This book contains:
- Unfair work dismissal
- Death of a relative
- Mentions of drugs, and drug overdoses.
Maddy is an agony aunt columnist for a magazine and loves her job. It allows her to utilise her Jane Austen knowledge while helping people find their own happiness while maintaining her beloved city lifestyle.
Cameron (the pen name for Luke) is a crime fiction novelist and not shy about expressing his opinions. While he enjoys a very private lifestyle, his author self is constantly in the press as an antagonistic character (of which some previous experiences have exacerbated the image of an a-hole).
Maddy and Cameron cross words in a live interview before unfortunately running into each other near the home Maddy has recently inherited. Due to the work being done at his home, he’s forced to lodge with Maddy while “working” on his next book. To which Maddy is able to provide some help with while also cleaning out her deceased relatives’ belongings, solving the mystery of his life and organising the local book fair.
First off, I want to say what a great job Linda did acknowledging the fact that dogs can have nose sensitivities. I see dogs mis-represented so much, that although there are still touches of that happening in this book, the major one for this pup was talked about. I hope more and more authors can continue this trend so we can stop romanticising dogs to help dispel some of the incorrect “ideas” and “beliefs” people have about dogs just because of what they read and see in the media.
In terms of the characters and story though!
Both characters had their own real flaws that they were actively working through (even if it took some prodding and encouragement from each other) making them all the more real. Sometimes characters can come across as too perfect, or the flaws they’re given aren’t relatable making it hard to connect with them. But that’s not the case with these two.
The pace of their relationship was also something I enjoyed. It was definitely more of a slow burn in forced proximity thing rather than a quick turnaround in feelings. The whole book actually spans about 6 months with the epilogue being exactly a yr after the first chapter. So again, a really relatable experience while also just being fun to read.
