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I don’t read many category romances—I like longer stories. Sarah Mayberry’s, however, are the outstanding exception to that rule. I’ve read twenty of her novels. Suddenly You is my favorite. It’s funny, sexy, feminist, and wonderfully real.
Harry is a nice guy who likes to take it all easy. He’s got a cool car, a decent job, good mates, and answers to no one but himself. And he likes it that way… until one night he sees his best friend’s ex-girlfriend Pippa stranded on the side of the road with her broken down car.
Pippa doesn’t think much of Harry—he’s a pal of Steve’s, her loser ex. Steve and Pippa broke up when Pippa got pregnant and Steve insisted she get an abortion. Since then, Steve has been nothing but awful to Pippa and baby Alice. His refusal to support his child has meant Pippa and Alice teeter on the edge of poverty. She lets Harry give her a ride home and sends him on his way.
Harry drives by Pippa’s broken-down car for several days and can’t figure out why she hasn’t had it towed. Finally, he stops by her ramshackle house and asks her. She tells him she doesn’t have the money—Steve won’t give her child support and she’s just barely paying her bills.
Harry decides to fix Pippa’s car himself, even as he’s not sure why he’s doing so. He also tries to get Steve to support Alice and is upset when Steve says no. As far as Steve’s concerned, once Pippa decided to have Alice, the baby became Pippa’s sole responsibility. Harry finds himself seeking out Pippa, fixing up her house—she makes him dinner as payment–and slowly the two become more than just friends.
Everything about this book works. Baby Alice isn’t a prop—she’s as difficult and as adorable as any normal baby and that’s just enough to make Pippa’s life as a single mom tough. Harry’s a gem and, even as he falls for Pippa, he doesn’t give up on Steve. The secondary characters, especially Harry’s parents, are winning and intrinsic to the story. The prose is hilarious—the wood filler scene alone is worth the price of the book. And the sex scenes are steamy and sweet.
Perhaps best of all is that Mayberry’s characters exist in the same world as the rest of us. They worry about money and are grounded in the lives they live. By the time Pippa and Harry find, slowly, their way to true love—the kind that changes everything—we believe they’ll grow old together, laughing, loving, and living. Their HEA resonates.
If you’ve not read Mayberry, I recommend this as a stellar place to start. Suddenly You is lovely.
Buy it at Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Grade: A
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 20/04/18
Publication Date: 03/2014
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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I have this one TBR! Hooray for compulsive book buying habits :)
This book makes my personal Top 100 Romances. And I agree, Sarah Mayberry is an auto-buy for me, too!
She’s a new auto-buy for me. Just picked this one up!
I loved Mayberry’s companion books, HER BEST WORST MISTAKE and HOT ISLAND NIGHTS—category romances done right—and I’m putting this book in my tbr right now!
I love those too!
I also thought her collaboration with Sarina Bowen was terrific!
Her Best Worst Mistake was my first book by Mayberry and I loved it! I’ve been reading through her backlog ever since. I can’t wait to read this one next!
I adore this book SO MUCH and have been excited every time I’ve seen it mentioned around the site — lovely to see it finally receiving a full review!