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isalaur's review
3.0
3.5 stars..This book is part of the Pine Cove series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. In this book MCs Ben and Elias find their path to each other through a longing for family, an English inheritance, self-doubt and other obstacles.
The basis of the storyline is interesting. Ben, a baker, who has always longed for lots of family finds out that an unknown great grandmother in England has died and left him a huge estate that brings with it a large family. The large family however is none too pleased about his inheriting and he is warned to stay out of England. It just so happens that Elias, a successful lawyer who has secretly harbored a crush on Elias for over a year, is there when the representative of a well-known British law firm threatens Ben. He offers his help and soon the two of them are heading to the estate he has inherited in order to deal with the issue if the will.
It makes for an enticing tale. Add the building attraction between the MCs and personal issues for the MCs as well as the horrendous family members that don’t want Ben there and the potential for some great, typical English manor house drama is present. There are plenty of secondary characters to wonder about and second guess motives and actions. You half expect a body and Hercule Poirot to turn up! And speaking of, there are a lot of great references to British literature.
Unfortunately, the story bogs down in the middle. There is a lot of inner monologue navel gazing that really gets repetitive and tedious. There is the oft used trope of failure to communicate and second guessing what the other person wants or thinks. Again, it’s deadly repetitive. A good editor could have cleaned this book up and really made it shine as the basis of the story is a good one. There are also a few important points that are raised and then not further addressed that leave the reader wondering.
Once we get to the crisis moment things pick back up again and the story again gets exciting and draws you in and will have you cheering people on. The epilogue is sweetly wonderful. Plus, cute dogs and a diva cat!
So in summary I’m giving it 3.5 stars. It’s good but could have been better executed.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *
The basis of the storyline is interesting. Ben, a baker, who has always longed for lots of family finds out that an unknown great grandmother in England has died and left him a huge estate that brings with it a large family. The large family however is none too pleased about his inheriting and he is warned to stay out of England. It just so happens that Elias, a successful lawyer who has secretly harbored a crush on Elias for over a year, is there when the representative of a well-known British law firm threatens Ben. He offers his help and soon the two of them are heading to the estate he has inherited in order to deal with the issue if the will.
It makes for an enticing tale. Add the building attraction between the MCs and personal issues for the MCs as well as the horrendous family members that don’t want Ben there and the potential for some great, typical English manor house drama is present. There are plenty of secondary characters to wonder about and second guess motives and actions. You half expect a body and Hercule Poirot to turn up! And speaking of, there are a lot of great references to British literature.
Unfortunately, the story bogs down in the middle. There is a lot of inner monologue navel gazing that really gets repetitive and tedious. There is the oft used trope of failure to communicate and second guessing what the other person wants or thinks. Again, it’s deadly repetitive. A good editor could have cleaned this book up and really made it shine as the basis of the story is a good one. There are also a few important points that are raised and then not further addressed that leave the reader wondering.
Once we get to the crisis moment things pick back up again and the story again gets exciting and draws you in and will have you cheering people on. The epilogue is sweetly wonderful. Plus, cute dogs and a diva cat!
So in summary I’m giving it 3.5 stars. It’s good but could have been better executed.
*I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my objective review *
endemictoearth's review
4.0
This was my favorite book of this series, but it is almost completely unconnnected to the other books, taking place primarily in England. It reminded me of another book I read recently, Cricket, about unsuspectingly inheriting estates. It was largely the English setting that won me over, but the discussion of Elias's condition and insecurities surrounding it (not mentioning for spoilers) was really well-handled.