Savor It by Tarah DeWitt

 

4*

I gave this 4* instead of 5, only because I struggled to get into it. There’s not a lot of action or twists and turns, so I had to focus more on the dialogue. When I did, and thought about DeWitt’s choice of a dual POV, I was so thankful. This romance wouldn’t have been nearly as compelling and heartwarming if readers hadn’t been privy to Fisher’s thoughts. I can’t think of any love story I’ve read in the past few years that comes close to Sage and Fisher’s honesty and vulnerability. It is so refreshing to witness two people who have faced tragedy and its subsequent damage to the mind and soul, and who care enough to help each other overcome their personal challenges and navigate the way to a better, mentally healthier way of living.

Yet, despite this description sounding like this is an emotionally heavy story, it’s actually not. Over the summer they get to know each other, Sage and Fisher share a plethora of punny comments (many with sexual innuendo), bond over a bunch of unique and engaging adopted farm animals, cook and share some amazing meals (doesn’t hurt that he is an award-winning and 3 Michelin-starred chef), train for the small town’s annual festival competition, and create ephemeral sand labyrinths that the town is famous for and which are a metaphor for the impermanence of their relationship (before Fisher and his orphaned niece Indy return to New York City), but the enjoyment it can bring in the meantime.

Set is the fictional Spunes, OR, DeWitt mostly avoids the small town cliche of everyone being in everyone else’s business by focusing on the colorful and ever-evolving life on Sage’s hobby farm, Fisher’s struggle navigating his new role as parent to a hurting and angry teen, and the inherent goodness and selfless concern and caring of the two main characters. There’s plenty of steamy scenes between Sage and Fisher as well. Highly recommended.

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

The Marriage Sabbatical by Lian Dolan

 

4*

I guess I’m really old school, so I initially struggled with the open marriage premise of this book. However, I appreciate what Nicole’s friend Tessa said about the idea of monogamous marriages being the result of the Puritans’ influence and the Eisenhower administration’s focus on the “perfect American family myth.” Historically, marriages were mostly political or business alliances rather than love matches and, as long as children were produced and a wife fulfilled her other duties, fidelity was a non-issue. Of course, for the better part of history, people didn’t live long lives, so even loving couples rarely had to be concerned with boredom and monotony in a marriage.

In Nicole and Jason’s case, they decide on a 9-month marriage sabbatical after hearing of the Five Hundred Mile Rule from their neighbors. When Nicole backs out of a grueling motorcycle trip through South America following by months on a beach surfing (which Jacob had planned to take with his best friend before he tragically died) and tells Jacob she wants to go to Santa Fe to learn silversmithing and jewelry-making instead, he’s understandably upset. She is the one to suggest that they sleep with other people with a few rules and the understanding that they’ll reunite at the end and keep their dalliances to themselves. As they exchange weekly emails where she signs off with hugs and kisses and his are devoid of any affection, I couldn’t help thinking it’s a risky thing for a long-time couple who love each other. What’s the point of taking the chance of catching feelings for someone else when it’s just a 9-month separation?

So, I had to put my personal feelings about cheating aside (is it still cheating if both parties give permission?) and evaluate the book on its merits. Dolan, using flashbacks that fill the reader in on the things that initially drew Nicole and Jason together and the struggles and milestones they shared, gives readers a vivid picture of the strength of their marriage and commitment to their family. It also becomes clear that both Nicole and Jason’s plans (hers to learn to create beautiful, but difficult pieces of wearable art and his to write a mystery thriller) are better in their heads than in reality. Their time away, however, gives them the experiences and confidence to reevaluate what they want from life (with their kids due to graduate college, with her long-time job in retail a casualty of the pandemic, and with his demanding job in publishing keeping him away from his family far too much). It also gives them the opportunity to meet a varied and unique cast of characters (including an adorable mini poodle, Bardot) who enrich their experiences and helped them realize that the end of the sabbatical doesn’t have to mean going back to the same life that was no longer satisfying.

Overall, this was a very good depiction of a modern marriage in which the husband and wife love and respect each other but acknowledge that they need a break. If you’re looking for a love story featuring mature characters, this one is worth considering.

Fair warning: If you’re Covid-conscious and acknowledge that the risks of infection are still with us, it may be triggering to read about a family who goes back to “normal” even knowing that Jason’s best friend, an ER doctor, died driving home after a grueling shift in the early days of the pandemic.

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

The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves

 

4*


This is the 2nd book by Graves I’ve read, the first being The Girl He Used to Know. That one remains one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read, and I’ve recommended it to countless people. This one is also a tender love story, but it didn’t grab me quite the same way. I found the pacing a bit slow and, as an “indoorsy” person, I couldn’t get excited about geo-caching, the activity that brought Wren and Marshall together, but also provided much of the framework for the story.

I appreciate this romance in which the couple, despite tragic circumstances that have left them grief-stricken and wary of starting a new relationship, have the maturity and personal integrity to communicate as openly as their wounded souls will allow them to while acknowledging that trust takes time to build and that healing does not follow a linear path. In The Trail of Lost Hearts, these two start as friends who quickly develop feelings but live thousands of miles apart. What should have been a brief fling turns into so much more but Wren, having been betrayed in the worst sort of way in her previous relationship, isn’t willing to accept anything less than a man who “checks all the boxes” and doesn’t hold anything back. She’s self-aware enough to recognize that and to be honest about her boundaries. The irony is that he, as a psychologist, needs to get help in coming to terms with his own loss so that he can share his feelings and his future with Wren. The question is, will the tenuous connection they made in their week together be enough to motivate them to do the emotional work they need to be together, especially when Wren drops a huge surprise?

If you’re a reader looking for romances with depth, mutual caring and consideration, a focus on relationship-building, and a small touch of spice, this is one worth checking out. If you’re a fan of the great outdoors, even better, since the scenes in Oregon sound breathtaking. Recommended.

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

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins

4*

Ever since age six, when Imogen’s mother (who can predict the future) tells her she’ll never be first in anything, she has set out to prove her wrong and break the curse. In childhood, it was everything from sports contests to academic pursuits, and from art school onward, it was trying to find a man who wouldn’t eventually leave her for someone better. However, overshadowing it all, is her lifelong friend and high school crush Eliot who took their mutual best friend Franny to the prom and then left town permanently after graduation, eventually ghosting her despite his promise to keep in touch and leaving her heartbroken.


Just after her 17th boyfriend tells her he’s leaving her for his co-worker, Imogen’s mother has a premonition and Eliot’s father dies. In the ten years he’s been gone, quiet, sweet, kind but tortured Eliot has wandered the globe, amassed four million followers on his YouTube channel, and kept his vow to never return to the home where he was raised and neglected by his cold parents. When he’s called back for the funeral, he isn’t just confronting his mother and the pain of his childhood, he’s also having to come clean with Imogen. Once he share his fears with her, he commits to helping her win at something, knowing that this curse has held her back from living her fullest life and following her dreams. In the process of competing in everything from corn-shucking to cupcake baking contests, is there a chance that Eliot will decide to stop running away and, instead, run towards life with Imogen?


Although this has all the elements of a second-chance, friends-to-lovers, small town romance, it fits more in the women’s lit genre with complex family situations, an enduring friendship between three friends that isn’t the love triangle it appears to be at first glance, a small town citizenry that is predictably all up in Imogen’s business, and two lovely, kind people who are great at helping each other face hard truths but whose baggage might keep them from ever forgiving themselves and the people who wronged them so that they can be together. Firkin keeps readers in suspense up until the final moments. Fans of Kristan Higgins, Katherine Center and Abby Jimenez will want to check this one out.


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