February 4, 2003, promises to be a typical day for Olivia Ross - a greeting card writer whose passion project is a screenplay of her own. But after she and a handsome actor have a magical meet-cute in a coffee shop, they make a spontaneous pact: in 10 years, after they’ve found the success they’re just sure they’re going to achieve, they’ll return to the coffeehouse to partner up and make a film together. The only problem? Olivia neglected to get the stranger’s name. But she doesn’t forget his face - or the date.
For the next ten years, every February 4 is marked with coincidences and ironies for Olivia. As men come and go and return to her life, she continues to write, but still wonders about the guy from the coffee shop - the nameless actor she’s almost certain has turned out to be Hamish MacDougal, now a famous A-lister and Hollywood leading man.
But a lot can happen in 10 years, and while waiting for the curtain to rise on her fate, the true story of Olivia’s life is being written - and if she’s not careful, she’ll completely miss the real-life romantic comedy playing out right before her eyes.
My thoughts...Last year I read my first Bethany Turner book, "Hadley Beckett's Next Dish." I loved it! I then began to devour all of Bethany's books. I enjoyed them all. So I saw this book cover (which I love) and decided to get a copy as quickly as possible. This book is not quite what I expected.
Lines in the book that summarize it better than I could (I don't think these are really spoilers, but just a heads up that it does reveal things):
"He sighed, and I could smell the peach from my nambypamby tea on his breath. 'I guess I wish I knew how to convince you that you're as worthy of love and romance as anyone else.'"
"Turns out Fiona Mitchell and I were actually the loves of each other's lives." (this is not a reference to any homosexuality)
The book summary read to me like a fun romance/romantic interlude that builds over the course of ten years. What it read as was year after year of Olivia's martyrdom and often unhealthy friendship with her best friend, Fiona, and even her other best friend, Liam. It wasn't really funny to me, and I honestly felt kind of sad as I read it. Year after year, until she's 40 years old, Olivia shows how unworthy she feels of anything good, has conflicts with those she's closest to, sacrifices her happiness for Fiona's, all while Fiona is out there living her best life. Fiona doesn't mind doing whatever she wants to, because she knows that Olivia will be right there. I was waiting for the plot twist. When it happened, I was confused. The romantic aspects throughout the book were sabotaged by Olivia's insecurities, so when true romance presented itself, I almost couldn't believe it.
I rarely write a negative review because I know that authors pour their heart into their books. I respect that. I will say that this book did make me feel things, even if they weren't the things I necessarily wanted to feel, so I give the author credit for that. I will continue to ready Bethany's books, and will probably go back and reread some of her previous ones, but this book just wasn't my cup of tea.
**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in order to give my honest opinion, which I did.**
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