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Title: Twice Shy
Author: Sarah Hogle
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Alright, so if you’ve been here at all in recent months, you know how much I love Sarah Hogle and how much I have been looking forward to Twice Shy. I was literally so excited for this book I considered asking my agent to put a request for an ARC in my contract since we have the same publisher (I didn’t, even I know that’s too much). While I didn’t get an ARC (next time), I did get the book on release day, which happened to be the same day I got my second vaccine shot and so I holed up in bed with it and basically didn’t come up for air until I was done.
Maybell Parrish is feeling pretty blah about basically everything in her life. Her job sucks, she recently got catfished by a coworker, and her relationship with her mother is as fraught as it has been her entire life. So when she finds out her great aunt left her home to her in her will, she is more than willing to pack up what little there is to her life and relocate. Only when she arrives, she finds out she hasn’t been told the whole story. Maybell actually co-owns the property with Wesley, the man who has been acting as a groundskeeper. Maybell hadn’t been in touch with her great aunt for many years due to some family drama, and she is shocked to find the manor in a completely rundown condition. She and Wesley will have to fix up the property, and agree on what to do with it, all while living together in the tiny groundskeeper cabin. Wesley is basically the definition of crunchy on the outside, super soft on the inside, and his social anxiety means he has a hard time opening up to Maybell. But the more time they spend together, the more they learn to enjoy one another. Both have some emotional issues they have to deal with, but in general, this one is pretty low angst (which I am here for these days). And of course, they live happily ever after.
I actually find it really hard to write reviews for books I love as much as this one because what can I say that will fully capture how amazing it is? I don’t have the words. But I will say this, Sarah has a writing style and a voice that is so unique and funny and gorgeous. There were several moments when I had to set the book down and take a second to recover from the genius of her phrasing. She truly is a master wordsmith. On top of that, she’s funny as fuck, and then she totally punches you in the heart when you least expect it. Y’all, I CRIED. Like not teared up. I cried while reading this book. I felt so much for these characters and related to both of them and they were just perfection. And on top of all that, Sarah wrote a single line that totally captured how I feel about my own husband and marriage and literally no words have ever reached through the page and grabbed me like that one perfect sentence. Like I just loved loved loved this book so stinking much.
Overall Rating: 5 stars (duh)
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