I couldn't get into this one. It was boring and slow moving for me. And I couldn't connect with the characters

Good story, couldn't wait to keep reading all what was going to happen. I mean it was good and I enjoyed it but I didn't really like one of the main characters.

This is a quick read but what a great story.Just enough romance to heat a cold night. I will read more from this author.

This was a good read. Sort of. Problem is I don't love this type of stories where the main characters are in love from page one and the author keeps throwing problems and hurdles (and exes) in their path.

I've read others book by this author and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. This book is no exception, however I prefer a story with a build up of the romance instead of diving into an already established relationship. I still strongly enjoyed this book though

Received from Netgalley

I'm not sure I'm capable of giving unbiased review about this book. I'm a huge fan of chemistry and relationship buildup, so having the characters being in love since the beginning of the book was a huge "turn off" for me.
That being said, the book is a very pleasing read for people who are not bothered by the aforementioned issue.

I was drawn into this story very quickly. Maggie's and Lynn's characters were well developed. I liked the backstory of their shared past. The supporting cast of secondary characters were also well drawn. The relationship between Lynn and Maggie developed at a organic pace. I loved all the flirting going on between Maggie and Lynn. I love a good flirty conversation! The built in angst that developed between Lynn and Maggie was not overdone. I think the only character I didn't enjoy was Carrie and that was simply because of her attitude towards the developing romance that I was 100% behind. I haven't read this author before but I look forward to trying more of her titles.

So... take this with a grain of salt, but I didn't love this particular story. It wasn't that it was bad, not by any means! Blake is a wonderful writer, but this one was chock full of a number of different elements that tend to turn me off.

First off, it bothered me that the main characters are in love from page 1 with no real romantic build up. I personally prefer to read a story where the romance builds and builds to the first kiss and then more, but this story is one where the mains are already in love, but they're forced to overcome a number of obstacles to be together. Hurdles like exes, problems, etc. After a while, the roadblocks all just felt waaaaaay too fictional to me and I needed a bit more realism.

Additionally, I'm personally just getting sick of age-gap romances. More than that, Carrie's character felt very, very young at times. Her feelings kept factoring into decisions and it felt like she wasn't a grown adult in many ways. She's a very selfish character both past and present. And the flashbacks. So many flashbacks. It's also set in a medical scene, but not really what I'd consider a medical story.

I'll read more of Blake again in the future, but this wasn't my favorite of hers. For me, 3 stars.

**Many thanks to Bold Strokes for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

I was really interested in reading this book. The premise sounded different than most lesbian romances. Maggie and Lynn has an intense connection. There are two problems: Lynn is married and Lynn is Maggie's best friend's aunt/surrogate mom. Maggie moves away to go to medical school, however, she receives her internship back where she met Lynn. The connection is still there. What I did not like was the constant should I, shouldn't I. I know there needs to be angst within a story, but this was a ludicrous. I think if you can overlook this, it would be a good story. I just couldn't overlook this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the kind of story you want to get into and shake up the protagonists. Sometimes you feel like doing it with one, but in this case with both. And with the niece / daughter / friend, I don't know what I wanted to do, a kick in her butt, maybe?

Because what remains at the end of reading this story is the feeling that a character who has a relative importance has influenced the protagonists so much that it is almost absurd. In other stories of this type, the character that restrains the protagonists is a boy, most of the time, but that a woman who the only thing that should matter is the happiness of her aunt / mother and that of her best friend?

The truth is that this overshadows how good history could have been.

I will rate it for the effort, but it has been very frustrating for me to read some chapters and continue reading it.

A sensual second chance age gap romance. This story is full of complicated and messy characters and situations.
Maggie and Lynn are undeniably drawn to each other, with that soul mate kind of connection yet they are faced with so many complications (plenty of which are self inflicted) and nearly insurmountable opposition and circumstances that make a relationship seem impossible.
Sometimes the troubles became needlessly complicated due to fear and tangled history, other times outside forces seemed determined to keep them apart. The romance is a total emotional roller coaster and keeps tugging at your heart as it throws you around.
Maggie was incredibly aggressive and often selfish in her drive to be with the one she loves which was forgivable since Lynn often needed that push.
The attraction was very strong and electric. I loved all of the scenes when they were able to truly connect. The sex was very steamy and passionate.
I did notice a few minor inconsistences with dialogue and story but they were pretty easy to push past.
The build up was nearly painful but well worth it with the perfect ending that left me completely satisfied.

I feel that the synopsis was off. The author made it seem like Lynn's desire to not have kids would be a major issue and it wasn't. The issue was the niece/best friend and her not wanting them to be together. Outside of that, the book was good. I hadn't read anything from this author before and I would definitely look into what else she has out there. I liked the dialogue, it felt real and not forced, the pace of the story was good and it didn't drag on. Definite read!

A nice second chance, age-gap romance about Maggie who has had a crush on Lynn, her best friend's aunt for years now. The haven't seen eachother in years but fate throws them together when Maggie enters her internship in a hospital in Baltimore where Lynn works as a pediatric nurse.

There was nothing really wrong with the story or the writing style but still I had trouble finishing this book. The situation they were in was very realistic and the resulting choices by the characters very relatable. Yet it started to become a bit too repetitive for me. They have feelings for eachother but every time it seems like they are acting on it something (or someone) comes up and doubts pop up. Since those doubts are also described in depth every time for me personally it came to the point that I was thinking: yes, I know all about your feelings/doubts/insecurities by now, moving along.

For all those readers out there though who like a lot of angst in their story and a very disrupted developing romance with 2 people who are in love with eachother from page 1 this is a book worth picking up. I think you will enjoy it because all in all, it's a well written book.

