Why the Follow Up Was Even Better Than the First

 

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As promised, today I'll be reviewing Hot Dutch Daydream by Kristy Boyce, which is a follow up to Boyce's debut novel, Hot British Boyfriend. However, even though it's a follow up on one of the character's from the first book in the series, you can totally read Hot Dutch Daydream on its own without having read Hot British Boyfriend.

In fact, if you aren't into series, then I would highly recommend reading this one as a stand alone. While I loved Ellie's story in Hot British Boyfriend I actually loved Sage's story in this novel even more. Though the novel started out a little slower for me than Ellie's story did, it didn't take long for me to be hooked once the love interest Ryland enters the picture. In this book Sage has agreed to come to Amsterdam and to work for her mentor Dr. Reese who she interned for when she was studying abroad in England. But this time, Sage will not be working in the lab. Instead, she's agreed to babysit Dr. Reese's three-year-old son, Diederik for the summer in exchange for Dr. Reese paying for Sage to fly overseas and present a poster of her earlier research work at a conference in Berlin, Germany. At first, things do not go well for Sage. While she's a natural in the realm of science and research, she's not so much when it comes to minding an active toddler. Not to mention babysitting one in a foreign city, Amsterdam, who speaks little English. It was fun watching the always in control Sage, who always has a plan and loves to color coordinate her weekly planner, meet her match in more ways than one. She soon finds herself in over her head when the evenings roll around and she is exhausted, but still needs to put in her work for the research team and prepare her poster for her big conference presentation. Her plans get even more thrown out of whack when Ryland, Dr. Reese's older son, returns home unexpectedly for the summer from his backpacking trip. On the surface, Ryland seems just as much the opposite of Sage as her best friend Ellie is with his go with the flow attitude to life. However, as the two get to know one another, it becomes apparent that they might have more in common than they thought. Where Sage is passionate about pursuing her career as a medical doctor and cancer researcher, Ryland is equally as passionate about pursuing a career as an artist. It is equally evident early on from his teasing and flirting that Ryland might also be passionate about pursuing Sage as well. But a conversation with Dr. Reese, once she realizes her oldest son has come back home, makes it clear that if Sage wants to continue working for her, being anything other than friends with Ryland is out of the question.

One of the things I loved most about this book was how Boyce helps Sage learn to balance her life as a character. In the beginning she is very much the in control, reserved and driven Sage from Hot British Boyfriend. But her summer job as nanny to Diederik while still trying to cover her responsibilities as Dr. Reese's intern force her to adjust and for the first time, accept help when it is offered by Ryland. The fun twist comes into it when we realize the proposition he offers Sage to help him stay focused so he can enter an important art competition is also a ploy to get to know her better. The friendship that blossoms between them is fun to read! Ryland helps Sage, but he also provides her with companionship and a sense of calm and peace that she hasn't managed to find in ages. The way they interact and the way Sage discovers how well they balance each other out is sweet, while also being funny. Plus, I cannot state enough how much I love Ryland. He's creative and smart and so incredibly clever and without giving too much away, the way he compares Sage to a cat in one scene in the book is priceless. Of course, problems ensue when Sage eventually realizes her attachment to Ryland is too strong for her to resist being more than friends. But again, this moment shows us Sage's resilience when she decides to reassess her life and what she truly wants out of it. Also, the comparison between her parents' relationship to hers with Ryland that we learn about later in the novel is so bittersweet, because it shows that not only has Ryland helped Sage find balance in her life, he's also helped her open up about her dad and finally start healing some from his loss for the first time in the years since he died. 

All in all, I gave Hot Dutch Daydream 5 out 5 stars where, while I really enjoyed Hot British Boyfriend, it was only a 4 out of 5 stars for me. Of course, if you are a fan of books by Jenna Evans Welch or other rom-com writers of young adult fiction, I highly recommend your read both books in this series. Also, by clicking on the title for either of these books or by clicking on the store name below, you can purchase a copy from an independent bookseller of books for children and teens Blue Marble Books based in Ft. Thomas, KY. As will often be the case this year, I will try to help showcase independent booksellers in my home state whenever possible. But if you are interested in purchasing used books online, I can also recommend Better World Books as purchasing books from them also supports getting books in the hands of children around the world. As always, feel free to leave a comment here about any YA rom-coms you love and can highly recommend. 

Next month, I will be reviewing some fantasies for YA/NA readers and upper middle grade/YA readers. The first book I'll be reviewing for May will be Keeper of Scarlet Petals by a A. N. Skye, which is a NetGalley ARC provided by Aethon Books and is an upper YA or New Adult (NA) fantasy. My other read and review for May will be The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and a book I've been meaning to read for a long time as a fantasy writer for kids and teens myself. I'm really looking forward to sharing my thoughts on both with you next month so stay tuned! 

