Veena’s review of Book of the Month by Jennifer Probst
Contemporary Romance published by Blue Box Press 22 Oct 24
What an interesting theme for a love story. Aspen Lourde wrote a book about her heartbreak and became an insta success. Despite writing a couple of excellent books subsequently, success eludes her. Could it be that she needs another heartbreak in her personal life to write her next bestseller? Who better to break her heart than the local bad boy, who’s broken all the local women’s hearts in the little town where she’s spending her summer.
Brick is desperate to make a success of the tour business his grandfather left him. He’s running out of money and constantly losing out to the local competition who has it in for him. When Aspen offers him the money to put his business on the map in return for breaking her heart, it seems strange, but desperate times call for desperate measures and a deal is struck.
True life rarely moves along a planned path. The fake romance is turning real and, yep, Aspen is going to fall and fall hard – but no matter, the words won’t flow. In the meantime, she’s filling pages with her doodles and witty comic book stories that calm her. Is she pursuing the wrong genre to success?
Aspen will definitely have to learn the hard way by breaking up with Brick and writing her new heartbreak story. Originally, I thought Ms. Probst protested too much and the story started slow, but then it gathered steam, and it was all that you would want from this much-loved author.
In the meantime, is there something going on between Brick’s friend from New York and Aspen’s sister? Can’t wait to read that story.
Grade: B
Summary:
She’s desperate for another bestseller… and she’ll go to any length to get it. Even if it means sacrificing her pride to chase the hottest bachelor in town and get him to break her heart…
Once the literary world’s golden girl, Aspen Lourde can’t seem to produce another successful book, and the pressure’s on to prove she’s not just a one-hit-wonder. But there’s a catch: her bestseller was a heartbreak hit, straight from her own love life disaster. Without any fresh romantic turmoil to fuel her pen, Aspen needs inspiration quick enough to create a book her agent can sell to her publisher. So she escapes for the summer to the Outer Banks with a plan to live a story worth writing.
Brick Babel is a romance novelist’s dream: a local heartthrob with a reputation as wild as the horses running free in the town. He’s everything Aspen needs for a muse kickstart—gorgeous, moody, and notoriously unattainable. His affairs are legendary in the small town, and every woman warns her off, including her sister.
Too bad a good heartbreak is exactly what she needs to meet her deadline.
But Brick refuses to play the game, rejecting all of her advances. When Aspen hears his tour company is on the verge of bankruptcy, she offers him a deal: fake a whirlwind summer romance, then ditch her, drama guaranteed.
Desperate to save his grandfather’s business, Brick agrees to the ridiculous deal. What starts as a contractual fling, spirals out of control as lines blur and real feelings emerge. Brick’s falling hard, and Aspen’s rethinking her plot twist. The novel might be her ticket back to the top, but at what cost?
Because Aspen’s finally found her muse, but some stories may be too true to share.
