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the_novel_approach's review
4.0
Sally Malcolm’s latest novel, Between the Lines, was so lovely, you guys. I didn’t know for sure what to expect, as I hadn’t read her before, but am so delighted I decided to pick this one up. Between the Lines is set in the fictional seaside town of New Milton, as are Perfect Day, and her new holiday novella, Love Around the Corner, but all the books can be read as standalones. And, you can bet I’ll be reading the others as soon as possible! I was charmed by Malcolm’s writing, and by Luca and Theo, the MCs in this story.
It’s been a long time since Luca Moretti has been back to his childhood home of New Milton. His mother hurt him deeply when she married the man who called Luca’s “lifestyle” a sin, even after he asked her not to, and he’s spent the last five years as an itinerant surf instructor during the summer, and wayward snowboarder and hotel worker in the off-seasons. He’s come home now, though, ostensibly for the last time, as his mom is planning to sell the Majestic, the hotel that has been in their family for three generations. Yet another decision he can’t forgive her for. Luca doesn’t agree with selling the hotel, but he did agree to come meet with the representative from Lux, the company who is planning to purchase and tear down the Majestic, and put a cheesy, cookie-cutter golf resort in her place.
Theo Wishart, the person Lux Properties has sent to try to close the deal on the Majestic, is trying to make his own mark in the company, which is owned by his father, but from the beginning of the book it seems pretty obvious that Theo’s heart is not really in it. He wants to be taken seriously, and undoubtedly wants to make his father proud, but Theo is no shark; that much also becomes clear early on. Luca’s mom, Jude, is resigned to sell, but she would much rather have Luca take over running the hotel, so she sets a plan in motion to see if she can’t change the outcome of the situation. She asks Theo to stay in New Milton, at the Majestic, for two weeks, in the hopes that he will fall in love with the place, and perhaps convince Lux to refurbish rather than tearing it down.
What follows is a fun, sweet, sexy, enemies-to-lovers story filled with heart and hope, with some family drama and emotion mixed in. Luca can’t deny his attraction to Theo, and after confirming that his interest is returned, he comes up with a no-strings-attached deal for the time Theo is in New Milton. No feelings…no expectations…Except, we all know how those things usually turn out, right? Heh. I loved these guys together. I loved the visions that kept popping into Theo’s mind for the hotel, and I loved watching Luca’s walls come down.
I also have to mention the care Malcolm took with writing about a significant part of Theo’s character. We learn early on that Theo has dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that affects many aspects of a person’s life. In the book, Theo gives Luca such a perfect description of a major part of the disorder, which is the inability to read people: he says, “You ever hear the expression ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’? Well, to me, all the blinds are down.” I thought that was so brilliant. And, I absolutely adored the way Luca dealt with the information, and the care he took with Theo after learning about it. So, so good.
Between the Lines was such a good read. I was a bit worried for a minute that I’d have trouble jumping into a summer book in the middle of December, but Luca and Theo made it easy. I wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out! And, if you loved Finn and Josh from Perfect Day there’s a treat for you in this book also. 😉 Happy reading!
It’s been a long time since Luca Moretti has been back to his childhood home of New Milton. His mother hurt him deeply when she married the man who called Luca’s “lifestyle” a sin, even after he asked her not to, and he’s spent the last five years as an itinerant surf instructor during the summer, and wayward snowboarder and hotel worker in the off-seasons. He’s come home now, though, ostensibly for the last time, as his mom is planning to sell the Majestic, the hotel that has been in their family for three generations. Yet another decision he can’t forgive her for. Luca doesn’t agree with selling the hotel, but he did agree to come meet with the representative from Lux, the company who is planning to purchase and tear down the Majestic, and put a cheesy, cookie-cutter golf resort in her place.
