growing in love - jj maybank

Dani Burton has always been full-kook. Most days, she drifts through Kildare Island in the company of her best friend, Sarah, her boyfriend, Rafe, and-unfortunately-her next-door neighbor, Topper Thornton. On the surface, Dani's life looks easy: the house, the friends, the money. And if anyone asked, she wouldn't deny that things are good. Or at least good enough. But deep down, Dani isn't sure if being a kook is all it's cracked up to be-maybe it comes with problems no one wants to talk about. Maybe Dani has problems she doesn't even understand yet.

Her dreams are the only place she feels truly free, filled with glimpses of wild adventures far beyond the expectations weighing her down. Every fleeting encounter with Kiara Carrera only feeds that craving for escape-a reminder of something different, something real, just beyond her reach.

But when a chance to break free finally comes, Dani has to ask herself: What's the price of freedom? Can she find the love and adventure she's always longed for? Or will she get pulled under, lost to the current before she ever really finds herself?

*Trigger Warnings* allusions to suicide, mentions of death, cancer, physical assault/abuse, violence, classism, racism, sex/smut