The self-help books lied: fresh starts aren’t nearly as glamorous as they appear. And love isn’t any easier the second time around.
Avery Broussard was savoring her long-dormant optimism. It was the first anniversary of her husband’s death, and she was finally going to buy the dress boutique from her former mother-in-law. After a year of saving, the deal was nearly done. Avery was about to get her life back.
But every deal in Samford, Louisiana, can change at the whim of a Broussard.
After being unceremoniously ejected from the very boutique she planned to buy—the boutique she herself had rescued from ruin—she becomes a woman without a future . . . suddenly at war with her late husband’s family.
When carpenter T. J. Aillet begins working for the Broussards doing manual labor, he overhears enough to know that Avery is being victimized. Soon enough, T. J. is lassoed into the squabble by his family connections, his good heart . . . and the undeniable attraction he feels toward Avery.
But the Aillets are no strangers to Samford society—and T. J. knows what happens when you cross the Broussards. Could these two misfits ever make a start together? Or will the pressures of Samford society pull them apart before they even get a chance to try?
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This book is well-written, but I had a hard time believing Avery Broussard’s motivations and intentions. She’s supposed to be starting a new life after her husband’s death, but she’s in the same town at the same job surrounded by the same people. When everything falls apart – she loses her job, house, and car, plus she causes an accident – she’s determined to stay on this “new” path by staying in the same town with the same people. I could buy that if everyone she knows and loves is there, but there is no one – literally no one – there that she loves. Not only that, but everyone she meets is mean to her (and apparently they’re not very clear on how insurance companies work).
If you can get past Avery’s bizarre motivation for staying in town, the rest of the story can be a fun read. It’s a fairly predictable contemporary romance, but if you’re looking for a Hallmark movie-type romance, this is the book for you.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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