This was the first book that I’ve picked up by author Clare Ashton and it did not disappoint. I actually read it last year while traveling and it was probably my favorite lesfic book that I took a chance on.
The book is set in London and focuses on two women who randomly meet at the start of the book, have an enchanting time together and end up meeting again in an unexpected way. They want to be together, but of course there are obstacles. Now that I’m writing this out, the basic premise seems rather cheesy, but it was done really well.
Before reading any further, know that the review below contains some minor spoilers.
*****
I knew that I was in for long haul when … on the very first page we see Pia going in a circle like a dog to inspect the damage she’s done to her pants with her less than graceful landing. The way this scene was described made me laugh and from that point on, I just knew that this was going to be a fun ride.
Style snippet …
Pia walked around the edge of the quiet London square while affecting an air of nonchalance. She kicked out her boots and hummed a song but, underneath her arm, she kept a tight grip on her camera and long zoom lens. She peered over her sunglasses. No-one walked outside the tall Georgian terraces. No-one sat underneath the trees of the large private garden in the centre of Kensington Square. She wriggled her shoulders underneath her rucksack and, with one last peek around, attempted a nimble jump over the black railings into the garden.
She landed with a gentle thud on the grass and to a tearing sound from her rear.
‘Bugger.’
Left behind on a railing spike was the frayed back pocket of her jeans. She twisted round trying to check her bottom. It remained stubbornly out of sight and she spun round on the spot, rather like a dog chasing its own tail. She patted the previous location of her pocket and her warm hand found a cool patch of naked bottom.
What surprised me about this book … was the weird obsession with getting a NYC pretzel. Honestly, I cannot say that I’ve ever known anyone who dreamed of getting a pretzel in NYC. What’s even more peculiar about this is that NYC is known for a few food items, but pretzels don’t make that list. This was actually a really disappointing part of this book for me as I felt that the author did such a great job of accurately describing London just to toss it all in the trash with this terrible NYC pretzel thing.
My favorite character … is definitely Ed. I loved when Ed appeared because knew that I was going to get some literal laugh out loud moments. In fact, I would love to see more books from Ashton featuring Ed.
Overall, this was a very fun book to read, despite my hangups about the whole NYC pretzel fiasco. And, like a lot of romance books, the ending was a little lame, but you kinda expect that from romance, right? I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good lesfic romance story that doesn’t focus on the coming out process.
And if think this one might interest you, the author has a full excerpt of Chapter One up on her website.
Where to buy:
Being a bloody-minded sort, I’m now tempted to have a New York pretzel in all my books 🙂
Nice review. You have excellent taste in characters – I adore Ed!
haha, go for it 😉