Review: How Much I Feel

Sometimes you just need a fun romance to keep you entertained on a long weekend. Marie Force's How Much I Feel was exactly what I needed back on the Labour Day long weekend in September. I devoured the first book in the new Miami Nights series in just one day and had a lot of fun reading it.

Here's the synopsis:

Carmen

Babysitting a handsome, arrogant neurosurgeon isn’t how I imagined my first day at Miami-Dade General Hospital. This is supposed to be the start of my dream career—something I’ve worked hard to achieve after the tragic loss of my husband. Dr. Jason Northrup isn’t going to mess up my plans, even if he makes my lady parts stand up and say hello. Especially since the surgeon sends up every kind of red flag. However, my heart—and other parts—seem intent on ignoring those signs…

Jason

I have more important things to do than bail out an attractive new colleague, but I need her. Carmen is my only hope in convincing the Miami-Dade board to overlook my tarnished reputation—and she makes me feel optimistic again. Romantic entanglements are the last thing I can afford, but Carmen isn’t an entanglement. She’s a beautiful breath of fresh South Florida air. My feelings for her are quickly becoming the best kind of scandal.

While How Much I Feel is billed as part of a series, I think each book can probably be read as a standalone (but don't quote me since I have yet to read the next books in the series). It is a romance so you know what's going to happen at the end so it shouldn't be surprising if you "run into" another couple when you read the next books.

The story is an interesting (and delightful) mix of light and heavy. Both Carmen and Jason have something in their pasts that has matured them far more than their peers. But they don't allow it to limit their present or future. It will always be a part of them, especially Carmen with the death of her husband, but they understand that they can't allow the past to negatively impact their lives. It was really inspiring, actually, to see how they both dealt with difficult situations in such a positive way. 

It wasn't all about the hard stuff - there were a lot of lighthearted moments as well. Reading as Carmen and Jason got to know each other was so fun and the flirting was such a slow burn! It was good though because you knew they couldn't just hop into bed together. There were so many things they had to work out first but you knew it was coming, and pretty quickly all things considered, because their chemistry was obvious. Although, the more I think of it, maybe it was just obvious because I knew they'd get their Happily Ever After. The two were connecting on a level that was so deep and meaningful, which is a bit different than the connections we read about in a lot of other romance novels where there are electrifying looks and touches and they jump into bed together right away. 

I think I was also really enjoying this read because it kind of allowed for a little bit of armchair traveling. Remember travel? I really liked that a large part of the story involved Carmen showing Jason around her part of Miami. It was like heading to a tourist destination but having a local show you all the best spots. And that is something we're just not able to do right now so I was more than happy to read it (and pretend I was there right along with them).

All in all, How Much I Feel was a delight. I think it was very much a right book at the right time kind of situation but I very much enjoyed the time I spent with Marie Force's novel. It's also making me realize I'm due to read another romance. What romances have you been reading lately?

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Waiting for a Star to Fall

I am absolutely loving that more female, Canadian authors are publishing such smart, insightful novels these days. Kerry Clare's Waiting for a Star to Fall is the latest (just out today!) and I enjoyed it for the writing or the characters but mostly I liked it for the underlying commentary on today's society. It's intelligent, feminist, and a very good read.

Here's the synopsis:

Brooke has long been caught in the orbit of Derek, a rising political superstar. First he was her boss, then they were friends and she became his confidant, the one person he shared everything with. And even though she had feelings for him--it was hard to resist; he's charming and handsome, respected and beloved--she never dreamed he'd feel the same way. Derek is so much older and could have anyone he wanted.
But it turns out that who Derek wants is Brooke, and suddenly none of the reasons they shouldn't be together matter. They fall in love. And even though Brooke has to keep the relationship a secret--stealing weekends away with him, late nights with takeout after long days at work, and business trips that are always a romantic whirlwind--being close to him and her dreams of their future make everything worth it.
Then it all falls apart, and Brooke is left holding the pieces of the life they'd shared. Derek becomes embroiled in a scandal--the kind Brooke never could have imagined he'd be involved in--and she is forced to re-examine their relationship and make sense of the man she loves.
Poignant, heart-stopping, and resonant, Waiting for a Star to Fall is a story about love, the things we choose to believe, and how sometimes the path to happily ever after has to start with ourselves.

