AUTHOR: Harper Bliss GENRE: Queer Romance PAGES: 290 pages RELEASED: 17 August 2022 SYNOPSIS: Kate has been married to Kevin for ten years, but their failed journey to parenthood has left their relationship on the brink. As Kevin tries to heal by remodeling their home, Kate finds herself living in her mother-in-law’s pool house. And having to spend a lot of time with Kevin’s spoiled sister. Stella is preparing for a career-defining audition, but is happy to welcome her brother and his wife to the house—even though she thinks Kate doesn't like her all that much. With Kevin away, Kate and Stella bond over secret crushes, hot movie stars, and glitzy celebrity parties. Until one night, after too many shots of tequila, their bonding goes a step too far… Sometimes it takes you a few years to realise you’ve married the wrong sibling…
After yet another round of failed IVF, Kate and Kevin have decided to put an end to trying to conceive kids, moving into Kevin’s mother’s pool house while Kevin deals with his grief by renovating their house. Living with her in-laws is the first time that Kate has spent any real time with her sister-in-law Stella, who she’s always seen as a bit spoilt but soon comes to realise that her initial assumption is far from the truth. With Stella stressing about an upcoming audition and Kate grieving her infertility, the pair bond and share one too many wines and shots. As one thing leads to another, drunk actions become sober thoughts, and both Kate and Stella are conflicted over their growing feelings for one another. As Kevin spends more time away from Kate than with her, she starts to see that their marriage may have only been held together by their baby dreams, and that maybe it’s time to go their separate ways. And those separate ways may just be with her sister-in-law… I’ve always heard AMAZING things about Harper’s books and the romances that she crafts, and now I can see what all the hype was about! Harper clearly has a way of taking something questionable like cheating and producing a great romance that doesn’t feel like its cheapening the questionable actions. Harper treads a fine line with having cheating being a central part of the narrative, but she manages to handle it in such a way that shows the conflicted emotions and fallout that comes with it. Kate and Stella had really great chemistry, both in terms of friendship and romance, and the blurring of the lines between the two felt very realistic, putting aside the fact that they’re sisters-in-law. Their connection is built upon the fact that, despite being in each other’s lives for ten years, the assumptions they made about one another had prevented them from forming more of a connection. It was interesting to see them break down those barriers and realise just how much of a bond they had been missing out on. As much as I loved following Kate and Stella’s developing romance, I felt like we didn’t get to see enough of the build-up or journey to them actually falling in love - it felt like a lot happened in such a short period of time and so it didn’t feel realistic that they’d have fallen in love and willing to risk their relationships with family in order to be together. In saying that, I really appreciated Harper delivering some fantastic flashforwards at the end to show where all of the characters ended up and how their relationships with one another were at that point. Obviously, trigger warning for discussions around fertility issues and pregnancy loss. Harper focuses on the struggles in the aftermath of failed IVF as Kate and Kevin try and find ways to move forward, both personally and as a couple. I was really excited to see that Harper has two earlier books connected with minor characters that featured in this one as part of Stella’s arc as an actress, so I’m definitely keen to dive into those ones next. If you don’t mind a little cheating in your romance book and love a good sapphic read, this is definitely one to have on your TBR! |
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