I don’t mind a series, or books that end in a cliffhanger — I do, however, mind “piecemeal” stories that don’t even give you enough in the first installment to really want to bite into the larger story and continue reading. So that was my major problem here.

The Pros & Cons

The pacing of these first 158 pages is my main issue — it is PACED for a much longer story. The inner day-to-day flow, the dialogue, the events that unfold — it needed at least 30% more pages to feel somewhat complete as a full story arc. Anyway, let’s focus on what WAS here.

The characters were great, and the dialogue was punchy and on point. I loved the elderly Aunt as well as Blake’s teenage daughter, and even Addison’s friends — these scenes were quite sweet. The development of her career as a baker was beautiful — just to imagine being able to start your life over and do something you actually love… I liked reading about that. I also appreciated that both of the main characters were mature and able to understand where the other was coming from — he has a child who he must put first, and she’s coming out of a bad marriage with emotional baggage. Despite there being an instant attraction, it did take awhile to bubble into something, and I was grateful it didn’t go TOO fast with that, as it would have felt unrealistic given their circumstances.

It’s just, well… honestly, not much really happened.

Conclusion

At only 158 pages, I didn’t and couldn’t have expected too much, but I have read even shorter novels that had more story. In fact, I just reviewed a crime novella that blew me away — and in just 144 pages! So it IS possible to write a story in a short form.

…This, however, wasn’t that. This is a well-written INTRODUCTION to a story. It just wasn’t enough of a story in its own right.

Purchase your copy