This book is the kind of book you sit down to on a Sunday morning with a cup of tea and the sun shining in your bedroom only to realise at 5 pm you’ve not left your bed because it was too good to stop reading. That sums up how I feel about this romance by the formidable Dena Blake. She keeps getting better and better and surprises me every time. The pace in this book was excellent, and I really liked the build-up to Lynn finally giving in to her feeling for Maggie. Especially her little moments of jealousy… those were fun to read.

Lynn is definitely a woman to be reckoned with, and the fact she was older and confident in herself just made her so ridiculously sexy! I loved the idea of being so unbelievably attracted to someone and knowing it’s mutual but not being able to do anything about it. I think what I especially liked in this book was there were so many things Lynn assumed and had preconceived ideas about who Maggie was. But Maggie just showed her time and time again that she was A. not like Lynn’s ex and more about her job than Lynn and B. was not too young. It often happens in age gap romances that the younger of the couple is seen as too young, but It’s really shown that, in fact, they are not too young.

Dena Blake proved Maggies worth with every moment she had page time. In fact, at one moment in the book, I shook my head and said: “Come on, Lynn get with the program Maggie is wonderful!”


The chemistry was undeniable between Maggie and Lynn, and it ramped up the more time they spent with each other. Their stolen moments when Carrie was around, were the best. I think any age-gap romance ramps up the chemistry for me because I just imagine it being all hot and steamy!

4.5 stars

This book was fantastic!! It’s not every day you read a romance about a character falling in love with her best friend’s aunt/guardian. I guess the old adage is true that love can overcome all obstacles and for Maggie and Lynn it certainly does. Finding one another again after so many years apart and learning who the other had become was just what they needed. The only thing I wasn’t fond of what how truly selfish Carrie was in the past as well as present. She was what kept Maggie and Lynn apart for so long and what almost caused their fledgling relationship to fail. I’m glad she came around. This was a great read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers, Bold Strokes Books Inc., of Perfect Timing' for affording me the opportunity to read the book and review it. This is the first book I have read by this author.

The storyline flows, slowly at times and frustrating at other times as the author piles on the "will they won't they" angst and there are numerous outcomes to overcome. There are well described main characters and good supporting characters who provide a lot of the momentum for the storyline. I think more could have been made of the scandal of Beth's interference. She seemed to get off very lightly! Similarly Carrie's intelligence is called into question by completely reading all the signals and ignoring them all and the character comes across as spoilt. It's a good author that provides the reader with characters who make us feel different emotions and Dena Blake's characters certainly come across as realistic. The part I was less sure of was the process of fostering applications which seemd very easy and straightforward. I've no idea how accurate this is in the US. It's certainly much more complex in the UK. However it's a good read, the pace is well-measured and the characters fit nicely intot he backgrounds created by the author.

This book has several of my favourite tropes. May-December age gap, medical romance between a medical intern and a senior nurse, lots of angst will they won't they and a crowd pleasing ending. 4*

3.5 stars. I like this author and her writing style. This book, however, wasn't my favorite. Firstly, it has many flashbacks, which I'm not a fan of. That's obviously personal choice, but it does factor into my rating. I like age gap romances and this one was well done from that perspective. I just felt like there were too many roadblocks put up by and to the main characters to keep it feeling like fiction. Maybe that makes the book seem more relatable but I think many of us are looking for fantasy over realism. I wasn't a fan of how much Carrie's feelings factored into their decisions to come together as a couple. She's a grown adult not a 12 year old anymore. Live your life whether she likes it or not. That whole part of the storyline felt overdone to me. I missed the medical part of this medical romance. The book takes place in a medical setting but with little drama related to that beyond the scheduling and administration of a medical environment. I just mention that so readers can set their expectations. I think I have all of this author's books and I'm glad to have read this one too, even if I've liked her others better. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A second chance age-gap romance. Lynn Monroe, living her life after a divorce. Dr. Maggie Randall, intern, looking to have it all (a career she loves, a family, and share it all with the woman of her dreams). There appears to to be one obstacle, Lynn's "daughter" Carrie. As the story unfolds, the angst begins and continues throughout. Carrie as well as Lynn are at the center of the angst. What to do when you love someone that you think you should not. I thought the read was okay. What holds me back is the lack of depth in some aspects of the story, i.e., Carrie and Lynn's ex-wife.

The plot of this book sounded interesting, so I was really disappointed when the story fell flat. The storyline came out swinging right off the bat and I happily read along until the second main character, Lynn, was introduced. The way she was brought into the story was so confusing, I had to read the section twice to understand who this person was. There were way too many flashbacks for my taste, and the beginning of the relationship between Maggie and Lynn felt unrealistic. I found it hard to root for them and when reading a romance novel, that's everything.

3.5 Stars. This book is about Maggie Randal, a new doctor at John Hopkins in Baltimore. She came from Boston where she had just graduated med school with her friend, Carrie. Maggie has a past with Carrie's aunt. Lynn Monroe. Lynn and Maggie both had feeling for each other when Maggie was in college. They avoided their feelings since Lynn was married and wanted to give her relationship with her wife a try. Maggie went off to medical school and tried to forget about her crush on Lynn. Carrie was raised by her aunt when her parents were not able to. Carrie dropped her whole life to raise Carrie at a young age and make sure Carrie was given a good life.

I liked this book more than I thought I would. This book was solid and I enjoyed the Journey of the two main characters. There was a lot of tension in the first half of the book, which I enjoyed and it had enough drama with the two main characters to make you want to continue to read it, At first, I was not sure of the premise of the book, as an aunt and best friend relationship can be a little weird, but it was enjoyable. There was not as big of an age difference, 12 years, as there could have been which made it more believable. I would recommend this novel.