Theo Wishart, the person Lux Properties has sent to try to close the deal on the Majestic, is trying to make his own mark in the company, which is owned by his father, but from the beginning of the book it seems pretty obvious that Theo’s heart is not really in it. He wants to be taken seriously, and undoubtedly wants to make his father proud, but Theo is no shark; that much also becomes clear early on. Luca’s mom, Jude, is resigned to sell, but she would much rather have Luca take over running the hotel, so she sets a plan in motion to see if she can’t change the outcome of the situation. She asks Theo to stay in New Milton, at the Majestic, for two weeks, in the hopes that he will fall in love with the place, and perhaps convince Lux to refurbish rather than tearing it down.
What follows is a fun, sweet, sexy, enemies-to-lovers story filled with heart and hope, with some family drama and emotion mixed in. Luca can’t deny his attraction to Theo, and after confirming that his interest is returned, he comes up with a no-strings-attached deal for the time Theo is in New Milton. No feelings…no expectations…Except, we all know how those things usually turn out, right? Heh. I loved these guys together. I loved the visions that kept popping into Theo’s mind for the hotel, and I loved watching Luca’s walls come down.
I also have to mention the care Malcolm took with writing about a significant part of Theo’s character. We learn early on that Theo has dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that affects many aspects of a person’s life. In the book, Theo gives Luca such a perfect description of a major part of the disorder, which is the inability to read people: he says, “You ever hear the expression ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’? Well, to me, all the blinds are down.” I thought that was so brilliant. And, I absolutely adored the way Luca dealt with the information, and the care he took with Theo after learning about it. So, so good.
Between the Lines was such a good read. I was a bit worried for a minute that I’d have trouble jumping into a summer book in the middle of December, but Luca and Theo made it easy. I wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out! And, if you loved Finn and Josh from Perfect Day there’s a treat for you in this book also. 😉 Happy reading!
dithkusu's review
3.0
2.75 stars, maybe even up to 3 full. This was Okay, but it wasn't great. Perhaps it's the Persuasion push that made me like the first book more, or the helpings of angst that bolstered that first story for me. This one was alright, but I didn't really connect with the romance of the couple, didn't believe Theo and Luca's chemistry.
So Luca Moretti is the nomadic surf instructor who has returned to New Milton for his mother's pending sale of the historic family business Majestic Hotel, while Theo Wishart is the more uptight British-American project manager hotelier who is dispatched to close the sale. There's the whole meet cute to start where they bump each other at Dee's coffee shop and come away with the impression of the other being an asshole, albeit an attractive cute asshole. Then they meet in person in the enemies turned lovers, We Got Mail type situation. Theo of course is persuaded to stay for two weeks to get a picture of the town and fall in love with the run-down hotel that has seen better days, falls in love with Luca and gets into his whole family drama behind his objection of selling the hotel (beyond just not wanting it to be torn down and made into a golf resort).
Firstly, the process to Luca and Theo falling in love within the span of two weeks just wasn't convincing for me. It takes skill from the author to convince the reader of the couples' undying love within a shortened, heightened period of courtship for a novel, and this wasn't successful for me. I was just detached and never viscerally rooted for them. Then, the whole conflict of Luca being estranged from his mother for marrying a homophobic "traditional" man in Don was repetitive and unsatisfying. Don appearing in the first book briefly was already unpleasant with his comments, and now here he's more prominent and by the end, the whole push and pull family resentment just chocks up to them tolerating each other after Luca's mother has a major health scare.
I suppose it's true to life, in how you have to live with relations that are diametrically opposed to your social and moral views, but the depiction of this conflict fizzled out for me in the story. I didn't like Luca as much here, at least in comparison to Theo. It seemed like most of Luca's character was reactionary (albeit a lot of the time, justified) prickly anger, and more lamenting the circumstances than taking decisive action to change the problem.
Most of all though, the whole push and pull of Theo is here for the interests of Corporation, he is The Man, while Luca doesn't want the responsibility of family business being handed to him but also doesn't want the hotel to be sold, the fallout of the conflict was so cliche and the ultimate Great Romance Novel Misunderstanding. I hate this obligatorily executed romance trope where if the couple just communicated better, the drama would be easily resolved. The ending of Theo buying out the hotel and managing it together with Luca as a restored boutique hotel with capital injections seemed like the ultimate Romcom/Romance Novel type cliche hand wavey happy ending- whereas I was kind of shaking my head at the romantic gesture but bad business move of Theo giving away half the ownership interest to Luca.
