If only Lola Dunne had the time—and the courage—she’d write her novel, and maybe even start dating again. When her friend offers the use of her summer home overlooking Lake Haven, Lola sees the chance to focus on herself for a change, and she eagerly accepts.Engineer Harry Westbrook is waiting for his ship to come in. But it’s not happening soon enough for his girlfriend, who’s left him for … for good…again. To nurse Harry’s heartache, his pal extends an invite to his lake house in East Beach.
When it turns out that Harry’s and Lola’s friends are a divorcing, not-on-speaking-terms couple sparring over the same house, the strangers find themselves accidental (and reluctant) roommates for the summer. They agree to make the best of it, even posing as a couple to mingle among East Beach’s well-heeled crowd. But the ruse is starting to feel real—and romantic. Are they brave enough to reveal their feelings before the summer nights turn cold?
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What happens when you put others needs before your own? You end up supporting your siblings while working a job you despise. You end up marrying a man that takes advantage of you. And in a few years, you will end up divorced and miserable.
That’s what happened to our protagonist, Lola. She even ended up at a divorce recovery group with other miserable people. Her yoga partner, Sara, dragged her to this group as she was going through a messy divorce too. They start to really develop a friendship when Sara realizes that Lola needs to take care of herself. She talks Lola into quitting her job to pursue her writing; Sara even offers up her vacation home in Lake Haven for her to stay at for the summer. The only thing is that she can’t let anyone know that she is staying there because it is supposed to be off-limits due to the divorce. Lola can handle that and agrees to move in.
Little do they know, Zach, Sara’s soon-to-be ex, has already offered the house to one of his buddies. Harry just got out of a serious relationship and he needs to sell his apartment to get funds to support his business. Zach tells Harry to stay at the lake house until he gets his business up and running.
Harry comes to lake house after work to see that a cyclone has came through the house. Junk is everywhere! And in the pool, there is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Lola has moved in. She packed his belongings up thinking that they were the caretakers. With the both of them refusing to leave, they reluctantly become roommates.
When Lola catches wind that one of her favorite authors writes at local coffee shop, she decides to pay it a visit. There she meets Mallory. A woman who has the connections that Lola needs to become a writer and the connections Harry needs to thrive as a civil engineer. In order to advance in their careers, they agree to start “dating.”
Now that they are suddenly dating and spending more time together, lines start to get blurred. With Lola’s burdens coming back into play and Harry’s ex still lingering, can they really make this work? You gotta read to find out, folks!
This is my second book by Julia London; this first being the first book in this series. I really like that her stories are relatable and quirky. However, I can’t help but to feel like some things are overdone – like the million side characters. And if you are going to use the whole hero/heroine doesn’t like each other plot, it needs to be done right. Sorry! Even with all its flaws, I still say that this is an enjoyable read.
3 Stars!
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Another Slow Burn. Apparently this is London’s style for this series – lots of detail, very slow burn to the romance. Yes, there is a HEA – as there must be for a romance – but unlike many others of this genre, you’re apparently not going to see it until the final 5% of so of the book. Enjoyable read, but not a particularly memorable one.