There is a lot of story packed into this fairly short book – Reconnecting with your roots! Family drama! Age gap! Forbidden workplace romance! – but author Marcelo does a decent job of giving all of it plenty of page time, even if it means some of them are a bit clumsily handled in places.
The romance between Jared and Matilda is understated but sweet, which provides a pleasant contrast to the more dramatic external plot. I appreciated that both characters had well-developed personal journeys too, as both grow and change throughout the book not only within their relationship but outside it as well. The working at the B&B aspect, which could have easily become twee, instead felt realistic without becoming dreary.
However, I did feel that Jared and Matilda’s first night together was more insta-love than anything else – by having an awkward first meeting and then glossing over all the actual time they spent together that night, I wasn’t as invested in the relationship longer than I wanted to be. Additionally, with so much ground to cover, the age gap aspect of the romance was definitely given short shrift, and seemed to come up more as a trope than a properly fleshed-out factor that affected the couple.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