Going off that point, the business of running the hotel seemed very vague and hand waving away realities of everyday hotel management, for me. How big is this boutique hotel that they don't have any extra staff, but Luca has plenty of time to flirt with Theo in teaching him body surfing and hanging around at the beach? Don and mom Jude can't have enough hands to be house cleaner, cook/caterer to breakfast, lunch and dinner needs at the hotel, and all the major and minor tasks needed to run the place. I'm probably just being too nitpicky.
There were elements I appreciated. The descriptions of the hotel architecture and the setting of the beach town of New Milton were evocative and took me to the Long Island small town summer tourism beach culture. I appreciated that Theo was depicted with dyspraxia, a condition I had no idea about before reading this and it was nice that the author wrote this in dedication for her daughter- the way Theo deals with his difference rang true and was part of him, not a preachy Sole Focus of the story. And the cameo of Finn and Josh at their wedding and them being very happy together, Theo and Luca slow dancing romantically to their first musical performance was sweet.
So Luca Moretti is the nomadic surf instructor who has returned to New Milton for his mother's pending sale of the historic family business Majestic Hotel, while Theo Wishart is the more uptight British-American project manager hotelier who is dispatched to close the sale. There's the whole meet cute to start where they bump each other at Dee's coffee shop and come away with the impression of the other being an asshole, albeit an attractive cute asshole. Then they meet in person in the enemies turned lovers, We Got Mail type situation. Theo of course is persuaded to stay for two weeks to get a picture of the town and fall in love with the run-down hotel that has seen better days, falls in love with Luca and gets into his whole family drama behind his objection of selling the hotel (beyond just not wanting it to be torn down and made into a golf resort).
Firstly, the process to Luca and Theo falling in love within the span of two weeks just wasn't convincing for me. It takes skill from the author to convince the reader of the couples' undying love within a shortened, heightened period of courtship for a novel, and this wasn't successful for me. I was just detached and never viscerally rooted for them. Then, the whole conflict of Luca being estranged from his mother for marrying a homophobic "traditional" man in Don was repetitive and unsatisfying. Don appearing in the first book briefly was already unpleasant with his comments, and now here he's more prominent and by the end, the whole push and pull family resentment just chocks up to them tolerating each other after Luca's mother has a major health scare.
I suppose it's true to life, in how you have to live with relations that are diametrically opposed to your social and moral views, but the depiction of this conflict fizzled out for me in the story. I didn't like Luca as much here, at least in comparison to Theo. It seemed like most of Luca's character was reactionary (albeit a lot of the time, justified) prickly anger, and more lamenting the circumstances than taking decisive action to change the problem.
Most of all though, the whole push and pull of Theo is here for the interests of Corporation, he is The Man, while Luca doesn't want the responsibility of family business being handed to him but also doesn't want the hotel to be sold, the fallout of the conflict was so cliche and the ultimate Great Romance Novel Misunderstanding. I hate this obligatorily executed romance trope where if the couple just communicated better, the drama would be easily resolved. The ending of Theo buying out the hotel and managing it together with Luca as a restored boutique hotel with capital injections seemed like the ultimate Romcom/Romance Novel type cliche hand wavey happy ending- whereas I was kind of shaking my head at the romantic gesture but bad business move of Theo giving away half the ownership interest to Luca.
Going off that point, the business of running the hotel seemed very vague and hand waving away realities of everyday hotel management, for me. How big is this boutique hotel that they don't have any extra staff, but Luca has plenty of time to flirt with Theo in teaching him body surfing and hanging around at the beach? Don and mom Jude can't have enough hands to be house cleaner, cook/caterer to breakfast, lunch and dinner needs at the hotel, and all the major and minor tasks needed to run the place. I'm probably just being too nitpicky.
