I’m continuing to make my way through Renee Carlino’s backlist for my Beat the Backlist Challenge. I picked this one because the blurb sounded really exciting. A reclusive genius, sign me up!

BLURB:

A Chicago reporter in her mid-twenties unexpectedly finds love in Napa Valley when she’s assigned to spend a week with a famously reclusive genius.

Kate Corbin has lost her spark. From the outside, her life seems charmed. She has a handsome, long-term boyfriend and a budding journalism career at a popular Chicago newspaper. But in reality, her relationship is going nowhere, and she’s quickly losing motivation for what she once believed was her dream job. When her boyfriend dumps her unceremoniously, Kate loses all hope of finding love.

With no living family and few friends, Kate confides in her boss. Trusting that the hungry, ace reporter is buried somewhere deep inside, he gives Kate the opportunity to jumpstart her career. The assignment: to interview the famously reclusive R.J. Lawson, a wealthy tech genius who disappeared years ago but recently reemerged as a Napa Valley vintner. The week takes an unexpected turn, however, when Lawson refuses to divulge any information. Desperate for a lead, Kate turns to Jamie, a vineyard hand who shows her the romance of wine country—and stirs her aching heart. But his connection to Lawson is ambiguous, and when Jamie disappears before the end of the week, Kate is left to investigate another story: the truth behind the man who stole her heart.

Unfortunately, this book felt a little tedious to me because I didn’t believe in the connection between Jamie and Kate and I figured out the twist in the very first pages. I don’t mind an insta-love story, but I desperately need the author to make me believe it. That didn’t happen for me. Instead, their relationship almost made me uncomfortable in the beginning, with Jamie’s quick use of the word “baby”. It gave me the wrong kind of spine tingles.

I enjoyed how both Jamie and Kate were lonely and self-reliant characters, however. It endeared me to them and made me root for the happily ever after. The push of the secondary characters helped move the story forward, creating a few funny moments and nice friendships.

“Love is a thing that you can’t take out of you. Once it’s there, it doesn’t go away, no matter what. Love can morph into hate and resentment, but it will always be there, buried under the bad feelings.”

For me, this book was just ok. The story felt rather surface-level and even cheesy at some points. Though, it’s quite hard to live up to the greatness that was Before We Were Strangers. I wish I could say more, but I find 3-star romances the hardest to write reviews for.

Rating: 3 stars

Purchase on Amazon.

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