TEST
This is the prequel to the author’s Sleepless in Manhattan. I liked Sleepless so much that as soon as I finished, I went online looking for more of her work and discovered this novella. I was delighted to learn the hero and heroine are two characters referred to throughout Sleepless although they don’t appear until late in the book. I found this story of two quirky, seeming opposites who fall in love quickly to be thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommend it.
Matilda, our heroine, is absolutely delightful. She’s shy, often clumsy, and longs to be tougher and more confident. Matilda works as a waitress – truly not the job for someone as clumsy as her — for an event planning company while pursuing her dream of being a writer. Her work as a waitress gives her the perfect opportunity to people watch and observe some of the most posh venues in Manhattan, both of which come in handy in her novels.
As the story opens, Matilda is serving champagne at a party hosted by Chase Adams, a rather mysterious millionaire. Matilda — along with most of the women at the party — hopes to meet Chase. However, Matilda isn’t searching for a rich husband; she hopes to submit her latest book to Chase’s brother, a book publisher, and thinks Chase might be her introduction.
Chase has no desire to meet any of the women at the party; in fact, he wants to ditch his date, a brittle social climber. He hates superficial networking and would give anything to get away. But the party isn’t the only thing Chase is unhappy about. His dreams of building eco-houses were lost when his father had a heart attack, leaving Chase to take over the family construction business. While Chase turned the family business into a multimillion dollar enterprise, he’s unhappy with who he became in the process.
The commotion caused by a waitress dropping a tray of champagne glasses gives Chase the excuse he was looking for, and he abandons the party to go for a walk. And of course, Matilda is waitress who dropped the tray, leading to her instant firing. Chase and Matilda meet while leaving the party, begin to talk, and end up walking through the City for hours. Neither gives the other their real name. Chase introduces himself as Alex, while Matilda says she’s Lara Striker, the kick-ass heroine of her current work in progress.
Despite featuring some rather steamy sex within hours of meeting, this has the feel of a fairy tale, with Matilda and Chase inhabiting a very special, magical, one night. Although just over 70 pages, I feel as if I know Matilda and Chase more than I know many heroes and heroines in full length romances, and I was captivated by both.
I’ve already read this twice and long for more of Chase and Matilda. I plan to download the follow-up to Sleepless the day it’s released, and hope that Matilda and Chase will once again make an appearance. But even if they don’t, Sarah Morgan has landed firmly on my auto-buy list.
Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 18/04/16
Publication Date: 2016/04
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.