There were elements I appreciated. The descriptions of the hotel architecture and the setting of the beach town of New Milton were evocative and took me to the Long Island small town summer tourism beach culture. I appreciated that Theo was depicted with dyspraxia, a condition I had no idea about before reading this and it was nice that the author wrote this in dedication for her daughter- the way Theo deals with his difference rang true and was part of him, not a preachy Sole Focus of the story. And the cameo of Finn and Josh at their wedding and them being very happy together, Theo and Luca slow dancing romantically to their first musical performance was sweet.
ladydewinter's review
4.0
I adored Sally Malcolm's "Perfect Day", so I was eager to read her newest novel. And I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.
Set in the same town as "Perfect Day", this book focuses on the hotel of New Milton, the Majestic. While still beautiful, upkeep hasn't been what it should have been, and part of the reason for it is that Luca, the son of the owner, has been absent from New Milton for the last couple of years. When his mother is planning to sell to Lux Properties, a hotel chain, though, he comes back. On the morning of the meeting, Luca collides with a cute but stuck-up guy who of course turns out to be Theo, the representative of Lux. Because of Luca's objections to the sale - especially the fact that Lux is planning to tear down the building - his mother suggests Theo should stay for two weeks to get to know the town and the hotel. He does that, and soon Luca and Theo can't deny the attraction that has been building between them pretty much from the start. They agree on a no mushy feelings summer fling, and of course that works out just the way it always does in romance novels.
I loved Theo especially - and the only reason this was a four star rather than five star book for me is that I felt Luca didn't have to work as hard as Theo did for their happy ending, and he should have. But apart from that, I loved it and I'm looking forward to more books by Sally Malcolm.
Set in the same town as "Perfect Day", this book focuses on the hotel of New Milton, the Majestic. While still beautiful, upkeep hasn't been what it should have been, and part of the reason for it is that Luca, the son of the owner, has been absent from New Milton for the last couple of years. When his mother is planning to sell to Lux Properties, a hotel chain, though, he comes back. On the morning of the meeting, Luca collides with a cute but stuck-up guy who of course turns out to be Theo, the representative of Lux. Because of Luca's objections to the sale - especially the fact that Lux is planning to tear down the building - his mother suggests Theo should stay for two weeks to get to know the town and the hotel. He does that, and soon Luca and Theo can't deny the attraction that has been building between them pretty much from the start. They agree on a no mushy feelings summer fling, and of course that works out just the way it always does in romance novels.
I loved Theo especially - and the only reason this was a four star rather than five star book for me is that I felt Luca didn't have to work as hard as Theo did for their happy ending, and he should have. But apart from that, I loved it and I'm looking forward to more books by Sally Malcolm.
endemictoearth's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Sort of enemies to lovers, with a familiar set up: developer coming with offer buy family out, tear down and rebuild a resort, then is convinced to stay and get to know the place/town before making final decision. But despite the Hallmark-like setup, it manages to be fresh and surprising. I'm slowly working my way through Malcolm's back list; I've enjoyed everything of hers I've read so far.
achillespatroclus's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
llamareads's review
4.0
I adored Ms. Malcolm’s last book, a retelling of Persuasion, so to say I was very excited for this one would be an understatement! And, yes, it was just as good! It’s a delightful example of enemies-to-lovers starring a neurodivergent character, with an underlying message of forgiveness. While it’s set in the same time and includes the wedding of the two main characters from the first book, I think it’d work perfectly fine as a standalone.
Luca’s a bit of a wanderer, content to travel from beach to winter resort, working as a seasonal surfing or snowboarding instructor. The only constant is that every summer he returns to New Milton, his childhood home and the location of his family’s hotel, the Majestic. This year, however, may be the last, as his mother reluctantly intends to sell it. Theo represents the company making the offer, and needs to close this deal to prove to his father, the CEO, that he’s worthy of taking over the company. So when Luca’s mom suggests that Theo stay for two weeks before she’ll sign the offer in the hopes of making him see what’s so great about the Majestic, he reluctantly agrees. Despite a rocky start, the chemistry between Luca and Theo is undeniable, so they agree to a no-strings-attached fling while Theo’s there. I’m sure you can guess how that works out!
