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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Our Summer Together in Books

Sep 11, 2017  
Our Summer Together
Our Summer Together
Fanny Blake | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Second Chance at Love and Life
Review I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This latest book by women’s fiction author Fanny Blake is an uplifting story about family and finding love later in life. Our Summer Together begins with Caro, a portrait painter, and part-time art teacher, running around after her two adult daughters, Lauren and Amy. With barely a moment to herself, Caro flits between looking after her three-year-old grandson and helping out at Amy’s florist shop. However, one day, a brief encounter on the train home sparks excitement back into her life.

From the train to decorating her house and, finally, becoming her lodger, Caro gets to know the mysterious Damir as he gradually opens up about his past. Despite being fifteen years younger than her, Caro falls in love with the Bosnian and he with her, but can this elation last?

Despite her new chance at love, Caro has so many other things to worry about. Her ex-husband Chris is filing for divorce so that he can marry his new, much younger woman. However, this involves selling the house that Caro lives in and where her children grew up. On top of that, her eldest daughter, Lauren, is sceptical about Damir and is not afraid of saying so. With life as she knew it crashing down around her, Caro must decide whether Damir is worth it, but, most importantly, does he really want her in his life?

The title of the book, Our Summer Together, creates a sense of foreboding from the very beginning. Implying that Caro and Damir will only have one season together puts the reader on tenterhooks: what will go wrong? Desperate for a happy ending, we plough through the chapters wishing that their happiness could last forever.

It is refreshing to read about a romance developing between older characters rather than the typical twenty or thirty-something. A second chance at love feels much more satisfying than a will-they-won’t-they, playing hard-to-get attempt at a first serious relationship.

Alongside the love and joyfulness is a darker history that opens the readers’ eyes to events occurring during their lifetime that they may not have been very aware of. Growing up in Bosnia, Damir was subjected to war and violence, losing all his family and having a disastrous start at adulthood. For Damir, his relationship with Caro is not only a second-chance at love, but a second-chance at life, too.

Our Summer Together is a relaxing book to read that can either be devoured quickly or eked out over a period of time. With humour, reality and a range of emotions, it is impossible to find the story boring. Whatever your usual genre of choice, this book will be a refreshing change
  
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Running on Empty (Mending Hearts, #1) in Books

Jan 8, 2021  
Running on Empty (Mending Hearts, #1)
Running on Empty (Mending Hearts, #1)
L.B. Simmons | 2013
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So I'm currently reading my backlog of books--the ones that have been on my kindle since late 2012/early 2013.

And I have to say why did I not read this sooner?! I loved it.

4.5 stars, instead of 5 simply because of all the giggling. I think even Blake giggled at one bit, which made me laugh but seemed rather surreal.

The story itself, though... God, I'm a sucker for a good romance and this was so heartfelt. He'd loved her forever and she ended up with someone else, so for them to get a second chance... *sigh* I was having a good swoon over this one.

I'm not always a fan of children in my romance books but how could I not love these three? They were adorable! I couldn't stop smiling/laughing throughout at some of the stuff that came out of the kids mouths and just in general.

This was definitely something I enjoyed and I look forward to reading more books by the author.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated After the Hurt in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
AT
After the Hurt
Shana Gray | 2016
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story had two things going for it for me. 1) It was written dual POV which I love. I love being able to be inside the hero’s head as well as the heroine’s. 2) It was a second chance love story.

Normally I would love a second chance romance, but I tend to enjoy the ones where the couple is starting with someone new, not someone they have already been and screwed up with. If it were different circumstance, I could understand. However, I felt Pepper was a very selfish person and I was often annoyed by her behavior. Tank wasn’t much better but he was far more patient with Pepper than I could have been. I understand that sometimes people need change or “to get away”, but I felt Pepper went about it completely the wrong way,

I was also annoyed that there didn’t seem to be much interaction between the two. Inner monologues are something I like limited in my stories. They tend to tell more than they show so there is little plot progression. If there is too much of it, I tend to find myself skipping over it especially if it doesn’t progress the story line (which inner monologues rarely do.)

I felt like this is a story I could have enjoyed had I liked the characters better.