Contemporary Romance published by Entangled: Amara 23 Feb 21
Wow. That’s the first thing that comes to mind just a few days after I finished reading this book. The next thing is, though this is only March, this story will be one of my all-time favorites of the year. Hell, one of my all-time faves forever. Yes, it’s that good. It’s that emotional. Every romance reader out there should read this book.
The story alternates between present day and the past, the early 1940s during World War II.
Today, Georgia Stanton has just divorced her cheating husband and has come home to Poplar Grove, Colorado, where she’s inherited everything from her great grandmother. Her Gran was a popular and world-renown romance author, so Georgia is now the caretaker of the rights of Scarlett’s books, as well as the original manuscripts. However, it’s the last book Scarlett never finished that is currently a point of contention. The publisher has brought in another romance author to complete the story and Georgia is having none of it.
Especially when she realizes that author is none other than Noah Harrison. Even her Gran didn’t feel the man lives up to his potential when writing romance, and Georgia tells him so when they meet in a local bookstore and they have no idea who the other is. This is the jewel in Noah’s writing crown and he wants the job. So he turns on the charm to win Georgia over, but he’s the one in for a surprise when getting to know Ms. Stanton is so much more than he ever expected. They go from rubbing each other the wrong way all the time to some hot and sizzling chemistry neither wants to act on in the middle of working together.
The objects of their contention is Scarlett and her war pilot husband, Jameson Stanton. They meet near the beginning of the war and it’s instant attraction. Jameson is the perfect timeless hero, romancing Scarlett in the old-fashioned ways of the times, despite the very real threat they both face every day as they go about their own ways of contributing to the war effort. Jameson has become an ace of the skies and Scarlett tracks different squadrons during her time with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. It’s a whirlwind for them from first meet to marrying in a short time. Their love is also perfectly timeless as we follow them through their letters to one another, always hoping against hope they each come home at the end of the day.
I’ve read only a couple of other books by Ms. Yarros. I thoroughly enjoyed those and promised myself I would delve into her backlist. I had yet to do that when I decided to begin reading this latest release. This book is definitely another level from those I’ve read so far. Full of hope during one of the scariest times in the world’s history. Gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking. All the while also full of love. The twist near the end you will not see coming. Everything comes together beautifully despite that.
Then there’s Chapter 38. At first I was a bit confused when I started reading that, but then it slammed into me when I realized what that chapter is. I cried for the third or fourth time while journeying with these characters on a life path that gives and takes so much in such poignant ways. This ending is as beautiful as Noah promised.
Don’t delay reading this book. It’s everything a romance should be, flinging you and your emotions about hither and yon. Be warned, have Kleenex close by. Jameson and Scarlett are a couple for the ages, and Noah and Georgia bring happiness home where it belongs.
Grade: A+
Summary:
Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.
Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.
But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.
Read an excerpt.
