This was a book for my book club and one of my picks so I was super excited to start it, if for nothing else than to try some of the recipes in it. The synopsis was intriguing and I am a huge fan of epistolary books so it seemed to have it all.

Overall I enjoyed the book but it wasn’t without its flaws. Personally, I found it hard to tell the difference between grown up Val and Lilly in their back and forth emails, although for their younger counterparts it was much easier to see a difference in the ‘voice’ pattern. I also found it somewhat unbelievable that girls that young knew recipes that complicated and could consistently replicate them on the fly. That required almost too much of a suspension of disbelief.

The ‘fight’ or whatever you would call it that caused them to not talk to for twenty some odd years seemed a bit weak. Even factoring in their young ages and Lilly’s dramatic personality, it was something that in the long run, shouldn’t have shaken the friendship or caused them to not talk for that long. And that is coming from someone who can admittedly be very petty. I feel that, if their friendship had been that solid, they would have come together much earlier than they did. But again, that’s an opinion that others may or may not share.

There were a lot a lot of similarities to Beaches in the sense of one having an overbearing father figure wanting someone to follow in their footsteps and the other one wanting nothing but to perform. That part didn’t sink in until I had finished though so it wasn’t too much of a carbon copy in that regard. But it was there

I was a bit perturbed a the ‘twist’ at the end. It seemed too much like a trope and even then, there was an air of if it was true or not. I felt it could have been completely left out because all the relationships in the book were complicated enough without adding it in. It seemed to try to serve the purpose of both trying to drive Val and Lilly apart while trying to bring them together. But I think most readers just found it to be exactly what it was which is an unnecessary plot device.

It’s a quick and easy read. Everything ties up the way you expect it to be and of course their friendship is renewed at the end. I felt there could have been more done to make it stand out more than it did but I didn’t hate it and it is one that I may pick up again in the future.

I picked this book up, eager to discover another new historical author to add to my rotation. It fell way short of my expectations and in the long one was disappointing.

The premise was a bit weak to begin with and required a lot of suspension of belief. Such as a girl being able to conceal a Claymore on her person from her brother and the other visitors to Hyde Park. Such as Prudence being able to hide her true identity from society when she lived with her elderly aunt. That alone made me scoff because even if she wore glasses she only changed her last name. That coupled with living with a known relative means that she was in actuality fooling no one. But I was willing to give it a chance.

There was so much with this book that left me with an unsatisfied feeling. The personalities of Prudence, Robbie, and Mary Elizabeth were inconsistent. Prudence went from being prim to sultry with no reasonable development. One example of this is a chapter that ended with her vowing that Robbie would end up up in her bed one way or the other. She ended up abandoning that promise the very next morning. The reason for Prudence becoming apart of their lives got abandoned. Every now and then Prudence would throw in a 'rule' about society but it seemed forced and not natural. The development of the love was lacking in a severe manner. Robbie went from wanting to make Prudence his mistress to his wife in the turn of the page with no real reason why. They didn't even have much a friendship at the beginning of the story for love to seem possible.

Then, when they got married Robbie turned into a "chest-thumping male". *I read this in another review and couldn't have agreed with it more*. He became brutish and chauvinistic. He was amorous to the point where he wouldn't even let her eat dinner. Some people may interpret that as swoon-worthy. I interpret it as him being selfish. And a horndog. Which is not charming by any stretch of the imagination. Then we got to the ending and the mystery of her brother. Which was lackluster at best. The end read forced and rushed, as a way to get all the loose ends tied together. The showdown in the warehouse was yet another example of Prudence's inconsistent personality.

I read this on my Kindle which tied into what is likely the final nail in the coffin for me. This book ended at 72% with the remaining 28% being a 'preview' of the next book. That ended up roughly twelve chapters which is almost half the book. And if 28% is set aside for a preview, that doesn't say much for the actual story. Since I didn't read the physical copy I don't know if it is the same but it was disappointing to see in the digital one.

I did not enjoy this book. I wanted to and it started off promising. The ending is what killed it for me since I don't like rushed endings. They feel too much like pandering and an insult to the reader and I can't stand that. If the ending had been better fleshed out this book may have gotten a three star rating. I am not inclined to read any more of this series. While I may pick up another one by the author it won't be for awhile.

Before I started this book, I did skim some of the reviews to get a general sense of the book. I have taken to doing this before starting a book for a few reasons. The first is to get an idea of what the story is actually about, since summarizations can be off the mark. Another reason is to get an idea of the story as a whole to see if it is something I want to tackle now. It’s rare I will let a review completely deter me from reading a book. But if I get the sense from various readers that it’s a difficult read, I will put it on pause for a bit. The reviews varied on this book but one of the consistent comments was that it was too drawn out.

After finishing the book, I have to agree with that particular sentiment. This book could have been fifty pages or three chapters shorter at the very least. The last few chapters bordered on unnecessary for me. It almost made it seem like the author had to have a set number of pages for the book to have, and added that to fill the gap. A few of these twists, turns, and plot developments felt cheap, almost to the point of pandering. It’s almost as upsetting to through that as it is a rushed ending. It took half to almost two-thirds of the book for the marriage that was part of the back cover summary to take place. The book would have been shorter had Garrett been honest about what he had to do to get Maddie out of jail. But for whatever unknown or unexplained reason he did not. This resulted in the book being longer than it needed to be. And then an ending that did up feeling a bit cheesy.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that this is how romance writing was in the early 90’s. I can change my mindset to enjoy most romances based on when written and published. But that last part was what changed it from a great to a good read. While as whole it was long-winded, the pacing in the first 80% - 90% was bearable. But the last bit felt too drawn out, especially with the chosen plot devices. That hurt the book in the long run, and is likely why a lot of people felt the way did they.

I still enjoyed it though, as I have Minger’s other books . I would recommend if you like Scottish Highland romances, and who doesn’t love a good one of those? The story is still a good one. The only real complaint is the last few chapters, and then the especially cheesy ending.
*edited*
Upon further reflection this is likely not one I would re-read because of the ending dragging on nor will I keep it. It was still decent but with other books out there I enjoyed more, and feeling there was better from this author, a re-read is not likely.