A Slow Burn Dance into Contemporary Romance

 

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For the month of April I will be focusing on straight, contemporary romance reads. By that I mean these will be novels set in a realistic contemporary world with no elements of fantasy or the paranormal in them. My first pick for this month is Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, which comes out this July. I would say Slow Dance is a steamy, contemporary adult romance. It is also a stand alone novel, not part of a series.

I have long been a fan of Rainbow Rowell. I loved Eleanor and Park and Fangirl.  I enjoyed the Simon Snow novels inspired by the fan fiction in Fangirl. I will also admit that Slow Dance is the first adult novel of Rowell's that I've read. This novel bears all the hallmarks of a Rainbow Rowell novel, complicated characters with difficult backstories and life situations. However, it is an interesting mix of adult and young adult novel. It revolves around Shiloh, a young, thirty-something divorcee with two kids and Cary, her former best friend. The two are brought together after fourteen years by the marriage of their mutual best friend Mikey.

Here are the things I love about this book. First, I love that Rowell seems to make it seem effortless to depict characters whose lives are messy, who don't have it all figured out, who had life goals only some of which they've achieved. I love that Shiloh is both protective of the life she has built for herself but also embarrassed by it. On the one hand, she is raising her two kids and sharing custody of them with her ex-husband, while also feeling she's taken a step backwards by moving in with her mom. Shiloh enjoys her job working at the local Children's Theatre, but also feels she has to apologize for it because it means she's traded living in her hometown for what could have been a bigger life pursuing a stage career for herself. It is so realistic of what life can be, a mix of pride at what you have carved out for yourself while still feeling you need to apologize to the wider world for not being what the world sees as a breakout hit or success. Yet, as Shiloh grows and changes throughout the story, her growing realization of what brings happiness makes her less apologetic and instead proud. Proud to admit her love for her best friend and proud to take a chance at building a life with him where they can be happy. 

I also loved that Cary is everything wonderful in a love interest, loyal, tender, willing to listen, but also complicated, sometimes surly, and often clueless about articulating his feelings. When he finally decides to risk giving his heart to Shiloh again, the results of that are messy, uncertain and unexpected. But Rowell still manages to make the moment tender and heartbreaking in the best way. Cary, unlike Shiloh, left home and never expected to look back. He's made a career for himself just as he set out to do in the Navy. However, he has still retained his ties to his mother, who is actually his grandmother, and has never stopped looking out for her and taking care of her. In spite of her mistakes, in spite of all the people she brought into his life, all the siblings, step-siblings, half-siblings, cousins she's always taking in and caring for, adding to the people, by extension, Cary has to care for or worry about. In this way, both Cary and Shiloh understand each other on a deep level as both come from broken homes with mother's who made questionable choices. I also like that each of the moms own up to their mistakes to some degree, but also don't apologize for living their life the way they wanted. Again, it is genuine and makes them fully fleshed secondary characters because they are messy, flawed and yet supportive and loving toward their children, though Shiloh's mom is much less maternal and nurturing than Cary's. 

What makes this book an interesting blend of adult and young adult is the fact that it is told through a mix of chapters set in the current timeline for the adult versions of the characters with flashback chapters of the teen versions of the characters. At least half of the novel is made up of chapters about the before versions of Shiloh and Cary. Some even give alternate points of view of the same parts of the story from the other character's viewpoint. So, for example, one set of chapters told from Cary's point of view after bootcamp is later retold from Shiloh's viewpoint. It was a surprise to me that the story was told this way. I will admit that while I think that Rowell was able to pull it off overall, at times, I was frustrated to have to read some of these before chapters. I felt that there were times when I could have done without some of them and would have preferred to see some of that information worked into the current timeline for the adults instead. I was most invested in the storyline for Cary and Shiloh as adults and while I do think some of the before chapters are important to understand the roadblocks that exist between Cary and Shiloh as grownups and to understand why they've not be in touch for so long after being so close as teens, I still wish there had been fewer before chapters. I felt that for me, they slowed the pacing down for the story and made it longer than it needed to be. That is the main reason I give this a 4 out of 5 stars. That may be a pet peeve for me though, and some will likely feel differently. 

If you like contemporary romance with compelling, realistic characters, then I highly recommend reading Slow Dance. I did enjoy it and I found the love story between Cary and Shiloh to be touching, and heartbreakingly beautiful. I was very pleased to be given the chance to read an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers in exchange for this honest review.

Stay tuned for my next review in a couple of weeks of a young adult/new adult contemporary romance by Kristy Boyce entitled Hot Dutch Daydream which is a follow up novel to Hot British Boyfriend. Click on the titles for links to Goodreads for blurbs on either of these books.

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