This book contains:
- Historical family feuds
- Lower leg amputation after a skiing accident
- Undiagnosed mental health conditions.
Alice is a remarkably strong, but unsure woman trying to maintain her independence while pursuing her dream career. Because of the difficulties she’s faced after a skiing accident, and the resulting impact on her personal relationships, she’s cautious about entering into new friendships and relationships.
Alice pursues a new job in Parma after her job in England is ending due to budget cuts and gets it despite her physical challenges. As she works to prove and challenge herself in ways she didn’t think she was ready for, she also finds herself interested in a man for the first time in a few years.
I didn’t feel like this was a romance in the same way as many others. While T.A Williams does write romances, it felt like the focus of this novel was Alice’s mental healing that she needed to go through after her skiing accident.
The development that we watch Alice going through is so sweet and wholesome to read. She pushes herself, learns, grows and doesn’t hide from her fears in a way that many of us could be inspired by. While some of that growth is to feel attraction for a man, and explore where it goes, that part of her growth didn’t feel like the focus and I loved it.
Most of the romances I love are ones where the romance feels like an organic part of the story rather than the main focus. And in that way, this very much fell into that category. It was sweet, clean but also shows us just enough that we know that the romance is progressing and developing.
If you like women’s fiction with an element of romance, you’ll really enjoy this.
