{"id":25615,"date":"2020-06-12T08:48:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=25615"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:58:52","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:58:52","slug":"review-the-new-normal-by-tracy-brogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/12\/review-the-new-normal-by-tracy-brogan\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f The New Normal by Tracy Brogan"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-25615\" data-postid=\"25615\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-25615 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_bbbcac8 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner gutter-narrow col_align_top tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_49667e8 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_7036296 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/the-new-normal-tracy-brogan.jpg?w=640\" title=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f The New Normal by Tracy Brogan\" alt=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f The New Normal by Tracy Brogan\">\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_a1982ef customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Since Carli Lancaster\u2019s divorce, she\u2019s worked hard to keep life as normal as possible for her daughters. When she lands a job as cohost of a local morning show, it looks like a fresh start. So does the arrival of a handsome new neighbor, who has more in common with Carli than just a property line.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Ben Chase is also new to single parenthood. And like Carli, he\u2019s focused on the future.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">From navigating neighborhood gossip to decorating for holidays to reaching out in times of trouble, they quickly learn to rely on each other. Just like a couple but without the complications of coupling! Sure, there\u2019s attraction. They\u2019re only human. But they\u2019re also friends, and who wants to ruin a perfect relationship with romance?<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">They\u2019re both thinking about adding some perks, though, and even if their new normal isn\u2019t perfect, it\u2019s definitely somewhere in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_23787e9 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_2d1ea91  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16470 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2-hearts.jpg?resize=95%2C44\" alt=\"\" width=\"95\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 9, 2020<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Amazon Publishing<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Montlake<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $5.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Divorced single mother, <strong>Carli<\/strong>, is trying to adjust to her new normal with her teenage daughters. She takes a new job which should be a great new beginning for her. Her new neighbor, <strong>Ben<\/strong>, is also seeking a new beginning. He is also a newly divorced single father.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I\u2019m always on the hunt for romances with older characters instead of the usual twenty something year old.\u00a0 So I was happy to know that Carli is in her forties. It is sort a second chance at romance and life.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I don\u2019t mind clean romances but I do enjoy a buildup. This one took so long for the build up to occur which smothers out the romantic fizzle I get whenever I read romance novels. Definitely would box it in under contemporary women\u2019s fiction because the story focuses heavily on Carli and her rediscovery process. The romance is very minor.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is no sex in this story. The kiss happens towards the end which further makes it hard to connect with this as a romance. I guess that is to be expected since Ben and Carli take us through a long friendship journey. He is even involved with someone else at one point during the story. If the author would have taken the time to devolve the romance more it would have been higher rated.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, this is a mediocre story which is pretty forgettable once it is over.<\/p><p><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_eb0616c customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/30zzlRv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since Carli Lancaster\u2019s divorce, she\u2019s worked hard to keep life as normal as possible for her daughters. When she lands a job as cohost of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[125,48,50],"tags":[141,217,516],"class_list":["post-25615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montlake","category-reviews","category-samantha","tag-2-stars","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-womens-fiction"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f The New Normal by Tracy Brogan - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/12\/review-the-new-normal-by-tracy-brogan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f The New Normal by Tracy Brogan - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since Carli Lancaster\u2019s divorce, she\u2019s worked hard to keep life as normal as possible for her daughters. 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When she lands a job as cohost of a local morning show, it looks like a fresh start. So does the arrival of a handsome new neighbor, who has more in common with Carli than just a property line.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ben Chase is also new to single parenthood. And like Carli, he\u2019s focused on the future.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From navigating neighborhood gossip to decorating for holidays to reaching out in times of trouble, they quickly learn to rely on each other. Just like a couple but without the complications of coupling! Sure, there\u2019s attraction. They\u2019re only human. But they\u2019re also friends, and who wants to ruin a perfect relationship with romance?<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">They\u2019re both thinking about adding some perks, though, and even if their new normal isn\u2019t perfect, it\u2019s definitely somewhere in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2-hearts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"95\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 9, 2020<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Amazon Publishing<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Montlake<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $5.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Divorced single mother, <strong>Carli<\/strong>, is trying to adjust to her new normal with her teenage daughters. She takes a new job which should be a great new beginning for her. Her new neighbor, <strong>Ben<\/strong>, is also seeking a new beginning. He is also a newly divorced single father.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I\u2019m always on the hunt for romances with older characters instead of the usual twenty something year old.\u00a0 So I was happy to know that Carli is in her forties. It is sort a second chance at romance and life.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I don\u2019t mind clean romances but I do enjoy a buildup. This one took so long for the build up to occur which smothers out the romantic fizzle I get whenever I read romance novels. Definitely would box it in under contemporary women\u2019s fiction because the story focuses heavily on Carli and her rediscovery process. The romance is very minor.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is no sex in this story. The kiss happens towards the end which further makes it hard to connect with this as a romance. I guess that is to be expected since Ben and Carli take us through a long friendship journey. He is even involved with someone else at one point during the story. If the author would have taken the time to devolve the romance more it would have been higher rated.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, this is a mediocre story which is pretty forgettable once it is over.<\/p><p><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/30zzlRv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}