Totally readable, slightly fraught romance.
Woman A is a hotshot American author, recently humiliated by a very public divorce from a no-good-cheatin’-wife. In her grief-ridden state, she runs away from it all to a house she buys, sight-unseen, in small town, UK. Her grandmother spent her childhood in small town, UK and our hotshot author (and our book’s author) is full of romantic ideas about the place.
Woman B has never left small town, UK, and works a series of jobs helping out in her family’s many small businesses in the area. She’s behind the bar, she’s taking the tourists out on the sailboat to see puffins, she’s working in the post office, she’s sleeping with the sexier female tourists (this last one is her own, unpaid, enterprise, not a family business).
What can these women possibly have in common? Not much! But local girl is incredibly gifted at saying the right thing and putting hotshot author at her ease. And hotshot author values the strength and stability of local girl, and can see past her womanising ways.
But hotshot author isn’t ready for a relationship! And local girl isn’t good enough for such a hotshot! And what about the hotshot lesbian who owns the castle?!
Probably my only real complaint is with the epilogue, which could have done with another draft. The Sheriff and I think the perfect epilogue is a mini short story that tells you what happened next, and this one cried out for some emotional growth on both sides. But you can’t have everything, I guess.
(Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi from Pexels)
She Sighed! 