April 22, 2021

The author had me at séance.

Seriously, I knew that I was going to love this book from the very opening pages, due to a simple opening chapter. It intrigued me and I had to know more about Ruby. I mean, not every day that you read about a séance at the on-start of the Blitz, right?

As I read further, I found her to be a more complex character than I originally thought. She held on to her life (the way she knew it) even in the face of the Blitz and tried to do what was right. I think she showed the most growth over the course of the story.

It didn’t help that Joseph, her tenant, was a self-righteous ass about her for a good portion of the opening chapters. Sorry to be blunt, but it’s true. I wasn’t sure what to make of him because it seemed like he thought he was better and could be judgmental because of his status and view of the war.

But we also learn early that there is a reason he feels that way, and it’s personal. I thought this made his motivations more interesting and made him a more sympathetic character.

And then there was Kitty. In some ways I thought she was the most interesting character because her physical description seemed to be a reflection of her living situation prior to the war. I’m not saying more than that.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3a6JWYh
Apple: https://apple.co/3kj9Qf5
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3dQBJdx
Google: https://bit.ly/37A88Rx

As with other historical fiction books, there is a contemporary storyline as well. Sometimes the two lines have little connection to each other and only serve to get us to the past.

That’s not the case here. I thought the author used an extremely clever method to tie the two timelines together. In fact, it was so subtle that I didn’t even realize how it was being done at first.

In this case, the two timelines are linked even more so than in most books. There’s even some mystery involved. And that is what ultimately made this book a terrific read.

I know that sounds convoluted, but you’ll understand if you read it – and I don’t want to blow the joy you’ll have in figuring it out.

Twitter: @SiobhanCurham
Instagram: siobhancurham

Author Bio:
Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

This had one of the cleverest “meets” I’ve read in a romantic comedy this year. I thought the author did a great job of making it authentic but interesting, as it allowed me to immediately get to know the characters.

For once, I actually related more to the male character (James) than I did to Cassie. There were several reasons for this.

One, I understood the need to get away. I haven’t had an embarrassing experience like James (and thankfully no relationship that went south like his), but the feeling of being claustrophobic in a big city was very familiar.

I also could empathize with his bewilderment at the rural aspects of his new home. When my husband and I moved from NYC to upstate NY, we were equal parts thrilled to be out of the city but also found it difficult to fit in to established norms of a small town. This was repeated when we moved to WV.

Interestingly, at least to me, I could relate to Cassie in that we just moved from rural back to urban. Her observations about access to stores, restaurants, etc. were similar to what we have been feeling lately. However, I didn’t feel that her singular personal focus actually fit her character. (You’ll understand that if you read it).

While I liked each of the characters individually (although James started off as kind of a jerk), I didn’t get much from them as a romantic couple. The author has a lot of conversations between the two, but I really didn’t feel any chemistry.

All of a sudden, they were both questioning their feelings for each other. Huh?

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3da6FVl
Apple: https://apple.co/2LLYkvR
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3iqd1kh
Google: https://bit.ly/3sF99k0

I think that maybe had to do with the way the author time jumped through the plot. It felt similar to fast forwarding through a movie. For example, one minute Cassie has barely moved in and the next she’s going to dinner parties with the neighbors. It felt disjointed.

I also think this contributed to the failure (again, solely my opinion) of the romance. James and Cassie were at pretty much polar opposite ends of a very important aspect in a relationship, each for their own reasons.

As you can read in the blurbs and other reviews, the subject of their opposition is highly personal and could be difficult for some people to read – but it certainly wasn’t a lighthearted romance issue.

So, I’m left torn. I liked the individuals and the descriptions of the respective houses and locations. I really liked the Maine townspeople (and animals). But the main character romance could have used some juicing up.

I’d still recommend it for the initially stated unique set-up and some genuinely amusing moments.

Author Bio:

Jo Lovett lives in London with her family. She worked in Corporate Tax before taking a longer-than-expected career break to have more-than-expected children (five). She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but she wasn’t actually that interested in haunted houses or Macbeth.

Jo was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping/ Orion First Novel Competition 2018 and shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Award 2019. Her first novel, ‘The First Time We Met’, was published by Bookouture in November 2020 and her second, ‘The House Swap’, comes out in April 2021. When she can escape from her laundry mountain, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine.