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A review by justmevictoria
Matchmaking The Silver Fox by Ava Wakefield
3.5
This book was kindly sent to me by BookSprout in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
A second chance at love with the first person you fell in love with…
Henry Carter’s daughter Gemma has said it’s about time he starts dating again. And while he agrees, he’s a little overwhelmed when she starts talking about dating apps and swiping. Cue the return of high school bestie Rose Taylor, who hasn’t been back in Sugar Plum for ages. What Henry doesn’t realise is the Rose’s life is kind of falling apart after uncovering her husband is having an affair, and that he wants to take over her half of their successful matchmaking company. Sugar Plum is her escape, and reconnecting with Henry is just bringing her high school crush on him to the forefront. So when Gemma asks Rose to use her matchmaking magic on Henry, Rose is torn between helping a friend and worrying about her jealously rearing it’s ugly head. When she fills in as Henry’s date to their 30 year high school reunion, emotions come to a head and she confides in Henry about everything happening in her life. Then she runs into him freshly showered and only wearing a towel - if she wasn’t feeling romantic feelings for him before, she certainly is now. As the two reconnect, the sparks that have been buried for over 30 years start to bubble beneath the surface, but both are apprehensive because of the fear of destroying their friendship and experiencing even more heartbreak.
After Gemma and Asher’s story in book one, I was very excited about the prospect of returning to Sugar Plum! And while Henry wasn’t who I was expecting to follow, I thoroughly enjoyed his story once I got into it. Plus it’s always fun to get to see previous main characters popping up - Gemma, Asher & Hazel are the CUTEST little family, and I loved seeing Henry part of that. Henry and his little Hazelnut? Freaking ADORABLE!
It took a little to get into both of the characters and their relationship with one another. I kind of which we got to see more of Rose in Dallas with her matchmaking company and her marriage before her life started crumbling around her and she hightailed it back to Sugar Plum - yes, we got her talking through her city life with Henry, but I definitely would have connected with her running back home had we had the chance to see what she was actually running from. We were just thrown headfirst into her life falling to pieces with no understanding of what was actually falling to pieces.
In saying that, once Henry and Rose reconnected, and their high school connection was reaffirmed, it was easy to feel the years of friendship and chemistry between them, as well as the apprehensions they both had about starting a relationship with the other. Both had experienced the heartbreak of a marriage ending - Henry becoming a widow and Rose heading down the divorce route - and there was a lot they had to consider and put on the line if they wanted to follow their hearts. In particular, I really enjoyed seeing Henry being venerable and putting himself out there to date again, getting the highs and lows of the experience as he figured out the type of woman he wanted to be with at this stage in his life.
Ava’s pacing in this installment felt a little off and a little clunky compared to the previous book, especially at the beginning, and I kind of wish the book had been a little longer to help fine-tune that pacing. I think this was one of the reasons I struggled to fall into the lives of Henry and Rose, and in particular Rose. Ava definitely found her rhythm as the book progressed, but it definitely didn’t feel as smooth as the previous book.
Kind of off-topic - do you know what REALLY threw me? When we get to the high school reunion and the banner said “Welcome Class of 1994”. Like, OBVIOUSLY 1994 was 30 years ago, but I was picturing 30 years being so much longer ago! And then it only ended up hammering home that I’M almost 30!! Talk about an existential crisis mid-book…
Definitely interested to see if there will be more from Sugar Plum, and if so, who will be next to get their HEA!
Pack your bags for the nosiness of small-town life in Sugar Plum, and hang out with a swoony silver fox of a cowboy and the woman he’s loved since first grade.
A second chance at love with the first person you fell in love with…
Henry Carter’s daughter Gemma has said it’s about time he starts dating again. And while he agrees, he’s a little overwhelmed when she starts talking about dating apps and swiping. Cue the return of high school bestie Rose Taylor, who hasn’t been back in Sugar Plum for ages. What Henry doesn’t realise is the Rose’s life is kind of falling apart after uncovering her husband is having an affair, and that he wants to take over her half of their successful matchmaking company. Sugar Plum is her escape, and reconnecting with Henry is just bringing her high school crush on him to the forefront. So when Gemma asks Rose to use her matchmaking magic on Henry, Rose is torn between helping a friend and worrying about her jealously rearing it’s ugly head. When she fills in as Henry’s date to their 30 year high school reunion, emotions come to a head and she confides in Henry about everything happening in her life. Then she runs into him freshly showered and only wearing a towel - if she wasn’t feeling romantic feelings for him before, she certainly is now. As the two reconnect, the sparks that have been buried for over 30 years start to bubble beneath the surface, but both are apprehensive because of the fear of destroying their friendship and experiencing even more heartbreak.
After Gemma and Asher’s story in book one, I was very excited about the prospect of returning to Sugar Plum! And while Henry wasn’t who I was expecting to follow, I thoroughly enjoyed his story once I got into it. Plus it’s always fun to get to see previous main characters popping up - Gemma, Asher & Hazel are the CUTEST little family, and I loved seeing Henry part of that. Henry and his little Hazelnut? Freaking ADORABLE!
It took a little to get into both of the characters and their relationship with one another. I kind of which we got to see more of Rose in Dallas with her matchmaking company and her marriage before her life started crumbling around her and she hightailed it back to Sugar Plum - yes, we got her talking through her city life with Henry, but I definitely would have connected with her running back home had we had the chance to see what she was actually running from. We were just thrown headfirst into her life falling to pieces with no understanding of what was actually falling to pieces.
In saying that, once Henry and Rose reconnected, and their high school connection was reaffirmed, it was easy to feel the years of friendship and chemistry between them, as well as the apprehensions they both had about starting a relationship with the other. Both had experienced the heartbreak of a marriage ending - Henry becoming a widow and Rose heading down the divorce route - and there was a lot they had to consider and put on the line if they wanted to follow their hearts. In particular, I really enjoyed seeing Henry being venerable and putting himself out there to date again, getting the highs and lows of the experience as he figured out the type of woman he wanted to be with at this stage in his life.
Ava’s pacing in this installment felt a little off and a little clunky compared to the previous book, especially at the beginning, and I kind of wish the book had been a little longer to help fine-tune that pacing. I think this was one of the reasons I struggled to fall into the lives of Henry and Rose, and in particular Rose. Ava definitely found her rhythm as the book progressed, but it definitely didn’t feel as smooth as the previous book.
Kind of off-topic - do you know what REALLY threw me? When we get to the high school reunion and the banner said “Welcome Class of 1994”. Like, OBVIOUSLY 1994 was 30 years ago, but I was picturing 30 years being so much longer ago! And then it only ended up hammering home that I’M almost 30!! Talk about an existential crisis mid-book…
Definitely interested to see if there will be more from Sugar Plum, and if so, who will be next to get their HEA!
Pack your bags for the nosiness of small-town life in Sugar Plum, and hang out with a swoony silver fox of a cowboy and the woman he’s loved since first grade.