The Return by Noelle Adams
This second chance romance is set in a small town where everybody knows everybody else's business. Ria Phillips is a business success story. She took her family's flower shop and used social media, luck, and some help from friends to take it to another level. She is respected for that. She's also known as the girl that got left by her high school sweetheart, and that defines her in a different way. She's dated a little, but never had the chemistry she had with Jacob Worth, grandson of one of the wealthiest men in town. Jacob's grandfather lives in a large house, on a large neglected plot of land, and owns the block of buildings that Ria's flower shop is in.
Jacob left town suddenly, with little explanation, despite having college plans with Ria. He went to the west coast and found work in the fishing industry there. He's kept in touch with his grandfather, but not with Ria or other old friends. Old Mr. Worth is declining quickly, and Jacob is back in town, at least for a while.
Ria seems like a good entrepreneur with the smarts to keep her business afloat, with help from a couple of friends, but she is pretty inexperienced in the romance area, and, while she still feels the attraction to Jacob the man, she is determined not to just fall back into their relationship. There's a matter of trust, and even when she learns his reasons, she doesn't totally understand his silence toward her. Jacob can see his errors of the past, and didn't intend to start anything, but he too feels something still.
I found the characters lacked depth, and any growth they had between the past and present is left unexplained. The writing is fine, but not compelling.
This is the first in a series set around the flower shop and one hopes that subsequent books take us deeper into the characters, who could be quite interesting if we knew them better.
No comments:
Post a Comment