Release Date: Jun 12, 2018
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Grand Central
Imprint: Forever
Price: $4.99
I think my downfall with this book is just me. Plain and simple! I had some high expectations. The author is known for dishing out the feel goods in all of the romances that I read by her so far. From what I gathered that it is her norm but that doesn’t mean she didn’t excel at making feel the love. I just didn’t love the story.
Jessica aka Jessie has a brief encounter during her pre-teen years when Callum in an old boxcar when they share all of their life secrets with one another. Jessie is known to be a bit of a fantasy queen as she hides out in her own stories because it is easier to cope that way. Callum takes notice and follows suit. The two draw quickly on an easy going friendship. While they know very little about the true details of each other’s life, they know they both have pretty horrible parenting.
One day Callum fails to show up at their secret location which leaves Jessie heartbroken. She hopes he is alright. He made quite the impression on her.
“No one will ever make me feel like you princess Jessie, no one ever will.”
It is years later that Jessie made her dreams of living in Paris come true. She is a waitress at a restaurant and is startled by the fact that he didn’t recognize her. Of course not by her looks but by her the words she spout at him. The encounter is once again brief and leaves Jessie hurt.
She later takes a great opportunity to work in the countryside as a translator over old journals. The journal pages became the center stage for me and I slowly felt my own personal draw to Callum and Jessie shift to the back. This in essence left me somewhat disappointed.
Jessie is naïve and somewhat passionate but it is all relation to her work. I couldn’t connect with her and Callum as a couple once she discovers he is at the same place as her to get his muse back. She is the girl who taught him about music and the French culture so I wanted that to be the first thing to lure them down some painful reconciliation. The abuse Callum suffered during his childhood and some of his secrets are pretty deep so be prepared but I just didn’t care by time all of it work itself out. The story lost its way once I got wrapped up in the translation aspect.
I still enjoyed it but I needed more romance from my main couple to truly mark it as something special. I simply have to chalk it up as “me” not the author.
Fans who like the whole historical romantic elements will appreciate it as had certain flair of it in this story.
~ Samantha
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