I’ve really enjoyed Sarah Mayberry as a new Harlequin author. (Well, she’s not so new any more.) I usually prefer her Harlequin Superromances to her Blazes, but I always find her books worth reading. And it’s fun to read a book set in Australia!
The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry
(2013, Contemporary Series) 5/30/13
Grade: 4
Oliver has escaped to his late aunt’s beach house to get away from his pending divorce. Mackenzie has been recuperating at her beach cottage since a car accident left her with serious injuries. Neither one is looking for a relationship, but their dogs have other ideas. Once they’ve become friends, it’s only a short step to lovers – but is either one ready for a relationship?
This is a very low key, realistic book. With all the trauma in the hero and heroine’s pasts, it could have been an angst fest – but instead, it was a quiet and down to earth story. The relationship between Oliver and Mackenzie developed slowly – they were friends first, and there wasn’t a lot of the mental lusting that you get in so many books these days. Eventually they did become involved (and there were quite a few sex scenes – I got a little bored with them after a while) but the characters remained grounded and down to earth. Even the barriers between the characters were realistic ones – Oliver’s hesitation to get involved so soon after separating from his wife, Mackenzie’s concern about her injuries and uncertainty about her career. In the end, the book may have been a little too realistic – it didn’t transport me or thrill me, and there were a few points in the first half when I got a little bored – but it was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t over-the-top, and I got a little misty at the end. One of the best Mayberry books I’ve read so far.
The cover is pretty but doesn’t match the book at all! Mackenzie had short hair – it was a major plot point! I guess Harlequin has done a poll and figured out that long hair sells more books.
Karen Wheless
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