From the meet-cute to the epilogue, it’s obvious that Luca and Theo are very different men, and Ms. Malcolm did an amazing job with differentiating their voices. Theo has dyspraxia, which manifests for him as coordination issues and problems reading social cues. It’s frustrating and exhausting for him, wondering if people actually mean what they say or are being sarcastic, or lying, or any of a multitude of other reactions. A past work romance gone wrong – the man was married – has soured him on all relationships. I thought this was handled very well, from the descriptions of how it affects Theo’s life to how Luca reacts to it. Rather than coddling him, Luca simply adapts to make things clearer or easier or Theo, not protection but assistance. Luca, for his part, has his own demons he’s fighting, and that’s part of the beauty of this book. It feels emotionally deep and honest, and while at points it’s heart wrenching, it doesn’t feel like you’re being played for those emotions.
The nature of one of Luca’s demons, though, is the one part of the story that’s still bothering me. Luca’s dad ran off when he was young, and five years prior to the story, Luca’s mom Jude married Don. While, at one point, Don tells Theo that he thinks Luca would never have accepted any other man in Jude’s life, it most certainly doesn’t help that Don is of the “love the sinner, hate the sin” homophobic camp. Feeling betrayed that his mom chose Don over him because she married him, Luca swore to never spend another night under their roof and left. Cutting ties with the hotel that’s been in his family for three generations hurt, and he blames Don for Jude’s determination to sell the hotel. Of course, going with the whole forgiveness theme, there is a reconciliation storyline here, and I’m of two minds about it. While it’s true that Don seems to have changed – though he still disapproves of Luca’s “promiscuous” lifestyle – most of their behavior towards Luca is still pretty awful. Jude seems incapable of understanding why marrying somebody who so thoroughly rejected a part of her son hurt him so badly. I’d also agree that the degree of resentment that Luca is harboring, while completely understandable, is a giant festering wound that’s poisoning his life – he refuses to take over the hotel because it would benefit Don’s retirement – and it nearly drives away Theo. His reconciliation to someone who’s still unable to apologize for his homophobic stance seems like it might be extremely hurtful to readers who’ve dealt with the same pain and who’ve chosen to cut contact. I’m not one of those, though, and there’s a line in the book, to paraphrase, about “forgiveness, even when it’s not deserved” and, to me, that’s what’s happening here – Jude and Don don’t deserve Luca’s forgiveness, have done nothing to earn it, but Luca gives it to them anyway to free himself of the burden of resentment that’s been controlling his life for too long.
Overall, though I spent a lot of time thinking about Luca’s parents and their actions, at heart this is a lovely, emotional story about two flawed men and how they find their HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up whatever Ms. Malcolm writes next!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“The horizon was already dark, a few stars visible in the deep blue, and when he opened the window and stepped out onto the narrow balcony he could hear the roar of the surf. It was a comforting sound, like the endless hum of a Manhattan night, only more gentle—and with fewer fumes. He inhaled a deep breath and felt the peace of the place sink into his bones. For a strange moment he found himself wondering what it would be like to belong here, to have that peace for himself.”
Luca’s a bit of a wanderer, content to travel from beach to winter resort, working as a seasonal surfing or snowboarding instructor. The only constant is that every summer he returns to New Milton, his childhood home and the location of his family’s hotel, the Majestic. This year, however, may be the last, as his mother reluctantly intends to sell it. Theo represents the company making the offer, and needs to close this deal to prove to his father, the CEO, that he’s worthy of taking over the company. So when Luca’s mom suggests that Theo stay for two weeks before she’ll sign the offer in the hopes of making him see what’s so great about the Majestic, he reluctantly agrees. Despite a rocky start, the chemistry between Luca and Theo is undeniable, so they agree to a no-strings-attached fling while Theo’s there. I’m sure you can guess how that works out!