I can't remember exactly when or how I learned that Waiting for a Star to Fall was sort of inspired by Patrick Brown's political rise, fall, and rise. I think it was from Clare herself on her Instagram account (which you should follow if you're not already) but I can't be sure. (So much info comes at you all the time these days!) You don't need to know his story to enjoy the novel because it's a story that's repeated often and not just in politics. Brown, like Murdoch, was embroiled in a sex scandal but then managed to come through it all relatively unscathed and ended up being elected mayor. What was trippy for me is I lived in Barrie, which was Brown's riding when he was MP. I was in my early twenties, just like Brooke, and I went to the bar where Brown also frequented (which was hilariously called Slappin' Nellies in Clare's book). I don't know how much Clare meant for the fictional Lanark to be Barrie but that's how I viewed it in my head.

Clare's novel looks at the nuances of Murdoch's story and how we can't always know who to trust, who is telling the truth, who is getting hurt the most. We can't know the whole story or why some women don't believe other women or choose to stand by the men who have allegedly done so much harm. We know there are two sides to every story but there are layers to each side that we often lose when we, the general public who have no connection to a scandal like Murdoch's, discuss and gossip and judge. I feel like that's a major point Clare is trying to make in this novel - and, if not, that was my biggest takeaway. We can't always know even though many of us, myself included, think we do and think we know what is best. 

It's been a decade since I was 23 but I remember feeling as Brooke does, at least a little. I wasn't involved with a politician nor did I go through the things she does (no spoilers here) but the feeling like you're so far past being in university (which makes me laugh now, ten years later because 23 year olds are so young to me which is unfair to them and something I'm working on. I don't want to become a "kids these days" kind of person) and you think you have life figured out but you really, really don't. You're trying to find the friends to carry you through into adulthood while also figuring out who you are (which, I will say, is an ongoing process). That feeling. That's what I remember. Trying to navigate the real world and find your values. I admired Brooke for having strong feelings, which you only really see in the flashbacks because she's so lost in the present day, because at 23 I didn't know what the hell I thought about a lot of things.

I just know some people will be annoyed at the ending. I like how Clare left it, which is surprising because normally this kind of ending frustrates me. (Yes, that's vague. No spoilers, remember?) What did sort of confuse me is there was no link back to the very first news article in the novel that reports on Murdoch's successful mayoral bid. I did read an egalley so maybe things changed but, to me, that article may have been stronger at the end of the book. 

I don't always love making comparisons because all books are so different but Clare's novel reminded me a little bit of Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Instead of racism, Clare's novel puts a spotlight on feminism and the Me Too movement and wraps it in a novel that is intelligent and an entertaining story. 

Pick up Kerry Clare's novel because it's an entertaining, contemporary read. Stick with it because it is a perceptive, intelligent commentary of the world we're in. Waiting for a Star to Fall is a book that will stick with me for awhile because of how it made me think about how I view and consume news of the world around me.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: You Can't Catch Me

2020 has been a hell of a year, hasn't it? As some of  you may know, I also write reviews for Niagara Life, a magazine put out by my local newspaper. Usually there are four issues a year and I write reviews for three (or sometimes four) books for each issue. This year we lost the summer issue because of COVID. The fall issue was pushed back and one of my reviews wasn't able to make it into the issue. That review was of Catherine McKenzie's latest novel, You Can't Catch Me. I read the book way back in February 2020 as it was originally supposed to be published earlier than the August pub date. So, instead of reinventing the wheel and trying to add to a review of a book I read before COVID was a Thing in North America, below you'll find the review as I wrote it for the magazine. I hope you check out this book by one of my favourite Canadian authors!

Jessica Williams has had a rough few weeks. She’s been fired from her job as a journalist and now her identity has been stolen. What else could go wrong? Everything, as it turns out in Catherine McKenzie’s latest novel, You Can’t Catch Me.

After Jessica is fired for plagiarism, she takes herself on a trip to Mexico. While in the airport bar, she meets another Jessica Williams (now known as Jessica Two). Knowing Jessica will be out of the country, Jessica Two wipes out her bank account. Jessica vows to get revenge.

But who is Jessica really? The unreliable female narrator trope has gotten pretty tired over the last couple of years but McKenzie manages to do something that feels completely fresh. Without giving too much away, there are a number of explosive revelations that leave the reader wondering exactly who to trust. And just when you think you have it figured out? You find out you don’t. Not at all.

