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.
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.
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