Nora is ridden with guilt, and hasn’t let go of the responsibility of taking care of her sister, Libby, even though her sister is a mom of 2, soon to be 3 kids.

So the romance between Nora and Charlie is a given because yes, this is clearly a romance story but on the other hand Nora feeling the pressures of taking care of her sister and dealing with all the trauma and grief she’s held onto since their mom passed away really is half the book. I like that Charlie gets to know the Nora that no one else knows about – not even her sister, because she really needed someone in her corner. These two work so well together! I love their dialogue and banter, there was a delicious slow burn building and I like that they got to see each other around their own families. She’s an agent and he’s an editor – their first meeting doesn’t go very well but when they run into each other in a small town, they get to spend time together.

Nora and Charlie both work in the book publishing industry. If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again – in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow – what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.Ĭontent Warning: Grief, Family Pressure, Death of Family Member

It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away – with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. Nora Stephens’ life is books – she’s read them all – and she is not that type of heroine.

Charlie lastra