Annie Darling

I loved the first in this series, and #2 didn't disappoint. I think I loved it even more. I was sucked in from the get-go, and while Johnny's obsession with his former girlfriend was irritating, the relationship between him and introverted Verity was a delight to watch unfold. I also thought the secondary characters were good and contributed to the story in believable ways, rather than just being filler or background noise. And of course, all the references and nods to Pride & Prejudice show more didn't hurt. show less

The third entry in this series, and it continues to be a favorite. I love the bookshop and I love the secondary characters. I thought Nina was especially well-developed as an almost 30-year old questioning what she's thought she always wanted. Noah was a delight as a male lead. My only quibble, really, was with the ending which I found rushed and a bit too neat. Yes, it's a romance, so the ending will be tidied up, but there were some very harsh words exchanged in the lead-up to it, and I show more felt like that wasn't fully addressed.

3.75 stars show less

Verity Love is a textbook introvert living in a world full of extroverts who seem convinced that what she really needs in her life is a man. Verity, however, has sworn off romance unless it appears between a book cover (particularly her favourite book, Pride and Prejudice) and is content as the manager of her friend's romance novel specialty bookshop with her small circle of friends and her very loud cat, Strumpet. To keep her friends at bay, she's created a fictional boyfriend but when a show more confluence of events occur she meets Johnny who is intrigued by the whole fake partner idea and suggests he and Verity be each other's dates for a slew of events they have that summer. Will fake romance turn into something more?

A Cinderella's slipper of a novel that fit me perfectly. I could thoroughly relate to Verity's introvert ways, I loved the constant nods to P&P that were cute but not too much, and fake dating is one of my favourite romance tropes. Plus adorable cat. Highly recommended. show less

Mattie runs the tearooms attached to the Happy Ever After bookshop. She is delighted about living above the bookshop, but not so impressed about sharing the flat with bookshop employee Tom. The feeling is mutual. However, a hectic Christmas season forces Mattie and Tom to work together.

I am not a fan of the crazy commercialism of Christmas, but I really enjoyed reading about it here -- probably because the story recognises that not everybody loves it. And, given the weather here right now, show more I was in the mood for something wintry.

Other things I liked: the vivid portrayal of the challenges of working “in a customer-facing environment over Christmas”; the details about Mattie’s baking; and the intelligent commentary about romance novels and romantic relationships. Sharing a flat and discovering the things they have in common doesn’t always make things smooth between Mattie and Tom, and their relationship progresses in steps backwards as well as forwards in a way which felt believable. Mattie has good reasons to be wary of men; Tom has understandable reasons for trying to keep his personal life private.

In spite of the titles and the covers, these books -- or at least, Verity’s and Mattie’s -- have been a lot of fun and very much my sort of romance.

“It did look as if you had things under control,” Tom said, though they both knew that was a lie. “And I meant what I said about you being a strong, intelligent woman who didn’t need to be rescued, but I couldn’t just stand there and let him talk to you like that. It made me very angry,” he added in a quiet but dark voice. show less