboys, Juliana Smith is back with another YA feel-good romcom in the Willow Creek series.

“I just want you, Felicity. Heartbroken or perfectly happy, however I can get you, I want you just as you are.”

Felicity “Flick” Hart knows exactly how romance is supposed to happen. After years of devouring love stories, she’s ready for her own: the butterflies, the first kiss, the happily-ever-after. So senior year becomes Operation: Break the Firsts. First date. First love. First heartbreak, if necessary. The biggest thing holding her back is her close relationship with her lifelong best friend, Knox Turner.

Unfortunately, Knox has spent most of his life in love with Flick.

When Flick asks for help navigating the dating world, Knox agrees to be her “relationship coach,” which somehow involves fake dates at fall festivals, getting lost in a corn maze together, and way too many moments that feel dangerously real. But while Flick is busy searching for the perfect romance, the lines between practice and reality start to blur.

As Flick struggles with her absent mother’s supposed return, and Knox wrestles with expectations from his close-knit farm family, both are forced to confront what they truly want—and whether they’re brave enough to risk the friendship they’ve always relied on.

Between pumpkins, haunted houses, and years of unspoken feelings, Flick may finally discover that the love she’s been searching for has been beside her all along.