There are many threads to this novel with layers of information that are revealed slowly over the course of the novel. Jessica’s background holds more than a few surprises and the mystery of who Jessica Two is will consume thriller fans.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Magic Lessons

I feel like I've always known about the movie Practical Magic. It was released when I was 11 but it wasn't until I was much older that I learned it was based on a novel and it wasn't until three years ago that I finally read the book and watched the movie because I had read The Rules of Magic for Niagara Life magazine, which was the first Practical Magic prequel Alice Hoffman wrote. I loved it and enjoyed Practical Magic too. And the adaptation? Well, it was a good enough movie but as an adaptation it was lacking. My point? I was really, really, really excited when I heard there would be another prequel, this one going way back to the beginning of the Owens family. And Magic Lessons did not disappoint.

Here's the synopsis:

Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back. 

When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it’s here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman’s masterful storytelling.

I read this book in one night. Partly because I forgot the file was going to expire the next day. (So many books to review, so little time.) But I think I would have binge read it anyway because the story is that addictive.  I was completely sucked into the origin story of the Owens women. I like learning the why and how behind families like this, especially since Hoffman had already given some insight in the last prequel.  

I'm also especially a fan of historical fiction that's about witches. I think I've always liked that kind of fantasy - I recall reading a historical fiction series aimed at teens and my favourite was about the Salem Witch Trials - and I don't read nearly enough of them. (Recommendations are welcome!) I think part of why I love it, when it's done well of course, is because it reads as if witches have always been around and it's usually such a subtle type of magic. Intellectually, I know magic can't exist but authors like Hoffman can make you suspend that belief and you'll find yourself wondering, well, maybe there are still witches around. I felt the same way when I read Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy (and, no surprise, my favourite of that series was Shadow of Night where they go back in time to the 1500s). 

You don't have to read the other books in the Practical Magic series to enjoy this one. There are parallels drawn that will only make sense if you have but given I've read them out of order and it's been a few years since I have, you can dive into Magic Lessons this spooky season and still get an immense amount of enjoyment and satisfaction out of it. 

The characters in this novel are all so flawed but so enjoyable to read. It's like every one of them has a lesson (and not necessarily magical) to teach the reader without it coming across as preachy at all. Maria thought following her heart was the most important thing but she didn't consider the feelings of people she'd allowed to get close to her, who were warning her against her mission because they could clearly see it was not the right path to take. Faith was so intent on revenge that she didn't allow herself to examine the situation from someone else's point of view. 

I just have to say it: what the hell is up with this cover? I don't think I would be at all enticed to pick up this book based on the image. The colours work, I'll give it that, and the image does relate back to the story. But it's just...odd. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of faces on books? I also don't know if it really matters. Alice Hoffman's name will sell the book.

Magic Lessons was an absolutely wonderful read. Alice Hoffman is such a good storyteller and this origin story of the Owens women is written exceptionally well. I was sucked right into the story and was so sad when it was over. I definitely recommend reading this one - especially during the Fall season.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Sorry I Missed You

Looking for a ghost story to read this month that's not creepy? Suzy Krause has you covered with her latest novel, Sorry I Missed You. I read it back in June when it was published and it's been hard to figure out exactly how to review it. It's one of those books that was just so delightful and fun that I just want to tell you to read it and enjoy it!

Here's the synopsis:

When Mackenzie, Sunna, and Maude move into a converted rental house, they are strangers with only one thing in common—important people in their lives have “ghosted” them. Mackenzie’s sister, Sunna’s best friend, and Maude’s fiancé—all gone with no explanation.
So when a mangled, near-indecipherable letter arrives in their shared mailbox—hinting at long-awaited answers—each tenant assumes it’s for her. The mismatched trio decides to stake out the coffee shop named in the letter—the only clue they have—and in the process, a bizarre kinship forms. But the more they learn about each other, the more questions (and suspicions) they begin to have. All the while, creepy sounds and strange happenings around the property suggest that the ghosts from their pasts might not be all that’s haunting them…
Will any of the housemates find the closure they are looking for? Or are some doors meant to remain closed?
Quirky, humorous, and utterly original, Sorry I Missed You is the perfect read for anyone who has ever felt haunted by their past (or by anything else).

I read Krause's Valencia and Valentine (review here) last year and, while I liked it, I wasn't blown away. So, I was a wee bit hesitant to pick up Sorry I Missed You - when there are so many books to read, you have to be picky. I'm glad I did read it though because it was a delightful caper full of characters you're going to love hanging out with.

