Published by Gallery Books
Released on October 22, 2019
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
The Delight
Second chance romances are a personal favorite of mine and this new book by the author duo, Christina Lauren, hit it out of the ballpark with this one for me. First love, first everything for one sheltered eighteen year old with an older(21)guy who falls in love as well was bound to not go well, especially when betrayal is in the mix. What happens fourteen years later is the crux of this engaging book-although this couple’s beginning was important as well.
Review
Anytime I see the names Christina Lauren on a book, I am totally in for the read. And in all but one exception, I have loved all of the ones I have read. I find their books to be different from the normal contemporary romance with deeper messages/story lines/problems than those of the lighthearted variety. Not that there isn’t humor because there is, and not that they are tragedies, because they’re not, but rather that they are a bit more complicated. And that’s a good thing in my mind. I did find that this book lacked some of the humor that is the norm in their books.
Fresh out of high school, Tate Jones is on a two week vacation in London with her grandmother. There they meet a older man and his grandson, Sam Brandis on their first day. It’s not long before the four are eating most of their meals together and visiting all the touristy places together. It’s also not long until Tate is sneaking out when her grandmother is sleeping to spend time alone with Sam in the hotel’s huge garden. There they lay under the stars and tell each other all their secrets. Tate’s secret is that she’s the daughter of one of the most famous actors in the world, one that has disappeared from his life. The two are young and attracted to each other and fall in love. End of story. Not quite, because of course true love doesn’t run smooth and the two lose track of each other for fourteen years.
Fourteen years later and Tate is an actress in her own right and only has fleeting encounters with her father. He’s not a really good guy. She’s found the role of a lifetime and her father will be a supporting character in the movie. It involves being sent to a rural area and living on a huge farm for weeks. It also involves her meeting Sam again. Tate was a good character. She was raised mostly away from Hollywood in a small town where no one but her grandmother and mom knew who she was. She’s beautiful, intelligent and considerate. She also has a temper when it comes to Sam. Sam is actually a good guy who did a very stupid, but necessary? thing years ago. He’s a tall, well built man with a beard and is still stupidly handsome to Tate. Tate’s father is the ultimate egotistical actor. He’s always on in front of people and is so not the same in private. I disliked him immediately. Other important characters were her best friend Charlie, her movie co-star Nick, her mother, and her manager. They were all fleshed out almost as much as the two leads.
I found the book to be well written as usual, plotted and paced well and I loved the time spent in London as much as the time spent at the farm. The older romance was very believable and actually very sweet and full of lust. The new romance was a bit less believable(hence the blue moon)but still a good one and okay yes, in the end, full of lust as well. Don’t get me wrong, this is not erotica, but there are sex scenes and not ones to fill in where story should be. I also liked the inclusion of some of the dramatic scenes from the movie. They were actually important to the story and that’s all I am saying about that.
If you are adult and like good contemporary romance and characters, I highly recommend this one. I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you are new to the authors and not surprised at all if you are already fans of the authors.
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I’m a softy for a second chance, too. It does sound neat with her as an actress and filming near his home. 🙂
Well it wasn’t near his home but that’s part of the story so… not saying anything else.
Thanks Lorna I just enjoyed another review for this book and they felt about the same way
These authors pretty much never disappoint me.
Not my favorite of theirs, but I enjoyed it and look forward to the next 🙂 Great review Lorna!
I understand what you mean. I enjoyed it too. Thanks!
I like the authors novels so I’m curious about this one too
You might really enjoy it!
I have only read one of Christina Lauren’s books but I did enjoy it. This sounds wonderful and I am usually a sucker for second chance romances. Great review!
Thank you. It was a good one!
I am picky with my 2nd chance novels. 🙂 But this sounds pretty good and something I would like! Thanks for the review!
You’re welcome! I hope you get a chance to try it sometime.
The time in London was my favorite part. CLo really captured that feeling of first love so well, and those nights in the grass. The ending left me with a huge grin too. It was perfect.
I loved the London part as well. It did have a good ending didn’t it?
I had problems with the time gap and the short amount of time Tate and Sam had on both occasions. It was an interesting and emotional story but a bit unbelievable in some aspects. Wonderful review Lorna!
Thank you! I enjoy these authors a lot usually.