…and I apologize. Life happens while we’re making other plans. I’ll do my best to be here more frequently.
Today, I’m sharing a book I didn’t think I’d like with you, by a newbie author, not only to me but also to the world of publishing. Little Harbour is set in Oslo, Norway, which was why I asked to read it. So few romance novels are set in places outside the US, and I’m sure people fall in love all over the world. Still, when I started to read it, it made me itchy…written in the present tense, it threw me for a loop. Then, despite the clear Britishisms (which I’m assuming are common in European English — I have a Dutch friend who sounds remarkably English as well), the story felt off to me in the way it was being told.
You’ll have to read it if you want to know what made me fall in love with Jens and Axel, with Jens’ children, his parents, his and Axel’s friends. I just want to reiterate…never judge a book by its first chapters. Give it time. If it’s a good one, it gets better, and then when you go back, the beginning is brilliant as well.
So, here’s where to go to find the book. Little Harbour (Scandinavian Comfort Book 1)
The review, as usual, is below. I’ve titled this review, “On my list for Best M/M of the Year”:
“I didn’t think I would like this book when I started. I kept putting it down, wrinkling my brow, wondering what I had gotten myself into. And then Jens and Axel met again, for the first time, and suddenly everything that had gone before made sense. I stopped minding how detailed it was. I didn’t care that it was in the present tense. I fell in love with the chapters which were just Axel’s blog. I fell in love with the text messages they wrote to each other and to their children. I just fell in love. Which is what this book is about…falling in love, over and over, again and again, when you’re in midlife, in crisis, in stasis, in need of that special someone. This book is about two men who find each other again, and in the process find hope, and family and “an all-encompassing love that spans the years, the laughter, the tears. And yes, there are tears, because that’s the other thing I love about this book. It doesn’t shy away from sorrow. Which is fine, because the sorrow comes with its attendant joys…the circle of life. A wonderful, wonderful, delightfully splendid read! Definitely on my “read again and again” list!
If you’re looking for a feel-good, heartwarming, real-to-life book about grownups, give this one a try.
AJ's Book Dates 