Tag: Chicago

REVIEW: The Comeback Summer by Ali Brady

REVIEW: The Comeback Summer by Ali Brady

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Libby and Hannah inherited a PR firm from their beloved grandmother, but they are struggling to keep it afloat. Then Lou, a self-help guru, walks in.

Lou is vetting PR firms for the launch of a new product line. In order to compete, Hannah and Libby have to follow Lou’s system to break out of comfort zones so they can work from that experience if they get the job. Hannah is challenged to go on 12 first dates, and Libby has to do a fitness challenge.

While both women work on their programs – with significant help from one another – the process leads them to revelations, and love, they weren’t expecting.

Review

This was excellent! I usually enjoy dual point-of-view books, and this does an excellent job with the voices and insights of both sisters. And the set up with the 12 week challenges was fantastically done.

I liked both Hannah and Libby and was completely engrossed in their surface stories – the lost love/reconciliation, the physical challenges, the business challenges. But when both women get to the deeper parts of their individual journeys, I was riveted. I didn’t want to put the book down.

This was a delight from start to finish. I loved every bit of it. This was the perfect book to kick off my summer reading season – I recommend you give it a try. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

BONUS REVIEW: Love at First by Kate Clayborn

BONUS REVIEW: Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Will was 15, he and his mom drove into Chicago. Typical teen, Will’s mind was mostly on school, his girlfriend, baseball, and the fact that his blurry eyesight was bound to start causing him trouble. (He thinks wearing glasses will be dorky, so he just lives with the blur.) When his mom asks him to wait outside while she talks to her brother – the brother Will didn’t even know existed – he goes.

That’s when he first hears the voice.

The girl it belongs to is pretty blurry up on her balcony, but first her voice and then her laugh grab his attention. He moves to approach her, but that’s when he overhears the conversation between his mother and his uncle. And it changes everything.

Sixteen years later, Will is back. He’s inherited his uncle’s apartment. And he wants nothing to do with it. He takes the recommendation of an acquaintance and plans to use it as a short term rental. The other building tenants are not pleased, including the building association president, Nora Clarke – the girl from the balcony that pivotal day.

Review

This is what I refer to as a “quiet” story. There’s no big adventure or quest or mystery.  It’s a lovely story about a group of neighbors and this couple at the center. Will and Nora both bring baggage to their encounters. And that drives some of the conflict that initially pits them against one another. Later, it holds them back from fully embracing their feelings for one another. But the conflict is more subtle and nuanced than in most of the stories I gravitate towards. There’s no Hallmark-esque secret or job change or return home that the reader sees coming a mile away. The central issue is more whether Will will let down his guard or if Nora will take a chance on change.

I enjoyed the characters and the story here. I was surprised by the full story of what happened when young Will first visited the apartment. Again, the conflict wasn’t the typical or expected, which was great.

Normally, quiet stories like this aren’t my style. I like the mysteries and explosions and magic and adventure in my usual books. But like with Love Lettering, the author has created captivating characters and a somewhat out-of-the-expected story that drew me in. Romance fans and fans of the author’s previous work should pick this one up. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+