Reviews and Comments

I really enjoyed this one.

An interesting second-chance Romance in that the couple broke up 2 years prior to the beginning of this book due to cheating. That'll be a deal-breaker for many readers of Romance, which is one reason my reading group decided to give it a go.

If the best part of reading a Romance is falling a little (or a lot) in love with the main characters, then, yeah. This one has succeeded for me.

I had to use a little mental gymnastics to be OK with it all, but, at time of cheating, the cheater (Fletch) would've been 22-23. He's now 25. Brain maturity, and all... I could believe he was ready to change.

There were a few times when the alternating 1st-person confused me (I'd forget which head I was in during a fast-paced dialogue and have to back up). And there was one bit I'd change up if I could; when the Fletch knows something and is reacting to a scene based on that knowledge, but withholds the knowledge from the reader until later... It meant I got angry AT him for his decisions and reactions, when I could have had a more complicated mix of sympathy and uncertainty as to his best course of action alongside him.

Regardless, my heart broke for Roger early on and I just wanted the best for him. And Fletch grew on me... although, I remained as guarded as Roger, despite having insights into Fletch's head. And I guess that just goes to show how risky the cheating trope is to write.

If you're looking for two beautiful people who love each other, but are both too scared to admit it, and one was too scared to commit to it previously... then this is a book for you.

Enjoyed the journeys well enough. I am left with a couple of questions, though, especially in light of people saying this story highlights the importance or power of art. My big question, then, is: Why does there seem to be no NEW art? The Symphony performs Shakespeare, already hundreds of years old. And then a few people in the world are connected by a couple of comic books also created pre-pandemic. I wondered where the new art might be (carvings in trees? Drawings with charcoal? People are resourceful.

Also, I was quite surprised by how little nature had moved back in. Fifteen years and cars were still sitting on roads without any growth over them. I mean, where birds poop, plants grow. Ever left a car sitting for a few months, to a year? How often have you seen a car with moss beginning to grow around wing mirrors? It doesn't take long, not in a damp temperate zone, anyway. Granted every micro-climate is different.

It's likely because we are in the middle of a real pandemic (thankfully less deadly than the one in this book) and we can see the immediate effect it has on nature when humans just stop that I was highly aware that nature didn't really feature in this book.