Fall Back Into Love: A Romantic Comedy Collection by Ginny Sterling, et al.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review for "The Last Chance Road Trip" by Sara Jane Woodley
This novella is a prequel to the Love in Mirror Valley series, but works well as a standalone.
On the way to her first day as a receptionist at the Brookrose Inn, Valentina "Val" Reyes-Murphy decides to take a detour to her old childhood treehouse. Unfortunately, she manages to tear her brand-new trousers as she's climbing up, which of course is when her childhood friend and former boyfriend, Ethan Holmes, walks up. He's just in time to catch Val when she falls out of the treehouse after being spooked by what she thinks is a giant spider. Ethan and Val haven't seen or spoken with each other since their breakup four years ago, after which Ethan left town for culinary school in Montana. He's back in Mirror Valley to honor his late grandfather's final request: a road trip treasure hunt with Val. Now he just has to persuade her to go with him...
Even though this was a relatively short story, it didn't feel much like a novella to me at all because the characters were so endearing and three-dimensional. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the story's structure, which relied on a series of flashbacks to slowly reveal the exact circumstances behind Val and Ethan's breakup back in high school. The flashbacks were very helpful in understanding why Val was so hesitant to trust Ethan again as well as how they might be able to work towards their second chance in the present.
Overall, I loved this funny, sweet, and heartfelt story and highly recommend it for fans of sweet contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I look forward to reading whatever Sara Jane Woodley writes next!
*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
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