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michellesantiago 's review for:
Tessa Ever After
by Brighton Walsh
I almost passed on picking up Tessa Ever After because I haven't read Caged in Winter, but after a very gushy email from Jessica at Berkley I couldn't. I had to see for myself and I am so happy I did. Thank you Jessica! Tessa Ever After is an awesome read.
Tessa is Cade's younger sister from Caged in Winter and she's an over-worked single mom. Ever since her brother left, all the responsibility of taking care of her daughter Haley, keeping house, working a full-time job and cosmetology school falls on her shoulders. She feels like she's in over her head, but good thing Jason (her brother's best friend) is around to help out.
Growing up with Cade, Jason had always thought of Tessa as a sister. But lately he had been seeing her differently and feels a strong attraction to her. Unfortunately for Jason, Tessa is reluctant to start anything serious with him. She still sees him a player with a revolving door of women. Thinking about her daughter, she wants someone who is committed in the long run and will stay for the long haul. Jason wants to show her that he just may be the man for her and Haley, but he also has to deal with his parents who wants him to take over the family business.
I thoroughly enjoyed Tessa Ever After. Jason and Tessa were great characters. I love a good friends-to-lovers story so I really liked that they were already friends before the story began. I admired Tessa and how hard she worked and how she juggled motherhood with everything else. I understood why she was so reluctant to start anything with Jason. She doesn't have just herself to think about, but also her 4-year-old daughter. I haven't read a new adult novel where the heroine has a younger daughter so this novel offered a different perspective.
Jason was supposed to be a wild, rich playboy who had a different woman every night and a no-relationship kind of guy, but I never really got that from him. I haven't read Caged in Winter so maybe that's where he showed his playboy partying ways? Except for this one scene early on when he was in a bar with his friends and there was this girl trying to get his attention, I don't recall him ever going out or hanging out with other women. He just seemed like a good guy--he went to class, was a phone call away when Tessa needed him, and he enjoys just hanging out with Tessa and Haley at their house. I really liked Jason and I love his relationship with Haley. They were so cute together and loved all their scenes together.
Since I didn't read Caged in Winter I feel like I'm missing some of the background information early on in the novel, like what happened to Tessa's parents (I know they died since it said that in the synopsis but I wanted to know the how). I wanted to know about Haley's dad and what exactly happened to him and Tessa and why he's not in the picture. I'm thinking that maybe most of that information was in Winter? Maybe. But I am the kind of reader who likes to know the who, what, where, when, and why of characters' background early on. Eventually, things were mentioned here and there and I piece things together and got my answers so it wasn't too big a deal.
Tessa Ever After was an easy, entertaining read. I would read for a chunk of time and when I emerge from my reading haze, I was always surprise at how far I've read. I love reading books where you forget your flipping pages and is just immersed in the story. I like Brighton Walsh's writing--it was easy, clean and very readable. There were no weird turns of phrases or similes that take you out of the story--I've noticed lately, especially in new adult novels, that authors like to make strange comparisons. There were none of that here, though. Tessa Ever After is my first novel by Ms. Walsh but it certainly won't be my last. I'm looking forward to reading more by her and I have added Caged in Winter on my list of books to acquire.
Tessa is Cade's younger sister from Caged in Winter and she's an over-worked single mom. Ever since her brother left, all the responsibility of taking care of her daughter Haley, keeping house, working a full-time job and cosmetology school falls on her shoulders. She feels like she's in over her head, but good thing Jason (her brother's best friend) is around to help out.
Growing up with Cade, Jason had always thought of Tessa as a sister. But lately he had been seeing her differently and feels a strong attraction to her. Unfortunately for Jason, Tessa is reluctant to start anything serious with him. She still sees him a player with a revolving door of women. Thinking about her daughter, she wants someone who is committed in the long run and will stay for the long haul. Jason wants to show her that he just may be the man for her and Haley, but he also has to deal with his parents who wants him to take over the family business.
I thoroughly enjoyed Tessa Ever After. Jason and Tessa were great characters. I love a good friends-to-lovers story so I really liked that they were already friends before the story began. I admired Tessa and how hard she worked and how she juggled motherhood with everything else. I understood why she was so reluctant to start anything with Jason. She doesn't have just herself to think about, but also her 4-year-old daughter. I haven't read a new adult novel where the heroine has a younger daughter so this novel offered a different perspective.
Jason was supposed to be a wild, rich playboy who had a different woman every night and a no-relationship kind of guy, but I never really got that from him. I haven't read Caged in Winter so maybe that's where he showed his playboy partying ways? Except for this one scene early on when he was in a bar with his friends and there was this girl trying to get his attention, I don't recall him ever going out or hanging out with other women. He just seemed like a good guy--he went to class, was a phone call away when Tessa needed him, and he enjoys just hanging out with Tessa and Haley at their house. I really liked Jason and I love his relationship with Haley. They were so cute together and loved all their scenes together.
Since I didn't read Caged in Winter I feel like I'm missing some of the background information early on in the novel, like what happened to Tessa's parents (I know they died since it said that in the synopsis but I wanted to know the how). I wanted to know about Haley's dad and what exactly happened to him and Tessa and why he's not in the picture. I'm thinking that maybe most of that information was in Winter? Maybe. But I am the kind of reader who likes to know the who, what, where, when, and why of characters' background early on. Eventually, things were mentioned here and there and I piece things together and got my answers so it wasn't too big a deal.
Tessa Ever After was an easy, entertaining read. I would read for a chunk of time and when I emerge from my reading haze, I was always surprise at how far I've read. I love reading books where you forget your flipping pages and is just immersed in the story. I like Brighton Walsh's writing--it was easy, clean and very readable. There were no weird turns of phrases or similes that take you out of the story--I've noticed lately, especially in new adult novels, that authors like to make strange comparisons. There were none of that here, though. Tessa Ever After is my first novel by Ms. Walsh but it certainly won't be my last. I'm looking forward to reading more by her and I have added Caged in Winter on my list of books to acquire.