The premise of this novel was too fun. Wouldn't you assume a letter would be for you even if you didn't have any proof? I'm sure I would. So I could definitely understand the motivation of all three women to try and find out if the letter was, in fact, meant for them. All is revealed by the end and is incredibly satisfying. Especially because it's one final reveal after a massively hilarious one that I honestly did not see coming at all.

Back to the characters in this book. The main characters, three women who were complete strangers before moving into the same house, are all so different and reading as they tried to find common ground, beyond the thought that the letter for was for them, was hilarious. And also a bit...sad? Each character makes assumptions about the others and it's hard for them to come to terms with that when they are finally getting to know each other. I liked that they were all different and I could find something in all three to identify with.  

If you follow me on Instagram (check me out here if, for some reason, you're not), you'll know one of the best parts of this pandemic has been "meeting" other, new Canadian bookstagrammers. There's been a group of us who have had several Zoom chats with various Canadian authors over the last few months and Suzy Krause was one of them. It was a small group that night but that almost made it better as it was easier to have a really meaningful conversation. It was absolutely wonderful to talk with Suzy about her books, life, and what we've all been drinking (mostly wine and a lot of it). She's one of the kindest authors I've "met" and I wish we could have talked all night! Thank you to Suzy for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk with us in July!

Sorry I Missed You is a real, funny, and sweet novel that I very much enjoyed reading. Suzy Krause has written a wonderful story, one that takes place in Regina even! While I've never been to Saskatchewan, I love that more books are being set in Canada. I hope you'll pick this one up and like it just as much as I did.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the published, Lake Union Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Spoon Stealer

You all know I love Genevieve Graham's books. So when she told me I had to read Lesley Crewe's The Spoon Stealer, well, I trusted her judgement. I'm so glad she recommended this historical fiction (written by another Canadian!) to me because I absolutely, completely, totally loved it.

Here's the synopsis:

Born into a basket of clean sheets—ruining a perfectly good load of laundry—Emmeline never quite fit in on her family's rural Nova Scotian farm. After suffering multiple losses in the First World War, her family became so heavy with grief, toxicity, and mental illness that Emmeline felt their weight smothering her. And so, she fled across the Atlantic and built her life in England. Now she is retired and living in a small coastal town with her best friend, Vera, an excellent conversationalist. Vera is also a small white dog, and so Emmeline is making an effort to talk to more humans. When she joins a memoir-writing course at the library, her classmates don't know what to make of her. Funny, loud, and with a riveting memoir, she charms the lot. As her past unfolds for her audience, friendships form, a bonus in a rather lonely life. She even shares with them her third-biggest secret: she has liberated hundreds of spoons over her lifetime—from the local library, Cary Grant, Winston Churchill. She is a compulsive spoon stealer.

When Emmeline unexpectedly inherits the farm she grew up on, she knows she needs to leave her new friends and go see the farm and what remains of her family one last time. She arrives like a tornado in their lives, an off-kilter Mary Poppins bossing everyone around and getting quite a lot wrong. But with her generosity and hard-earned wisdom, she gets an awful lot right too. A pinball ricocheting between people, offending and inspiring in equal measure, Emmeline, in her final years, believes that a spoonful—perhaps several spoonfuls—of kindness can set to rights the family so broken by loss and secrecy.

Oh, this book. It made my heart so full. Emmeline was such a joy to read about. Her storytelling (and therefore Crewe's) was so amazing and I really felt like I was following Emmeline around as she was reading her memoir and then traveling to Canada to meet her family. 

It did feel like a really long book, though it's just 360 pages. Normally I'm a remarkably fast reader but it took me awhile to finish this one. I think it's because Crewe adds in a lot of detail, plus I was so enthralled in the story and the way it was told that I may have been lingering over the words a bit longer than usual. That said, the beginning does drag ever so slightly but the set up pays off for the rest of the story. 

Do yourself a favour and read the author's note at the end, too. Crewe explains how the story came to be and what parts of it were inspired by her own family. I love hearing how novels come to life.

I hadn't really thought too much about how the book's description mentions Emmeline's spoon stealing was her third biggest secret. The other two secrets are big ones and they explain so much about Emmeline's life and how she's been living it. 

