Just What I Needed: Cardinal Springs #3

Author: Lauren Morrill Title: Just What I Needed Publisher: Yellow House Media Date Published: 01/13/2026

Read Dates: 01/08/2026- 01/09/2026
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 📖 I received a gifted e-book ARC. Many thanks to Love Notes PR for this gifted e-book to read and review. The following is my honest review✍🏻

Just What I Needed is a dual POV grumpy/sunshine romance. Kindergarten teacher Carson has always been a people pleaser, shrinking herself down to make her parents happy. She’s finally living on her own and ready to make some changes in her life. One of those changes is letting quiet, broody Dan, her best friend’s older brother, crash in her guest room when he needs a place to stay. Dan is being very secretive about the investigation that uprooted his life in NYC and brought him back to their small town, but Carson and her sunshine personality bring out a different side of him. Together the two are growing and changing, and hoping it doesn’t all come crashing down!

This book was so good! Both characters were incredibly relatable and I loved the two of them together! Carson trying to break free from toxic ideas shared in the spirit of “helpfulness” and figure out who she is outside of the plans others had for her was so well done. Dan’s anxiety over two years in limbo, his fear for the future, and his desire to hang on to something good was very moving. Plus roller derby! Tattoos! Skinny dipping! There was so much to love about this one! I can’t wait for the next in the series.

On her own for the very first time after her parents retire to Florida, Carson Webber can finally start her real life. Tired of being sheltered and ignored, she’s got a plan to put herself out there. Armed with a dating app, a pair of roller skates, and a sunny disposition, she’s running at life with arms wide open. Even if her new roommate, her best friend’s broody older brother, has her blushing and stumbling every time she opens her mouth.

Dan McBride is good at keeping secrets. He’s not talking about why he lost his job, or why he left New York. He’s not telling anyone why his bank account is empty or why the federal government is investigating him. And he’s certainly not talking about the way his little sister’s best friend, the bubbly, sunshiny kindergarten teacher, makes him feel.

Then one disastrous date and a late-night drunken confession opens the door for a flood of secrets. Because it turns out the best person to help you be who you are is the one person who can’t see you as anything else.