Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.
But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…
Because it is.
This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.
Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.
Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.
Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.
Paperback, 384 pages
Published June 25, 2024
by Berkley
3/5 stars
Oh man, I wanted to love this book, the previous three that I have read by Ashley Poston have been some of my favorite reads. This one sounded so interesting and fun, maybe my expectations were too high, so please take my review with a grain of salt,
The story starts out as Eileen gets lost on a dark stormy night ending up in a little town that is right out of the pages of her favourite romance series. The only problem with this romance series is the author passed away suddenly without finishing it, leaving loose ends. Sounds great right?
This fun premise, felt like it was missing some kind of spark to keep me glued to the pages. Which is sad because books about books are my thing. This was a slow paced story that talks about Eileen's past, her loneliness and desire to please everyone else. She deals through her issues in the story, which was great, but it just took a while and the other characters just didn’t do much for me.
The story starts out as Eileen gets lost on a dark stormy night ending up in a little town that is right out of the pages of her favourite romance series. The only problem with this romance series is the author passed away suddenly without finishing it, leaving loose ends. Sounds great right?
This fun premise, felt like it was missing some kind of spark to keep me glued to the pages. Which is sad because books about books are my thing. This was a slow paced story that talks about Eileen's past, her loneliness and desire to please everyone else. She deals through her issues in the story, which was great, but it just took a while and the other characters just didn’t do much for me.
The magical realism really didn’t feel all that magical as Poston‘s previous books have. But that’s okay, I’m still a devoted fan and look forward to what she comes up with next. And in the meantime I will continue with her backlist.
This book was part of my 2024 reading off my shelf challenge
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