The Spoon Stealer is one of those novels that will burrow into your heart and stay there. It's also a really hard one to review because I don't want to give anything away and I just want to shove it into your hands and say, "READ IT!" I was close to tears as I reached the end of Lesley Crewe's latest novel. It's a well written, engaging story featuring a main character who is unique and completely lovable. You'll love every moment you spend with Emmeline.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Nimbus Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Cover Reveal: A Very Perry Christmas

I've been reading Marie Landry's novels for awhile now and they're always such a delight. In fact, I've beta read most of her recent releases and it's always so tough to keep quiet about the story until it's close to being published because I always want to talk about it with someone immediately! I just read A Very Perry Christmas over the weekend and, friends, I am SO excited for all of you to read it. It's a perfect Christmas novella that's full of the love and magic we always try to find during the holiday season.

Today I'm thrilled to take part in the cover reveal for A Very Perry Christmas. I'm hoping you'll all be as excited as I am when you see it and hear what the book is all about!

First, here's the synopsis:

Gwen's Christmas with the Perrys is turning into a holiday to remember...for all the wrong reasons.

Hot chocolate by the fire. Christmas carols. Stolen kisses in the snow. When Gwen's boyfriend Evan invites her to spend Christmas with his family, she pictures a perfect Hallmark holiday scene, complete with all the happy sighs and swoons.

But between Evan's brother who schedules the family’s every move, his sister who’s never met a mirror she didn’t like, and the amorous newlyweds who flaunt their sexcapades, Gwen finds herself dodging the Perrys like it's her job. The more Evan's family brings their own brand of chaos to Christmas, the more Gwen wonders if she's in over her head, and if the Christmas of her dreams is going to turn into a nightmare.

A Very Perry Christmas will be released on November 16th, 2020 but you can pre-order it now for just $2.99 on Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, and Nook. Pre-order details are here.

Ready for the cover?

Isn't it so cute?

While you're waiting for this book to publish (and you should all be waiting because it really is a delightful Christmas story), check out Marie's other novels that take place in the same town (no need to read them in order!): Mistletoe Kiss, Only You , Maybe You, and Hung Up on You. 

I hope you get your own copy of A Very Perry Christmas and love it as much as I did!

Review: Confessions of a Forty-Something

 

I'm not sure if I ever would have picked up Alexandra Potter's new book, Confessions of a Forty-Something, if I hadn't been offered it for review. And you know what? That would have been an absolute shame. I loved this book so much and it will probably end up being one of my top reads of 2020.

Here's the synopsis:

Nell Stevens' life is a mess.

When her business goes bust and her fiancé with it, Nell's happily-ever-after in California falls apart and she moves back to London to start over. But a lot has changed since she's been gone. All her single friends are happily married with children, sky-high rents force her to rent a room in a stranger's house, and in a world of perfect Instagram lives, she feels like a f**k up. Even worse, a forty-something f**k-up.

But when she lands a job writing obituaries, Nell meets the fabulous Cricket, an eighty-something widow with challenges of her own, and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Whereas Nell's friends are all busy with their families, all Cricket's friends are dying off. Together they begin to help each other heal their aching hearts, cope with the loss of the lives they had planned, and push each other into new adventures and unexpected joys.

And because Nell is determined, she's going to turn her life around. This time next year things are going to be very different. First though, she has a confession...

One of the reasons I was initially wary about the title, when I came across it for the very first time, was simply this: I'm not a forty-something (I'm a thirty-something). I wondered if it would be alienating to me and my generation or if there would be pockets of the story I would be able to identify with (not that you have to identify with every story). What drew me in was that I knew I could understand how it would feel to be a childless woman in a world where it seems like everyone I know is becoming a mother or has plans to become a mother in the next little while. That's not a world I understand, since my plan is to stay childless. So, I thought, why not give Nell's story a try? Thank goodness I did!

I loved Nell. I wanted to hang out with her and be whatever she needed - drinking buddy, sounding board, friend date. I especially wanted to tag along on her adventures with Cricket. I'm seeing more stories focus on a friendship between those in their seventies or eighties and someone two or three decades younger and I'm loving it. It's a subtle reminder that folks that age have a lot more going on than we may think and they definitely have way more stories to share than the friends who are your own age. I don't have any grandparents left so do me a favour and ask yours for some stories, ok? Especially right now.

I don't want to say much about the romance because spoilers but I will say I loved it. It was so real, all the way along, and so perfect.

