Overall:  Layla Hilding is a woman in her 30’s who has just gone through a divorce.  She was married for 10 years and gave up on the thing that gave her joy, singing in front of an audience.  She is now single, an Elementary School music
teacher, has bought herself a home, and is figuring out her life on her own terms.  Meanwhile, Josh is separated and going through a divorce after a 20 year marriage to his High School sweetheart.  He is sharing custody of their daughter with his ex-wife.  Josh’s daughter is in Layla’s music class at the school.   They see eachother everyday at the start of the school day for drop-off.   Josh and Layla both do not want to start dating anyone seriously, they feel they are not ready for that yet.  So, they decide to be “friends with potential”.  They both need to figure out life being on their own again for a while before they get into any new relationships.  They both do not want to be each other’s “rebound” person.  But, after going through divorces and heartbreaks, are they ever going to be ready to start again? Will they ever be willing to open up their hearts to find real love?  

Ovations:   I liked both main characters, Layla and Josh.  They are both fully-formed, dynamic characters just trying to figure their new lives out.  I like how this book is realistic.  It’s not about steamy hot tub scenes or romantic make-outs in the rain.  It is about two grown adults trying to find themselves after being in marriages that did not work out.  Yes, there is a romance here, but it is a slow-burn romance that is in no hurry to rush into anything.  I liked all the secondary
characters also.  There are many in this book, but they are all explained well and good supporting characters.  I also like that there were no artificial obstacles put in their way for them to overcome to be together again at the end like so many formulaic romance books have. 

Oh Well:  This book is quite slow.  It is a nice story, but not a lot happens.  There is nothing really too exciting happening here ….  no hot sex scenes, no witty, flirty banter. Also, there are a lot of flashbacks in the book to give you their histories.  So, it can get a little bit confusing.   

Opinion: This is a well written, lovely romance about second chances.  It is about adults figuring out their lives after divorce.  Deciding on their own what they want the next phase of their lives to look like.  It is not a rom-com or a gimmicky-type of romance story.  It is just an honest story about two people who are learning to love again after heartbreak.  It has a very slow pace, but is a sweet story overall.  Rating: 6 out of 10    

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