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The beginning of A Walk in the Park was a bit slow for me. Add into the mix a secret baby plot and I wasn’t sure how much I would like this. But fairly soon I realized I was smiling. And instead of taking copious notes for my review, I was reading and enjoying the book. Not only is this good, it’s lovely.
Lara Carson is in Bath to attend her father’s funeral. She hasn’t been in town since she was 16 and her father and step-mother threw her out of their home for missing curfew (yes, they were just that awful). Lara’s at the funeral because an attorney called and told her she to come to learn about the will. When Lara leaves the church she finds her former best friend Evie is waiting for her. Evie always wondered what happened to Lara, as Lara’s father would only say that Lara was gone and wouldn’t return.
When Lara learns she’s inherited the family home she and her 16-year old daughter move back to Bath. This is tricky as her daughter’s father Flynn, Lara’s love when she was 16, doesn’t know he has a daughter. I’m not too fond of secret baby stories, but as I learned more about the circumstances of Lara’s actions they made more sense.
The story shifts back and forth between Lara and Evie. I took to Evie’s story more quickly. Evie’s getting dressed for her wedding to the man she’s loved for years, and thought was too good for her, when she discovers he’s been cheating on her. Although Evie dumps him at the altar, I wasn’t certain the decision would stick. Evie loves his parents and works for the family business. And to make things more complicated, both her ex- and his parents seem determined that the two will get back together.
Neither Lara nor Evie have a straight-forward romance, but I found their journeys enjoyable. It’s obvious early on that Flynn and Lara still love each other; but whether they’ll ever get together remains in doubt. While Lara wants her daughter and Flynn to get to know each other, she’s determined that she’ll just be friends with Flynn, a decision that didn’t make complete sense to me. As Lara builds a life for herself in Bath she gets a job with an interesting jeweler, and also begins a quest to learn more about her mother, who died when she was a young girl.
Evie’s love life is much more prominent. In addition to her ex-, Evie meets Ethan, an intriguing man she assumes is the Odd Job man at a large hotel. Despite her determination to stay single, Evie eventually has dinner with Ethan. I loved their date, loved Ethan, and could have done with an even stronger focus on Evie.
There are some great secondary characters including Lara’s Aunt Nettie, the woman who took Lara in when she had nowhere else to go. I was thrown when the action shifted to someone called Harry, the owner of a stodgy shirt company; stodgy and little-known, until a famous rapper comes into the shop and makes Harry famous. This was a funny story, but it didn’t immediately make sense to me. But once the author weaves the plot into the heart of the story it was effective.
Although the focus isn’t completely on romance, there are eventually enough happy endings for several books, and I found myself smiling as I read the last page. If you like your romances strong and straight-forward this isn’t for you. As for me, while this isn’t my favorite by Jill Mansell, I enjoyed it and look forward to her next.
Grade: B
Book Type: Chick Lit
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 09/11/12
Publication Date: 2012/11
My first memory is sitting with my mother on a blanket in our backyard surrounded by books and she is reading one of them to me. My love of reading was encouraged by my parents and it continues to today. I’ve gone through a lot of different genres over the years, but I currently primarily read mysteries (historical mysteries are my favorites) and romances (focusing on contemporaries, categories, and steampunk). When I’m not reading or working, I love to travel, knit, and work on various community projects.
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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.