Designs on You
by Jaci Burton
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Reviewed by PJ
Natalie Parker is in her mid-thirties, divorced, and firmly focused on her newly resurrected career and her two children. When her sister asks her to help design the backyard in the new home she shares with her boyfriend, Linc, Natalie’s more than happy to take on the project. What she isn’t prepared for is Linc’s younger brother, video game designer Eugene Kennedy. He’s smart, incredibly good-looking, and constantly flirts with Natalie. He’s also too young for her, which makes him totally off-limits.
Eugene is intrigued by Natalie’s beauty, smarts, and especially her sarcastic wit. When he teases her, she throws it right back at him. Besides that, they have an instant chemistry, but she keeps trying to get rid of him despite the sparks that fly between them. And Eugene never backs down from a challenge.
Natalie is running out of reasons to think being with Eugene is a bad thing. Her kids adore him, her sister loves him, and even her always negative mother does, too. The only person holding her back is...her. Maybe it’s time she take that leap and design herself a love for the ages. After all, if she can create the perfect home, she sure as hell can design a happily ever after.
PJ's Thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed Linc and Hazel's book, Housebroke and was curious about what the author had planned for Linc's brother, Eugene. At the time I had no idea that plan included Hazel's (then married) sister, Natalie. However, once Natalie and Eugene hit the page in Designs on You and their chemistry was obvious, I was totally on board. Eugene was a sweetheart and Natalie deserved a happy, fulfilling relationship on equal footing after exiting her toxic marriage.
One of the traits that I most enjoyed about Eugene was his respect and support of Natalie in all facets of her life. I loved how he lifted her up time after time, how he respected her design opinions and her parenting decisions, and especially how determined he was to do special things just for her. So different from her ex-husband. I also loved Eugene's relationship with her children. His scenes with them were among my favorites in the book.
Natalie had a more significant growth arc. Her ex did a real number on her self esteem and some of the emotional baggage that exited her marriage with her spilled over onto her relationship with Eugene. I cheered her on as she continued to pursue the career she was denied during her marriage. I appreciated how hard she worked to ensure her children were happy and had a healthy, loving relationship with their father, even if she wasn't his biggest fan. But she had a lot of growing to do when it came to a healthy work/family/relationship balance in her life. She continued to evolve and eventually reached a point where I felt like she and Eugene could finally meet on equal footing and create a happy, loving, and long-lasting family together.
One of the facets of this story that didn't work for me was the emphasis on the age difference between Natalie and Eugene, in particular from Natalie's perspective. It's used as justification for a number of her opinions/decisions throughout the book. So how big is this huge age gap that has an almost 34-year-old woman treating a successful, financially-secure, sexy, committed man like a teenager who doesn't know his own mind? Three years. Three. Years. I understand the need for conflict, and if Eugene had been, say, ten years younger it would have made sense but the almost non-stop emphasis on three years being insurmountable threw me out of the story more than it drew me in.
While there were a couple issues that detracted from my overall enjoyment of Designs on You, for the most part it was a satisfying read with multi-faceted characters I could root for, endearing kids, adorable dogs, relatable family dynamics, and a hard-won happy ending. It can stand on its own but for a better understanding of all characters and their backgrounds, I would recommend reading Housebroke first.
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Have you read Jaci Burton?
How many years constitutes a significant age gap for you?
One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, December 6 will receive a print copy of Designs on You.
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*Must be 18
Mr Wonderful is 7 years younger than I am. And when it worked for us....it really worked. The fact that it no longer worked was not based on the age difference it was based on the fact that he had no respect for our marriage. It took some time for me to get a grip on that. But again, it was not age - it was I married a rat. He was always a rat. This is a new to me author, and it sounds as though she writes good books. Thanks for the review
ReplyDeleteMy parents were 8 years apart . It became more significant the older they got. My dad died at age 75. My mom was only 67. She never remarried and is now 100 yo.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy Jaci Burton’s books. I liked her Hope series and sport’s athletes series Play By Play.
I agree that 3 years isn't much of a gap in that age group. I'm not usually a fan of the "older woman" trope, but there have been some exceptions. Rachel Gibson pulled it of in Crazy on You - that was 8 years. Normally, that is too big a gap for me. I have read a few books by Jaci, including Housebroke.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Jaci Burton. This book sounds intriguing. A significant age gap would be 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed all the Jaci Burton books I've read! For me a significant age gap can depend upon the ages of the main characters. For example 5 years when one of them is still in high school is much larger a gap then when they are out of college - by then it is barely a blip on my age considerations. Once the characters are adults I'd say 15 years is significant.
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