5 SMOOCHES!
SYNOPSIS:
Willa Doon has always been shy. Her quiet demeanor was something she’s always embraced. That is, until Jackson Page moves to town. The one man she desperately wants to take notice struggles to remember her name.
Year after year, Willa stands by, watching as the bartender slash playboy drowns his demons in beer and sex. Then one night, he shows up at her door, suddenly aware that the girl he’s seen around Lark Cove is now a beautiful woman.
Except what he doesn’t remember is that this visit isn’t his first. They spent a night together once before. A night he’s forgotten, thanks to a bottle of tequila.
A night that crushed a timid girl’s heart, and set a broken man on the path to heal them both.
REVIEW:
Devney Perry adds another engrossing, richly developed and layered story to the fabulous Lark Cove series with Timid. Perry’s writing is vibrant and sharp here as she digs deeper into the lives and loves of the citizens of this small Montana town. She has captured the essence of this community, and her portrayal of it through the characters and the setting played out vividly in my mind as I read.
It goes without saying that when there is unrequited love involved, the reader can expect that some angst and a hefty dose of emotion will be involved. Perry dished up both, but she also turned the whole trope on its head here with spectacular results. The town’s shy, girl-in-the-background who had been crushing on the older, playboy bartender gets her moment when he finally notices her—only to be crushed the next day when he has no recollection of their time together. Humiliated, hurt and feeling foolish, she decides to let go of her long-time crush on him. The problem is that he actually has noticed her, and the tables turn with him being the one to do the chasing.
I loved how Willa grew stronger during this time; the shy girl became bold, and it was a sight to behold. She made him work for it, she made him burn for it, and she made him earn it—and for his part, Jackson totally did all of that. His story was quite heartbreaking, and I ached for this hero during his moments of internal dialogue, where the reader is privy to his private thoughts and his struggle to accept and return love. But Willa also gave as good as she got by giving Jackson exactly what he needed–her unwavering support and loyalty, her honesty and understanding, and her boundless love. While not as suspenseful as the first book, there were those elements here, and they added interest and intrigue to the plot and to Jackson’s backstory. Their natural chemistry billowed off the page, and I absolutely loved seeing this sweeter, gentler side of Jackson. But my favorite part of this story was Willa and how far she came from the bashful, quiet wallflower that she once was to the brave, strong woman she became.
Timid wasn’t a simple story about unrequited love, it was about finding true love, in all its forms, whether it be between lovers or family, and learning to accept it. It was about holding on tight when the going gets tough. It was beautiful and poignant and moving, and I loved everything about Willa and Jackson’s tender and sexy love story. Five smooches from me for Timid by Devney Perry!
~Danielle Palumbo
BUY IT NOW!
