This book was definitely an interesting take on matchmaking mothers. In this book, two mothers scheme to keep their children apart, not set them up while three friends and their adult children vacation together. It's a combination of close/forced proximity and friends to lovers set in a Canadian country lakeside setting.

I found the character of Neil a little off putting at first, but he grew on me as the story went on. I liked Leora right away, but she had her awkward moments and that probably is what freaked out Neil at first. I think they were a good balance for each other. I think that there could have been a bit more time before Leora started realizing she had feelings for him, but the book was a quick read, so maybe it would have made the plot drag on if that had been written that way. I really enjoyed the friendship that the mothers had, although it was obvious that there were some hidden issues there.

Overall, a great book! Thanks to NetGalley for this book! I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super cute childhood friends to lover romance.
I loved how these characters were written. The “string heroine were actually strong and highly intelligent. The hero wasn’t your typical alpha ahole.
Will read more from this author

I want to acknowledge the adorable book cover first and foremost. It’s what grabbed my attention and made me want to read the blurb before requesting a copy of the book on NetGalley. I went in completely blind as there were no other reviews & seemed fairly unknown. This book is much shorter in length, making it more of a novella than a full-length novel. I’m not sure if that was the author’s intent or not. When receiving ARCs of books, you don’t get the number of pages. You just see the percentage of the way through the book as you read. I usually find the number of pages on Goodreads, but it was also missing there. I would say this took 2.5-3 hours and is around 150-180 pages long based off that. I wish I’d known that going in.

This story features Leora and Neil, who knew each other growing up. Their moms are best friends & recently purchased a vacation home together. When they all meet up for a week-long getaway at the new vacation home, Leora and Neil quickly fall for each other, much to the dismay of their mothers. Will they be able to sustain a relationship despite the protests of their mothers? And why are their moms so adamantly against them having a relationship?

This book moved quick, but in a way that struggled to allow development of the story line. There were a lot of descriptions in the story, but not things I necessarily wanted to know more about. For example, there were so many descriptions of food and characters’ appearances, but not enough time devoted to the development of the story line. When it’s a novella-length story, it became a little frustrating.

I also found Leora’s character to be a bit spastic and overwhelming for the first third of the book. Neil was quiet and more reserved. I just had a hard time buying their relationship or desire to be together because I didn’t see their connection. I could not see how their personalities were drawn to each other.

I did enjoy the setting & found myself wanting to go to this vacation home in Canada. I don’t go boating, but I wouldn’t mind renting a kayak or canoe for a day on the lake after being transported to this sweet town.

Overall, there’s a lot of potential, but I found myself a little letdown due to the length.

This was a fun friends to lovers close proximity read. The descriptions were great and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.