Tag Archives: wedding

Jan11

In Love with Lewis Prescott by Sarah Smith

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In Love with Lewis Prescott by Sarah Smith

Smith, Sarah. In Love with Lewis Prescott. Carna Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin), 2023.352 pp. ISBN 9781335984883 $8.99

***

Architect Harper Ellorza is renovating her grandparents home in San Francisco as a love letter to her family, but an unscrupulous contractor did a shoddy job without her oversight and she can’t afford to lay out her renovation on repairs too. She forms an unlikely alliance with disgraced actor Lewis Prescott when she not only doesn’t fangirl over him, but helps him hide from crazed fans. He conveniently did contracting work before his big break, and in return for a place to hide out, he will right the wrongs and finish the job with her help. It has to be a secret, due to the paparazzi stalking him — he was abruptly fired from his tv gig and no one knows it’s for being a whistleblower on the director’s sexual harassment of female cast and crew members. He offers to pay her, and she urges him to give his million dollars to the charity she works for.

Forced proximity is always a device to build physical and emotional intimacy; theirs is heightened when Lewis goes along with Harper’s suggestion to control the narrative with a nude calendar charity fundraiser and scantily clad teasers on social media. The drama comes when Hannah breaks her promise not to tell anyone her contractor and roommate is a celebrity.

Smith channels Olivia Dade in a press conference scene near the end, and also in some ways through the commentary on fame, celebrity, immigration, race, and the #metoo movement. Deeper discussions such as these always add depth to story for me. The details of the renovations, Filipino culture, and California setting are delicious. The sex is consensual, smutty and detailed, and the characters move past their trauma and insecurities to make their relationship work.

I received a free advance reader’s review edition of #InLoveWithLewisPrescott from #NetGalley.

Jan7

Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around by Sarah Ready

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Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around by Sarah Ready

Ready, Sarah. Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around. Swift & Lewis, 2023. 352 pp. ISBN 9781954007437 $15.99

*****

Josh and Gemma made a baby, and now they are about to get married. Gemma hasn’t been feeling well for days, but chalked it up to excitement and nerves. Apparently their hippie-dippie hypo-birthing class instructor–who in a moment of getting real has the foresight to warn the assembled couples that everything is going to change–fails to mention warning signs of pre-eclampsia. Gemma passes out in the new gazebo in her parent’s backyard on the verge of saying her vows. Josh’s voice begging her not to leave him is the last thing she hears. She comes to three months later.

After her sensory-deprivation coma, Gemma is super-sensitive to sound, light, and people. Her short-term memory is shot and she can no longer multitask. Down 30 pounds, she’s lost her bangin’ curves–and her ability to feel emotion. According to her doctor, that’s not abnormal, and while some things lost may return over time, here’s another reminder that everything changes, and she should prepare for a new normal. The medical details and recovery are accurate.

Oh, and Gemma’s never even met her daughter Hope. It’s a lot to bounce back from. Josh, on location for the filming of the sitcom based on his popular webcomic Grim and Jewlie (based on their relationship), isn’t even on the same coast when she opens her eyes, and his relief is tempered by her admission she doesn’t think she loves him anymore. She doesn’t feel anything. He’s determined to make it work, and while it’s what Gemma wants too, there’s a lot of fear, and a lot of doubt from friends and family that their relationship could continue. To complicate matters, her old boss Ian, who is now the most hated man in America, shows up in her rehabilitation center, where he claims to be a volunteer, now that’s he’s out of a job. He is a self-centered jerk, and must have been so much fun to write; it’s certainly a joy disliking him, but like all of the characters, he, too, is multi-faceted.

Gemma’s description of glimpses of the light she’s lost, the stars that shine through, and her journey to find the sun again is damn poetic. I found a few issues, like repetitive descriptions and word usages, that closer editing might have caught. The drama high but realistic: I wasn’t sure they would actually make it through, and I wasn’t sure that Ian wasn’t a figment of Gemma’s imagination at first (honestly, I was hoping the whole thing was just another stress-induced nightmare.)

Ready writes with both dark humor and optimism, a healthy dose of realism and a lot of hope (and not quite enough Hope!). Gemma works through her trauma, and helps heal Josh’s and Ian’s as well. Like in the first book, quotes precede each chapter. This is an incredibly satisfying sequel that I devoured in one sitting.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #JoshAndGemmaTheSecondTimeAround from #NetGalley.