Things Emelia Anderson would rather do than share a house with Benjamin Crawford:1) Get strapped to a chair in a restaurant full of loud-chewers.2) Parachute into the Australian Outback armed with only a blowdart.3) Live her best life as an ice road trucker in the Alaskan Tundra.Benjamin Crawford thinks Emelia conned his dying grandmother into leaving her half of an estate worth millions, so … of an estate worth millions, so let’s just say he’s not her biggest fan either. Not even close.
Now they have to live together for the next thirty days while renovating the family home. Or the estate will transfer to the one person Ben hates more than Emelia, and she’ll have to move back to the one place she wants to forget more than Ben.
Did I mention Ben look likes man-candy and smells like testosterone? Not that Emelia notices. She spends a lot of time not noticing things about Ben.
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Amazingly sweet, heartfelt and hilarious.
Broken, anxiety ridden Emmy just lost her dear friend. Even though the age diffrence is steep, Emmy and Rose have a great bond that readers can feel throughout the story.
Enter Ben, with his cutting stares and boiling anger, Emmy is shocked that this is the same grandson her sweet friend so fondly referred to.
Now that Rose is gone Emmy and Ben must work together to fullfil her last wish. It’s the perfect cozy romantic read for any night of the week.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Emilia’s life hasn’t always been easy. She’s a nurse by trade, but had been caregiver to Rose Crawford for the past few months. When Rose passes away, Emilia isn’t quite sure how to move on. Her relationship with Rose was special to Emmy and she treasures these past few months with her. When Emmy finds out that Rose left her half of her property – she can’t quite believe it. But there’s a stipulation – Emmy has to stay at the estate with Rose’s grandson Ben for a month while they renovate the house.
Emilia knew of sweet “Benny” through letters that she read to Rose. She doesn’t think this testosterone spewing, motorcycle riding alphahole is the same person who would write sweet letters to Rose. How will Emmy survive a month living with HIM?
I loved loved loved Shortcake so much! The chemistry between Ben and Emmy was off the shorts and so so sexy! Shortcake had the slowest of slow burns filled with plenty of humor and angst, but for me it was all in the perfect doses. I do love me a grumpy + sunshine romance and Lucy Watson definitely delivered with Shortcake! Her writing skills are amazing and I was either constantly laughing or had a smile on my face.
If you’re looking for a slow-burn/enemies-to-lovers/fake relationship/forced proximity romance, please grab your copy of Shortcake! I hope that Lucy never stops writing and I can’t wait for Nicks’s book next!!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.
Broody hard to like Benny meets sweet and quirky Emilia. Both have baggage. Both are hiding behind a wall to save themselves from the pain in their past. Emilia is a super likable character. She has a heart of gold. She is also one who wears her feelings for all to see. She has damage from her past relationship and trauma. I think this makes it hard for her to make connections with others. Outside of being Grandma Rose’s caregiver and her cousin Derek she really doesn’t have human connections. She has isolated herself from being hurt again. Her world is falling apart when Grandma Roses pass and as she is still coming to terms with another loss in her life, in enters grandson Ben.
Ben had so much baggage and SUPER high walls. He however does have outside connections with friends from his childhood. His family connections are not there for him. He does have a lot of burned bridges and love is not something he easily accept from others outside his circle. Ben’s character was a little hard to like. You want to like him, and you know that
This was a debut offering by Lucy Watson. It was a very well written story.
Grandma Rose’s interference from the “grave” with the demanding will and the Wedding Brigade and so much to the story.
The love and twist of the end was perfect.
This one gave me all the feels– as they say— something I needed today. I loved Emmy and Ben together and fell for their love story right away. Happy reading!
I can’t say enough how much I loved this story. I sank right in, identifying with the movie and musical references. I laughed out loud (truly!) And yes, I even teared up. I wanted to devour and savor all at once then read it all over again once I finished! The characters were real; emotional, snarky, funny, sexy…you name it! Lucy Watson is an author you don’t want to miss.
I found this story so entertaining, I couldn’t put it down until it was finished!
Our heroine Emmy, has had some hard knocks in life and suffers with panic attacks and self esteem issues. Her internal monologues are so endearing and her interactions with Ben show her feisty nature.
Ben himself has had his own hard life and comes across as rough and tough. Underneath it all is a boy who loved his grandma and has a soft squishy marshmallow centre.
Secondary characters add so much entertainment to this story.
Yes there are some typos but not enough to detract from the enjoyment of the story.
It’s been two days since I finished reading this book and it’s still marinating in my head. I’m having a really hard time finding the words to verbalize how much I loved this book.
It’s described as a sexy romantic comedy, which is right on the money. However it’s not just funny and sexy. I loved the chemistry between Emelia and Ben, their back and forth not only verbally but also how they tried to one-up each other. And the fact that their attraction slowly developed was just icing on the cake for me.
I think what caught me of guard personally was how much this sexy rom com made me feel. I loved how the lighter side of things was also balanced out by the truths and realities of life. I cried happy tears and sad tears and that just makes me love this book so much more!
In summary, Lucy Watson is a genius and Shortcake is going on my Favorites of 2019 list. Not only did I fall in love with Emmy and Ben, but I want more of Winston, Nick, and Jesse, Ben’s friends. The fact that this book is Lucy’s literary debut blows my mind, because of the story-telling talent present. I don’t know what stars aligned to bring this book into my life, but I’m so grateful I found it and I am really looking forward to re-reading it and reading more from Lucy Watson!