First love is filled with sweet romance and stolen kisses, but such love often comes at the high price of heartbreak and loss. 

In The Something More by HK Jacobs, thirty-two-year-old Quinn McClain is an established equine veterinarian in New Jersey, but her roots are in the fictional small town of Linzberg, Texas, near San Antonio, where she grew up in the loving embrace of her widowed father and her aunt Jackie. Before beginning her studies at Princeton and eventually her professional career, Quinn met Will Deremer, grandson of the owners of nearby Deremer Vineyards. This chance encounter launched Quinn and Will on a whirlwind summer romance, followed by several years of separation, misunderstanding, and heartache.

HK Jacobs is more than adept at building romantic suspense and teasing the reader with hints of Quinn’s past trauma—losing her mother—and the events that tore her apart from Will. The overall story oscillates between the past and the present, layering the plot with familial bonds; breathless young lovers connected by an invisible thread that refuses to break; and the complicated comfort and torment of home.

As The Something More progresses, the characters quickly come to life, and their stories embody the universal truths of love, secrets, revelations, and forgiveness. When Quinn returns to her Texas home to help temporarily at her father’s veterinary clinic, she is confronted by her past and presented with the opportunity either to heal or remain burdened by guilt, frustration, and loathing for what was, what is, and what could have been. Small towns have a way of putting life into perspective, often demanding a slower pace and a more focused glimpse into the importance of friends and family. HK Jacobs captures this essence beautifully, complete with the unpredictable Texas weather and landscape, enchanting Christmas parades, and a slew of animals needing the expertise and loving care of a dedicated veterinarian. 

Romance is a major theme in The Something More; however, it hovers on the sweet side rather than the explicit, allowing the reader to focus on the characters’ emotions, life decisions, and resolutions that lead to the alluring realization that fairy tales can and often do come true. We can and should all be someone’s something more.

“Maybe the universe was on the cusp of offering me a second chance at the life I’d thought I would have.”

Quinn is a rising star in the veterinary world, but she harbors buried grief that keeps her from being genuinely happy. Will is a best-selling author, but he is unable to forget his first love and the magical place where that love blossomed under the mystery of the Texas sky and the full moon. When love is meant to be, it will find a way. But what will it take for that binding thread to pull these two back into each other’s arms? 

The Something More is the perfect literary choice for anyone drawn to unrequited love, small-town hijinks, and the harsh reality that while the truth may hurt initially, lies and secrets can leave painful scars that might never truly heal. The ending will steal your breath, capture your imagination, and melt your heart.