Hellie’s Heeds
I always marvel at Harlequin stories because the
writing has to be so tight, but I feel Jennifer Wilck is even more exceptional
because while I know the writing is tight, it also feels luxurious as I’m
getting so much detail and setting and character development with just a few
sentences or pages. I also adore opposites attract motifs and this one has it
in spades. Josh feels like Mr. Type A. He has a plan–and if that plan derails
(say by a beloved grandmother or a feisty bookstore owner), he handles everything
poorly. Emma, on the other hand, can never do anything right. That’s been the
story of her life from her parents who constantly compare her to her sister,
and not favorably. It’s no surprise to the reader when Emma will do anything
for her best friend, Samantha, who has been with her through it all, but what
happens when her best friend is matched with someone that Emma is attracted to?
And worse, that someone is the grandson of the woman who sold her the house
where Emma is putting her bookstore–and he hates her? Oh, so much conflict–and
we haven’t gotten to chapter 3 yet.
The author does an impeccable job of building
the relationship between the two, despite the fact they have so many reasons
not to be together–in the end, it feels inevitable. And the conflict, which
seems to come from many different and legitimate angles (her parents, her best
friend, Emma’s guilt that she’s “stolen” love interests of Sam before) does
keep the story moving swiftly. However Sam’s definition of “man stealing” is a
bit much considering both incidents occurred prior to adulthood and that Sam doesn’t
give any blame to the men in the situation (since Emma was not actively seeking
their attention.) It felt immature, but it also became clear this is a
character growth issue for Sam, due to her childhood and issues she still needs
to wrestle with. It will be interesting to see how this is handled in future
books.
The conflict that was the black moment of sorts
for Emma and Josh seemed abrupt; and frankly I was on Emma’s side about it. But
I will respect that the issue was real for Josh. For me that probably felt the
weakest part of the story, but I admit that is probably a “me-issue.” Other
readers may totally be with Josh here. I’ll let the reader decide.
If you love the idea of a smaller town near the
bustle of New York City where you can attend a Winter Festival and ride around
in a sleigh and drink hot cocoa and a community where the local senior assisted
living is made up by a group of octogenarians who could give partying tips to
the local fraternities, you will likely enjoy this small town and its
community. I know I did. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
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