by Rosemary Hayes from the January 8, 2024 issue
Tagline: When Jacqui had to help cover a shift at the cafe, she never imagined that her heart would be warmed with love on such a chilly day.
Observations: I adored this story! The more I read, the more things I found to love about it.
I loved the heroine's go-to attitude... I wasn't going to let a little snow stop me. Sara couldn't do her shift at the cafe today and Alex would need help.
"...this cafe used to be my uncle's DVD rental store a long time ago." -- Ah, the memories! I remember Blockbuster used to be a regular stop on my errands. That is, until I discovered Netflix would deliver to my mailbox. Gamechanger. I should have invested right then and there.
"Flat white?"
"How did you guess?"
"My hidden talent."
This reminds me of that movie Chocolat, where Viv's special talent is know which chocolate is someone's favorite.
I was quite surprised she was the boss. It's very rare for someone to get a plot twist in without me seeing it in advance. This was so nice!
It was like a scene from a movie. I gazed at him, he gazed at me. Sparks flew. -- Note the short sentences. Great choice. Moves us along their emotional arcs at a snappy pace.
Hayes calls back to the hidden talent comment, which is always nice. It's like an inside joke for the readers to enjoy too.
I also like how he brought photos for her to see. She would definitely love to see what her cafe looked like before she took over, not to mention the fact that it brings them a bit closer together.
I thought the ending was perfect. It even gave me chills. Excellent.
Photo by Bill McChesney via Flickr Creative Commons License
2 comments:
This was a good story. I also was surprised to learn she was the boss.
Great story. Loved everything about it: characters, setting, premise, and season.
I also was surprised she was the boss. On the other hand due to the weather, I can see now that it was expected.
Post a Comment