Fiction
Proper Romance
2017
320
Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she's been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.
But when it turns out that what Blake actually wants is more of a hook-up than a honeymoon, Emma is hurt, betrayed, and furious. She throws herself deeper into her work as CMO of Kinetics, the fastest growing gym franchise in the nation. She loves her work, and she's good at it, which is why she bristles when her boss brings in a consultant to help her spearhead the new facilities on the East Coast. Her frustration turns to shock when that consultant turns out to be Blake's younger brother, Lucas.
Emma is determined not to fall for Lucas, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that Lucas is nothing like his brother. He is kind and attentive and spends his time and money caring for the less fortunate.
What she can't understand is why Lucas continues to try to push her back into Blake's arms when he so clearly has fallen as hard for her as she has fallen for him.
Realizing that her love life is as complicated as anything Jane Austen could have dreamed up, Emma must find a way to let Blake know that it's time for him to let her go and to let Lucas know it's time for him to love her back.
A Sweet, Fun Romance
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book – I’m not always a fan of contemporary romance, but I do love me some Jane Austen, and I was in the mood for something a little lighter. This book definitely delivered.
Emma heads out to surprise her boyfriend, knowing that she’s getting a proposal. Turns out, Blake wasn’t proposing, had another girl over, and wasn’t really that nice about it. When Emma leaves with no real way back to the city, she’s rescued by Lucas, who is apparently a professional rescuer, as they’re sidetracked to rescue a young girl who Emma suspects is his illegitimate daughter who he’s left in squalor while he lives richly. Of course, Emma and Lucas are thrown together at work the next Monday, and if you don’t know where that’s going, you’ve never read a contemporary romance novel.
Things progress, as things often do, but for some reason, no one can take the steps necessary to jump that line. It’s a bit inexplicable, especially considering this isn’t actually a Regency novel. The most surprising turn of events in the entire book (this isn’t even a real spoiler) is that Blake, in spite of his poor introduction to us, is actually a Really Nice Guy.
To be honest, the real story thread that I cared about was that of Emma’s bff Silvia. There was something going on there, and Emma was not asking enough questions about it. I’m sure it’s a setup for a sequel, but that sidebar was the main course, if you ask me.
“All feelings are legitimate in the long-term, sweetie. All feelings stir together the seconds and minutes and hours that make us us.”
Silvia knows what she’s talking about, and I want to know what’s going on with her when she’s off stage.
Overall, this was a fun, light read. It was exactly what you expect from contemporary romance, and because of that, I was not disappointed. I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking for something sweet and light.
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