Love Notes by Staci HartMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed Staci Hart's "Love Notes," a charming, heartfelt romance inspired by Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility." It reads as a complete standalone despite being the fourth book in a series and returning to book #1's Wasted Words bookstore/bar, with Cam, the female lead from book #1, playing a significant supporting role. I don't believe it is necessary to read the books in order, but I'm glad I did because Cam's story provided useful context for her attempts to play matchmaker in this story.
I found the main characters of "Love Notes," Annie and Greg, to be quite likeable and well-developed. At first, I thought their significant age difference (he's almost 30 while she's only 18) would really bother me, but it ended up not seeming like much of a factor between them. I think the biggest reason was that Greg did not act at all like I would expect someone who's nearly 30 to act. For example, he still lived at home with his father and siblings and used a skateboard as his primary mode of transportation. His reasons for living at home made sense to me, but the skateboard thing seemed kind of weird. Maybe it's just one of those things people in NYC are used to seeing! By contrast, Annie seemed mature for her age in many ways, possibly because the need to manage her heart condition had forced her to grow up faster than her peers. When it came to dating, however, she was painfully naive and far too trusting. I'm not sure anyone could have predicted just how awfully things would turn out for her with Will, Greg's competition for Annie's affections, but Annie missed a lot of signs that someone with more experience probably would have picked up.
In addition to the central romantic relationship between Greg and Annie, I enjoyed watching Annie's older sister's romance with her new boss blossom. In fact, I would have liked to see more of it; maybe there's another book or novella there? Annie's aunt was a lot of fun, too. It was very sweet how she took them all in and tried so hard to make them feel at home in spite of the tough circumstances of the family's move to New York.
Overall, "Love Notes" was another lovely book by Staci Hart, and I look forward to reading her next one!
*ARC provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments make my day! While I do not expect everyone to agree with my point of view, please note that I reserve the right to delete any nasty or uncharitable messages, as well as spam. Open discussion is welcome and appreciated, but personal attacks are not. Thanks for understanding and have a nice day. :-)