Publication Date: August 1, 1990 (Republished May 29, 2014)
Publisher: Harlequin Books
Rating: ★★★
“She was a woman on the rise. Susannah Simmons had a five-year plan for career success, and it didn’t include falling in love with her next-door neighbor. Nate Townsend was undeniably attractive, and he obviously had money, but he seemed to lack ambition. He stayed home, baking cookies and flying kites, while Susannah struggled up the corporate ladder. She resented the way he questioned her values – – and made her question them, too. Perhaps she had given up too much in pursuit of her career goals: family and fun – – and Nate Townsend’s love.”
Review:
This was my first Debbie Macomber read. I recently downloaded an app that you can connect with your libraries and has so many different selections of ebooks and audiobooks. I saw this and thought that the synopsis sounded great. If I love anything when it comes to books, it’s the “next door neighbor” narrative. The thought of moving into somewhere and having your neighbor be so romantic that you fall for them? Yes. Please. It’s so unlikely, but a girl can dream, right?
The characters were written well. I thought that the characters were really in tune with themselves. There were times that they said something and I cracked up out loud at how funny they were. I think Macomber knows how to write a character to get the reader to feel like they are actually in this story. She knows how to embody their emotions. I liked that the most about this book.
There were parts of this book that fell flat. The narrative is the reason why I picked this book. There were times where I felt like putting this book down because it got pushed off the narrative and I wasn’t sure when it would get back on track. This unfortunately made me drop the rating.
Lastly, this book seemed pretty vanilla. Like I said, this was my first Debbie Macomber, and I’m not sure if that is how her writing style is with all of her books. I felt like everything was good and simple. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, personally, I like to have a little angst or a little sultry factor in a book. I think this book was good, just a little plain for my taste.
Overall, I would definitely would give another Debbie Macomber book a chance. I want to find out if all of her books are simple, easy reads. I work in a library where her books are extremely popular. Therefore, I want to see what all the hype is about.
Lacey's Library 