The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis

2*

This is the story of two sisters who couldn’t be more different: Brooke, the adventurous younger sister who left Wildstone seven years before and has rarely been back and Mindy, the perfect sister who married her high school sweetheart, stayed in her hometown, and is raising 3 beautiful children. It’s clear from the start that these somewhat estranged siblings have no clue about each other’s current life and lob accusations at each other rather than trying to mend their broken relationship.

The problems with this book are myriad, starting with the fact that neither sister is particularly likeable. Brooke is pretty much an ice queen who has deeply buried her past hurts and, with no explanation, has alienated both her family and Garrett, the man who is supposedly the love of her life. Given that they never had a true relationship, the entire second-chance romance premise is implausible, especially given her near-constant self-flagellation and Garrett’s nasty, albeit somewhat justified, behavior towards her. Mindy is a control freak who, despite no evidence to support it, believes her sweet but clueless husband Lincoln is cheating on her. There is quite a bit of fat-shaming with her character which has no place in contemporary fiction. The children are precocious and provide much-needed comic relief, but they are almost feral. The oldest child has OCD like her aunt Brooke, but Mindy never recognized the symptoms in Brooke and downplays her daughter’s. This is surprising given that Linc is a doctor.

Although this is the 3rd book in the series, there is really no connection other than location and a brief, but funny scene at the winery from Book 2, so it can be read as a standalone. The first two were interesting reads with engaging characters, but this one falls flat. Shalvis is wonderful at writing funny, charming, and sexy serial romances (Animal Magnetism, Heartbreaker Bay) with only a couple of new characters introduced in each subsequent book. Unfortunately, she struggles when writing longer “women’s fiction.” She doesn’t use the added pages to develop her characters and the stories tend to drag. Not recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from HarperCollins Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Stone Bridges by Carla Neggers

3*

Free-spirit Adrienne Portale has returned to Knights Bridge as an innkeeper after a rough visit the winter before when, under false pretenses, she took a house-sitting job with the biological father she had just learned about. She’s never stayed in one place for more than 6 months, and doesn’t see that pattern changing, but she’s committed to learning on-the-job and spending time with her father Vic, a retired diplomat. Soon after she arrives, she is surprised to see handsome stonemason Adam Sloan, the quiet brother in a large family with deep roots in the town. Despite a growing attraction that started the winter before, she is hesitant to start a relationship that will end badly if and when she leaves and that will take up time she could be spending with her father. Will the friendships she makes and the possibility of a lasting relationship with Adam be the key to her finding a home at last?

Although this story could be considered a standalone, it is heavily-populated with characters from the eight previous books in the series, so much so that the story opens with Vic providing Adrienne with a cheat sheet to keep everyone straight. What might have been a better choice was to provide a family tree since almost all relationships feature the Sloans or O’Dunns. The story got bogged down by the ongoing explanations of who’s who, the mundane details of everyday life (down to what people were wearing), and the slow pacing of the relationship between Adam and Adrienne. (Their first kiss doesn’t even happen until after the halfway mark.) There was very little action to break up the monotony other than a short, uneventful search for some missing boys early in the book. So the decision they make at the end of the book makes very little sense given the time frame. After all the stalling, what’s the rush? Fans of the series will enjoy this installment, but most romance readers will be frustrated and bored.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Mira through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.