Twice Shy ARC Review

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Level: 🔥

Release Date: April 6, 2021

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

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SYNOPSIS

Can you find real love when you’ve always got your head in the clouds?

Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.

Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous–and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future.

Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley’s scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one’s comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

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REVIEW

After reading and absolutely LOVING You Deserve Each Other last year I couldn’t wait to read more from Sarah Hogle. I honestly was unsure if I would love Twice Shy as much as I love YDEO, but if you could describe a book giving you a big gentle hug – then that is exactly what Twice Shy is.

Maybell Parish is a dreamer and maybe she likes to live in her pretend world more than the real world sometimes. She’s not very happy with her current job, even though she did get a promotion. She’s pretty sure her friend/co-worker isn’t really her friend at all. So when she finds out that her Great-Aunt Violet left her the manor she so fondly remembers from her youth she jumps at the chance to go live there.

Only the manor is now tattered and beat down. Not only is the manor unlivable, but she has to share it with the grouchy groundskeeper Wesley Koehler. He grunts, isn’t very talkative and just largely ignores her. Both have entirely different plans for the estate and are often arguing with one another. How will they every learn to live together?

I loved both Wesley and Maybell so much. I could often imagine the scenes playing out as a movie while I was reading them. The dynamic and chemistry between these two was evident right from the beginning. While Twice Shy was told from Maybell’s perspective, I still felt like I could always relate to Wesley and what he was going through.

I have so many passages highlighted in this book and I honestly need to go back and re-read it again to savor those moments. Sarah does such an effortless job of conveying how Wesley and Maybell are going through grief and anxiety while also writing such beautiful prose. Twice Shy had the perfect mix of angst, longing, sadness and hope.