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Tess in Boots by Courtney Rice Gager
4.0

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Tess in Boots is a clean new adult contemporary romance. It is a starting over story, where the main character needs to get away from her current life. Tess lost her job right before she was supposed to get a big promotion and her boyfriend was being all "dud-like".  Not wanting to move forward or do much of anything after being together seven years. So when her brother calls her up out of the blue and tells her he needs her help with a vineyard in North Carolina, she figures it will be a bit of a much needed vacation for her. What it ended up being was a fresh start. I love these kinds of books. Where the main character does something completely different with their life. Those are the books that are completely about them finding themselves, or reinventing themselves into the versions they wanted to be in the first place.

Tess in Boots was a really cute read. It has a nice romance in it, even if you don't always know which way  it was going to go. I couldn't get enough of Thatcher. His feelings for Tess seemed a little abrupt but he is the kind of sweet genuine guy that can pull that off. I loved all of Tess' marketing ideas for the vineyard. Plus the whole small town vibe feel of the book with all the overly nosey townspeople, were perfect for the book. I love small town settings.

There were times while reading Tess in Boots that I genuinely had no idea which direction the story was going to take. It could have gone any number of ways, and that was part of the appeal. Now when we got down to the end of the book, I did know what I wanted to happen and I still wasn't even sure if it was going to or not. I think I would have been disappointed if it didn't turn out the way I wanted to. I'm not going to say what way that was, or if it happened. But you might be surprised because there is no "good guy" and "bad guy" in Tess in Boots. Logan was a pleasant surprise to me. And Thatcher had so much more going on than I initially thought. Tess is one lucky lady, that is all I will say.

The most satisfying part of the book was not the romance. It was the growth that Tess discovered within herself. I loved the new direction she took her life in. And I would love another book or novella to check in with her and see what she does with it . If you are looking for a really heartwarming and sweet clean new adult/adult romance, check out Tess in Boots.

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs