I have a lot of respect for the kind of battiness and old school romance with stakes that Susan Elizabeth Phillips brought to the contemporary romance genre, but this book felt like a dulled down version of the kind of story she wanted to deliver, despite an interesting premise, a likably unlikeable heroine, a strong, silent hero, and a small town setting.

Dancy is an actress and sex symbol, complete with all the baggage that comes with being in the spotlight in That way, and she recently had a miscarriage after years of her ex-husband refusing to try for a baby with her. She's understandably on the brink by the time her ex shows up at a gala with his much-younger, PREGNANT girlfriend, and she ends up getting recorded while drunkenly toasting them, then stumbling out of the event. The next thing she knows, the limo is dropping her off at her high school ex-boyfriend's lake house. Enter Clint, who's now a famous football player for the Chicago Stars and begrudgingly offers her a place to stay (a boxcar! Trust there are plenty of Boxcar Children references) for a week.

To SEP's credit, the narrative isn't pushing The Purity Of Small Towns to a lost, big-city actress; there's more nuance to Dancy especially, and a lot of time is spent on the idea that she can reinvent her career as an "older" woman at the ancient age of 35 (ancient by Hollywood standards). In the process, however, it feels like Clint's point-of-view got lost. He has his own past (including his ex being murdered on his property recently??), but it's sacrificed in favor of him just sort of being... there for Dancy, in his own somewhat repressed, charmingly gruff but uber-competent way. We know they have beef from high school which Dancy is eager to rehash, but neither of them seem to put in the emotional labor I usually associate with second-chance romances, especially ones with older, ostensibly more mature adults. Ultimately, the transition from their reconciliation to lovers fell flat for me, and a lot of time is spent instead on a whole cast of side characters who show up during the week.

The sex:

There's like.. 2 sex scenes, both mildly explicit and fairly short. This isn't a very high-heat book outside of these scenes either, as far as sexual tension goes.

Overall:

As someone who really enjoyed Nobody's Baby But Mine, which also has a hero of a similar mold as well as a small-town romance, this story felt a lot... less internal and emotional, despite needing that when there isn't much external plot beyond a week in an isolated cabin.

Thank you to Avon for the finished copy.

Rating: 3.75/5 Heat Level: 2.75/5 Pub Date: Feb 10th