Publisher: Self Published
Instant favorite.
I am a big fan of Monica McCallan. Her characters are always hot and likable, with better than average dialogue, and a small dose of angst for a good payoff.
But this was so much more than that.
McCallan tells an affecting story of two women finding themselves unexpectedly back in each other’s lives. Alternating between ‘Then & Now,’ we learn about their history while simultaneously watching their awkward navigation of re-acquaintance.
Lily and Bennett. Oh, how I loved these two ladies. Beautiful, nice, and flawed characters. With giant hearts. Lily is a wedding planner and Bennett is keeping up with the Joneses in her high society circle. When Lily begins to plan Bennett’s best friend’s wedding, they are forced to spend time with one another again.
I don’t want to say too much because a big part of the charm was the discovery. I was completely engaged and anxious to understand how Lily and Bennett new each other and what happened to create such a rift. I’m generally not a fan of flashbacks, but the way that McCallan tackled this was very effective. This was both an insta-love and a slow burn but in different moments of time. And it worked.
What I liked the best about this book was the chemistry and emotion conveyed between Lily and Bennett. I love it when authors can make you feel that characters must be soul mates or meant to be. I was completely convinced that these two belonged to each other and had an unfortunate and devastating hiccup. I enjoyed watching these two gals try to protect their hearts. Especially the brokenhearted Lily.
This is McCallan’s best book yet. She has outdone herself with this one. There was a level of emotion that went deeper than her previous stories. The bad part about that is that I’m going to expect it going forward!
There was a mix of fade to black and a tad bit more explicit sex scenes. I liked that they were never porn-like or smutty. The intimacy was emotionally driven and had a sensuality that you don’t often see in books.
I recommend this to everyone who loves to read romance, second chances, good dialogue, affluent families, making mistakes, travel, Europe, weddings, all consuming love, and The Fast & Furious.