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A review by the_novel_approach
Forgive and Forget by Charlie Cochet
4.0
3.5 Stars ~ Charlie Cochet is a fan favorite, for sure. And, while her latest novel, Forgive and Forget—a book in Dreamspinner Press’ new classic romance line, Dreamspun Desires—is a pretty large departure from her much loved THIRDS series, I’m sure her fans will still flock to read it. And when they do, they will find that even though it’s a different recipe, it has many of the same ingredients as the popular shifter series, including humor, romance, action, mystery, and heroes with big hearts.
Joe Applin is pretty adorable. He is sweet as can be, kind-hearted, fun—albeit a bit of a homebody—and can obviously make a mean pie. Business is booming at his shop, Apple’n Pies, and Joe hopes to have enough saved soon to do a few renovations and add a little bakery like he’s always dreamed of. Things are pretty quiet in his little corner of Manhattan, and that’s just the way he likes it. That is, until ‘Tom’ drops into his life.
‘Tom,’ as Joe names him when the man’s amnesia becomes apparent, appears in the little garden behind Joe’s business one night, injured and completely unaware as to how he got there, or even who he is. Joe promises to try to help him, but over the course of the next few weeks they hit nothing but dead ends in their investigation. They do become very close, however, and Tom seems to sincerely enjoy the quiet life at the pie shop with Joe’s small circle of friends. One evening some thugs show up at the shop looking for Tom, and the mystery is cleared up amidst an action-packed sequence of events.
There were a few little quirky things that struck me as a bit odd…the characters—especially Joe, but his employees and others as well—seemed at times much younger than their assigned ages, but Joe sometimes acted much older. The story overall felt to me like it should have been set in the 40s or 50s with some of the dialogue and situations—I sort of wish it had been!—but then a current event type thing would be brought into it, and it would feel out of place. I think maybe it was supposed to be sort of quirky and campy, and I can definitely appreciate that in a story! But, the intention just wasn’t clear enough.
For the most part, I enjoyed this cute tale of romance and intrigue. Joe and Tom were really sweet together. I loved how Tom was just so clearly enamored of Joe, because he deserved love so much. There was one little twist, which wasn’t much of a surprise at all, but that I did enjoy when it was played out. So, yeah, it was a little bit all over the place in parts, but definitely cute!!
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach Reviews
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/review-forgive-and-forget-by-charlie-cochet/
Joe Applin is pretty adorable. He is sweet as can be, kind-hearted, fun—albeit a bit of a homebody—and can obviously make a mean pie. Business is booming at his shop, Apple’n Pies, and Joe hopes to have enough saved soon to do a few renovations and add a little bakery like he’s always dreamed of. Things are pretty quiet in his little corner of Manhattan, and that’s just the way he likes it. That is, until ‘Tom’ drops into his life.
‘Tom,’ as Joe names him when the man’s amnesia becomes apparent, appears in the little garden behind Joe’s business one night, injured and completely unaware as to how he got there, or even who he is. Joe promises to try to help him, but over the course of the next few weeks they hit nothing but dead ends in their investigation. They do become very close, however, and Tom seems to sincerely enjoy the quiet life at the pie shop with Joe’s small circle of friends. One evening some thugs show up at the shop looking for Tom, and the mystery is cleared up amidst an action-packed sequence of events.
There were a few little quirky things that struck me as a bit odd…the characters—especially Joe, but his employees and others as well—seemed at times much younger than their assigned ages, but Joe sometimes acted much older. The story overall felt to me like it should have been set in the 40s or 50s with some of the dialogue and situations—I sort of wish it had been!—but then a current event type thing would be brought into it, and it would feel out of place. I think maybe it was supposed to be sort of quirky and campy, and I can definitely appreciate that in a story! But, the intention just wasn’t clear enough.
For the most part, I enjoyed this cute tale of romance and intrigue. Joe and Tom were really sweet together. I loved how Tom was just so clearly enamored of Joe, because he deserved love so much. There was one little twist, which wasn’t much of a surprise at all, but that I did enjoy when it was played out. So, yeah, it was a little bit all over the place in parts, but definitely cute!!
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach Reviews
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/review-forgive-and-forget-by-charlie-cochet/