Author: Annie Serena
Genre: Romance | Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Book Description: She’s going to write her own happy ending.
English professor Athena Murphy is an authority on the novels of the Brontë sisters. But as they say in academia, publish or perish. To save her job, Athena decides to write a biography of C.L. Garland, the author heating up bestseller lists with spicy retellings of classic literature. Tracking down the reclusive writer and uncovering her secret identity, though, means Athena must return to her small midwestern hometown where Garland—and her ex-boyfriend, Thorne Kent—live.
Seeing Thorne again reminds Athena that real life never lives up to fiction. He was the Heathcliff to her Catherine, the Mr. Rochester to her Jane. Not only did their college breakup shatter that illusion, but they also broke each other’s hearts again a second time. Now she has to see him nearly every…single…day.
The only solution is to find C.L. Garland as quickly as possible, write the book, and get the heck out of town. As her deadline looms and the list of potential C.L. Garlands dwindles, Athena and Thorne bicker and banter their way back to friendship. Could it really be true that the third time’s a charm?
Athena and Thorne have a love story only a Brontë could write, and the chance for their own happily-ever-after, but first, they’ll need to forgive the mistakes of the past.
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: Athena Murphy is a literature professor, who has not published anything. She takes a sabbatical to come home, and write. Her goal to find the identity of C.L. Garland, who does reimagining’s of classic novels with a ‘twist”, and is said to be residing in her home town. When she returns home she finds her ex-boyfriend now lives and owns the bakery that she is supposed to be working at.
There is nothing fresh in this contemporary romance. The author does a great job bringing in themes and quotes from the Brontë sister’s novels, but other than that there was really no sizzle. Even the twists were predictable, and I figured it out within a few chapters.
This is a good beach read or if you want a light read. We all need these types of books in our lives and this one does the job perfectly.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 