I could also really identify with Nell's feeling of being a fuck-up. There are a whole lot of us who are going along and aren't really sure what we should be doing. Does anyone? I would say this book shows that no, most people are bumbling along with no idea what they would really like to be doing. You just do what you have to do to be able to live and pay bills and, you know, Adult. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have your dream little business and a great relationship and then *wham* everything blows up. So, all that said, I just loved reading as she sorted things out and started (re)building a life she could be proud of.

Finally, I liked how the story was told. It was divided into sections, one for each month of the year. It had a bit of a Bridget Jones feel but I think it's really just because it was a woman of similar age, it started at the same time of year and was a diary of sorts, and it's also set in England. Plus, it's clever and heart-warming. So there are similarities but Nell is her own character.

Confessions of a Forty-Something was such an enjoyable read and I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished Alexandra Potter's novel. It's actually taken me months to review it because I had such a book hangover when it was done and I just wasn't sure what I was going to say except: READ THIS BOOK. It had everything I was looking for in a novel and I hope others pick this up and love it as much as I did.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The One That Got Away

I always say I love a good second chance romance. Turns out Karina Halle has made me love a good fourth chance romance, too. The One That Got Away is her latest and I adored it. It was the perfect book to sink into over a sunny, last weekend of summer. I read it so quickly, as I always do with Halle's books, and then was so sad when it was over, like always with Halle's books. 

Here's the synopsis:

Ruby Turner was never meant to be mine.
When I first met her, she was a fresh, young, American sports journalist trying to find her footing in a new life abroad. She was the one interviewing me for an article, yet I wanted to know more about her. She captivated me.
But she went home with Marco that night.
My agent.
My brother.
And I did what I could to pretend I was fine with it.
After all, I’m Luciano Ribeiro. As the captain of Real Madrid, and Portugal’s National Team, it’s my job to be cool, calm, and collected, not easily rattled.
Only what I felt for Ruby over time, shook me to my very core.
It made me do things I never imagined I would do.
It started with a stolen kiss in the middle of the night.
It led to a passionate tryst.
It created a burden of guilt that I had to carry, as Ruby came in and out of my life until she left for good, leaving her mark on me.
Now, seven years later, she’s back.
She was the one that got away.
I don’t think I’ll let her go this time.
But I might not have a choice.
Because my heart still belongs to her.
And her heart might belong to my brother.

Halle has published two other (excellent!) novels this year but neither were particularly...heart-wrenching, I suppose is the right word for it. I mean "heart-wrenching" as a good thing, of course. I love that she can write lighter romances but also ones that are able to reach into you and rip your heart out. Before lovingly putting it back together. In this case, it was put back together with the most satisfying Happily Ever After I've read in awhile. I've read lots of good ones lately, of course, but there was something about this one that made me SO happy by the time they figured out what was best for them. (We all know that's not a spoiler, right? This is a romance, after all.)

If you're looking for a little armchair traveling during the pandemic, Halle has you covered. This book takes place in Portugal and should help your wanderlust, at least a little bit. I know Halle likes to set her books where she's actually traveled so I know she knows what she's talking about. 

I have to say...the only little thing that gets to me with Halle's books is how sometimes they're sometimes a wee bit too angsty. You read how the synopsis is written, right? Sometimes the story gets like that too and it's just...a lot. It never bothers me too much but sometimes I find myself skimming the internal dialogue of the characters because they're a bit...earnest.

I liked that Luciano was an athlete but wasn't super macho or alpha. He respected Ruby's choices - so much so that they weren't able to communicate as much as they should have. Instead of voicing his feelings, he shoved them aside because he didn't think he deserved romance and the happiness that can come from that. He was a good man with a past that's damaged him and he hasn't been able to heal from it. It was so great to read as he met Ruby and realized there was someone out there in the world who could understand him.

Ruby was a delight to read. She was so lost and unsure of where she wanted to go in life, which I could totally understand. I mean, I'm now in my 30s and still feel lost sometimes so I get how a twentysomething could feel. I liked that she figured out one part of her life and went after that dream - moving to Europe and working on her sports journalism career. She was so full of life and she and Luciano together brightened her already vibrant personality. It was so lovely. Their relationship was also off-the-charts steamy which was great to read too!

The One That Got Away is a must read for anyone looking for a story to escape into. Karina Halle's novel will get deep into your soul and Ruby and Luciano will stick with you for awhile. I can't wait for what she writes next (and it's looking like it's going to be a holiday anthology!). 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Valentine PR in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*