Two books I just picked up this summer were delightful! I didn't read them because they were on Netgalley, I didn't read them for the MTCBA, I just read them because I saw them at the library and they looked delicious. And they were!
First up was The Summer Girlfriend. I love a fake-dating trope and this one did not disappoint. Noelle works at a bookstore and has decided that, after a disastrous first undergrad experience ruined by a stupid boy, she is ready to go back to school to achieve her dream of being a librarian. So, of course, she is awesome. She gets fired from her bookstore job due to the economy and nepotism and has to rely on her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Oh, I know, just suspend your disbelief.
Jeremiah is the younger son in a family run baked goods company, but his shame over previous bad behavior has led him to go work in a different field where he is relied on for his charm rather than his smarts. This does not help with his self-loathing issues at all.
Jeremiah hires Noelle to pretend to be his girlfriend for a weekend at Hart Beach, the family compound on the Jersey Shore and sparks fly. Well, not really. They aren't sparky as much as they are warmly perfect for each other. Even though Noelle is the one who is really struggling financially, Jeremiah's family drama is more compelling. His family is damn near perfect, but he can't seem to find his place in it. Would it surprise you to learn that they help each other as they fall in love? Would it surprise you that I fell in love with them too? Surely not!
Mrs. Endicott's husband has left her. It's the '30s in England and he has a newer, younger girl and Mrs. E. is to be put out to pasture. Instead of taking a dreary bedsit in London, she endevours to see some of the world and ends up taking her maid Mavis (who escapes an abusive husband) and an overbearing society spinster from their town who is running out the clock on a bad heart and off to the French coast they go.
Europe is ratcheting up for WW2, there is a gorgeous, rundown villa to be restored and there are interesting townsfolk, including two available men who may or may not be the best thing to ever happen to a couple middle aged women who were not expecting to find love again. Add in a pregnant vagabond, a speedboat and a hot priest and you have a lovely slice of Enchanted April-ness that takes the reader into a charming world on the brink of war.
Even though these books have little in common, other than the seaside settings, they both feature women who don't know their own strength, but learn to have confidence in their abilities to change their lives for the better and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them!
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