“See?” he said irritably. “You’re doing it right now. Why can’t you just say what you mean, instead of expecting me to divine it by—” he wiggled his fingers “—magic?”
Luca snorted a laugh. “You know what? It’s lucky you’re gay. At least guys tend to be pretty up-front about what we want, huh?” He made a vague, crude gesture. “You’re hot, let’s screw. Am I right?”
“I guess.” Theo poked at his hamburger. “But even hookups take a certain degree of…nonverbal communication. And it’s so easy to make mistakes, to think you know what someone wants when the truth is they don’t want you at all.”
From the meet-cute to the epilogue, it’s obvious that Luca and Theo are very different men, and Ms. Malcolm did an amazing job with differentiating their voices. Theo has dyspraxia, which manifests for him as coordination issues and problems reading social cues. It’s frustrating and exhausting for him, wondering if people actually mean what they say or are being sarcastic, or lying, or any of a multitude of other reactions. A past work romance gone wrong – the man was married – has soured him on all relationships. I thought this was handled very well, from the descriptions of how it affects Theo’s life to how Luca reacts to it. Rather than coddling him, Luca simply adapts to make things clearer or easier or Theo, not protection but assistance. Luca, for his part, has his own demons he’s fighting, and that’s part of the beauty of this book. It feels emotionally deep and honest, and while at points it’s heart wrenching, it doesn’t feel like you’re being played for those emotions.
“Point is, resentment screws up your life. It’s always best to move on.”
Luca glanced at him, wondering whether he was making a point, but perhaps it was only Luca’s conscience pricking. Resentment was one of his oldest friends, after all. It had served him well the past five years, kept him from forgetting how badly the people you loved could screw you over. Kept him from making the same mistake twice.”
The nature of one of Luca’s demons, though, is the one part of the story that’s still bothering me. Luca’s dad ran off when he was young, and five years prior to the story, Luca’s mom Jude married Don. While, at one point, Don tells Theo that he thinks Luca would never have accepted any other man in Jude’s life, it most certainly doesn’t help that Don is of the “love the sinner, hate the sin” homophobic camp. Feeling betrayed that his mom chose Don over him because she married him, Luca swore to never spend another night under their roof and left. Cutting ties with the hotel that’s been in his family for three generations hurt, and he blames Don for Jude’s determination to sell the hotel. Of course, going with the whole forgiveness theme, there is a reconciliation storyline here, and I’m of two minds about it. While it’s true that Don seems to have changed – though he still disapproves of Luca’s “promiscuous” lifestyle – most of their behavior towards Luca is still pretty awful. Jude seems incapable of understanding why marrying somebody who so thoroughly rejected a part of her son hurt him so badly. I’d also agree that the degree of resentment that Luca is harboring, while completely understandable, is a giant festering wound that’s poisoning his life – he refuses to take over the hotel because it would benefit Don’s retirement – and it nearly drives away Theo. His reconciliation to someone who’s still unable to apologize for his homophobic stance seems like it might be extremely hurtful to readers who’ve dealt with the same pain and who’ve chosen to cut contact. I’m not one of those, though, and there’s a line in the book, to paraphrase, about “forgiveness, even when it’s not deserved” and, to me, that’s what’s happening here – Jude and Don don’t deserve Luca’s forgiveness, have done nothing to earn it, but Luca gives it to them anyway to free himself of the burden of resentment that’s been controlling his life for too long.
Overall, though I spent a lot of time thinking about Luca’s parents and their actions, at heart this is a lovely, emotional story about two flawed men and how they find their HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up whatever Ms. Malcolm writes next!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
samnreader's review
3.0
This was super sweet, but honestly, felt like it was too short. Feels like something between a full length novel and novella and that just didn't quite sit with me after some reflection.
But...engaging enough to keep me reading late. In other words, still recommend.
But...engaging enough to keep me reading late. In other words, still recommend.
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