Romance Review: The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros

The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros

Published: February 23rd, 2021

Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Genre: Contemporary romance mixed with historical romance 

Heat level: 🔥🔥

# of pages: 429

My rating: 5 stars

Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for honest consideration

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Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.

Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.

But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.

Ohhh lordy, this book. I finished reading The Things We Leave Unfinished about a week ago and I’m still thinking about it. I’ve also been talking about it - so much so that four people have told me they bought it because of me (two of them have already read it and loved it too) - a book lover’s dream!

This book was absolutely incredible. It was romantic, emotional, surprising, heartbreaking, hopeful - it basically had everything. I can’t remember the last time I got so deeply invested in a novel. The ultimate surprise for me is that dual timeline and WWII stories aren’t typically favourites of mine (dual timeline can be confusing or make a book feel draggy, and WWII stories - war stories in general, really - are often too heavy, stressful, and sad for me), but both things were done so beautifully, so intricately, and with so much heart, it made me fall completely in love with this book.

The Things We Leave Unfinished features two epic love stories woven together. In present day, Georgia has recently lost her beloved Gran, Scarlett, and has just gone through a divorce. She’s still reeling, but she’s doing the best she can to put her life back together. As the wife of a famous director, she was known as the Ice Queen; what people didn’t see was that it was a facade she erected to keep herself safe because her husband was a cheater and an opportunist. She meets her match in Noah, the rich playboy and famous Nicholas Sparks type author who’s been tasked with completing her Gran’s only unfinished work: her own love story. That love story is where the dual timeline comes in and we’re taken to 1940s England where Scarlett, a plotter for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, meets and falls in love with Jameson, a pilot for the RAF.

I loved these characters so, so much. Georgia was fierce, strong, smart, driven, and had her walls firmly in place after being hurt not only by her husband, but also by her selfish mother, who abandoned her continuously as a child. All she really wanted was to be loved unconditionally, the way her Gran loved her, but people only ever seemed to want something from her. I loved her and Noah together - their banter, their chemistry, how he really saw her, cared about her, and wanted her for HER, not what she could do for him. Scarlett and Jameson had that lightning strikes, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that was full of chemistry and passion and unshakable love. Their love for each other radiated from the pages. I felt like I was part of both stories, like I lived the heartache and triumphs of both couples.

I know with 100% certainty The Things We Leave Unfinished will make it to my list of 2021 favourites. If you’re looking for a compelling story with two beautiful romances that will pull at your heartstrings, make you swoon, and keep you guessing, this is a must read.

Have you read The Things We Leave Unfinished? Do you enjoy books told in dual storylines? How about books set in World War II?

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Read an Ebook Week 2021

Happy Read an Ebook Week!

I love ebooks. At least three-quarters of the books I read are ebooks. I still buy, read, and love physical books, and while nothing will ever compare to the feel (or smell) of a physical book or that feeling you get when you step into a bookstore (something many of us haven’t done in more than a year now *cries*), I love ebooks. They’re convenient, I love that I can have as many books as I want without taking up space, and take as many books as I want with me without weighing down my bag.

My mum - who’s eighty - is an ebook-exclusive reader these days. I’m sure she never, ever thought she’d say that, but it’s true and has been for the last couple of years. She downloads books from the Ontario Library Consortium, plus I buy her ebooks for her Kindle app. Besides the convenience factor - especially this last year during isolation from the pandemic - she also has some problems with her eyesight, so she loves that she can change the font size and have a light built into her tablet. 

To celebrate Read an Ebook Week, my last four contemporary standalone romances are half price on Smashwords! You can get Hung Up on You, Maybe You, and Only You for just $1.99 each and A Very Perry Christmas for only $1.49. This discount is exclusive to Smashwords until this Saturday, the 13th. When you buy the books, you can download them in any format for any device. Be sure to check out the hundreds of other ebooks on sale at Smashwords ranging from 25% to 100% off this week only!

♥Only You

♥Maybe You

♥Hung Up on You 

♥A Very Perry Christmas

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Contemporary Romance Review: Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Published: March 2nd, 2021

Publisher: Forever

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Forced proximity, fake engagement, friends-to-lovers

Heat rating: 🔥.5 (kissing + closed-door sex scenes)

# of pages: 384

My rating: 4 stars

Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration

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Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Indigo

Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall—with hopes that Reena will marry him.

But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.

As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine—secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved. 

After seeing Accidentally Engaged everywhere for months, I was excited to dive into the story of a bread-baking Indian-Canadian woman and her fake engagement to a hot, British-accented, ‘brown Captain America’. I was especially excited the book was set in nearby Toronto, a city I’ve spent countless hours in throughout my life. Accidentally Engaged was funny, touching, romantic, and dealt with a lot of relatable, real-life issues.

I liked Reena so much. She wasn’t happy with her life - she hated working in finance but wasn’t sure what else to do; her meddling family drove her crazy; she’d had a string of unsuccessful relationships; and she had struggled with her mental health in the past. The only thing she truly loved was cooking, especially bread making. I really appreciated the fact Reena was in her thirties and was still figuring things out; she felt lost and uncertain and like everyone around her had their life together, which I think a lot of people can relate to. When she began to form a connection with Nadim, she didn’t believe it could actually be that easy, so she tried to keep it light and friendly. Add in the fact her parents wanted them to be together, plus the fact she knew Nadim was keeping secrets, and she was just looking for a bit of fun with her hot neighbour. I enjoyed these two together so much - their banter was funny, they had great chemistry, and they balanced each other nicely.

I loved the cultural aspect of the book. As a white Canadian who grew up in an area with very little diversity, I love learning about other cultures, and I loved the Canadian ties in this book. I found Nadim’s history so interesting - he was originally from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, then he was sent to boarding school in England before working in London, and then he was eventually sent by his dad to Toronto to work for Reena’s dad. I loved that the pair shared a passion for food and connected over the food they grew up with. I also loved how Nadim, who had lived all over, connected home to the senses - a feeling, a scent, a taste - and he found a home in Reena.

I also really appreciated the complicated family relationships in this book and that nothing was resolved ‘neatly’. Reena’s whole family dynamic was wrapped in secrets, lies, jealousy, and resentments. Throughout the course of the book, the Manjis learned to open up and be more honest with each other - usually when forced rather than voluntarily - and instead of things being magically solved with a hug and a five-minute conversation, they learned to (mostly) accept and love each other. I liked how realistic it felt. It also helped that some of the interactions, especially when confessions were involved, were absolutely hilarious.

I loved the beginning of the book and found it compelling and fun, but the middle - and the main conflict - made me lose a bit of interest in the story. It was all so complicated and dramatic, and there were so many characters - people we never even met, only heard about - and I found it hard to keep track of all of them. The story began to drag for me and I went from loving the book to setting it aside for longer periods of time. Thankfully it picked up again and I ended up appreciating how things were resolved, and I thought the ending was really sweet and romantic.

Overall, I really enjoyed Accidentally Engaged and I know I’ll recommend it often to fellow romance lovers. 

Have you read Accidentally Engaged? Do you enjoy books about other cultures? Do you like to bake? Do you consider yourself a foodie?

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