The Book:
The Honeymooner by Melanie Summers (Paradise Bay #1)
Published August 7th 2018 by Indigo Group
Date read: September 1, 2021
The Characters:
Libby and her ex-fiance Richard
Harrison
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Twenty-nine-year-old workaholic Libby Dewitt lives by the motto ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ She’s finally about to start her dream life with her steady-as-a-rock fiancé, Richard Tomy. Together, they’re the perfect power couple—right down to the fact that he’s agreed to use their honeymoon to help further her career in mergers and acquisitions. But ten minutes before the wedding, her dreams dissolve via text message.
Devastated and humiliated, Libby escapes to Paradise Bay alone. She’s got two goals for her trip: to devise a plan to get Richard back and to convince resort owner Harrison Banks to sell his property to her company. Unfortunately, when she arrives, she discovers that tall, dark, and built, Harrison is not about to make anything easy for her.
Instead, he derails her plans while at the same time, bringing out a side of Libby she’s kept carefully tucked away—a carefree, adrenaline junkie. After a few days together, Harrison’s got her wondering if the life she always wanted was meant for some other girl. Suddenly, Libby must decide which version of herself she wants to be.
Will she go back to her comfortable, safe life, or risk everything to be with the only man who’s ever made her feel truly alive?
The Review:
A fun escape in this left-at-the-altar-fall-in-love-on-the-honeymoon romance! (That’s definitely a genre.)
I’ve read a couple of books with similar premises lately. The woman is left at the altar and goes on her honeymoon alone, only to fall in love with her true soulmate. Most recently was The Lucky Escape. I like the premise, and The Honeymooner brought even more to the table with Libby trying to get a business deal out of the trip.
I loved the descriptions of the resort, and especially loved Harrison’s dedication to keeping it in his family. As he showed Libby around I could easily picture the tropical paradise, and now want to visit myself!
Harrison and Libby had great chemistry, and this book was extremely funny. I loved how Harrison brought Libby out of her shell and how they both made each other laugh. Both characters had just the right amount of baggage and backstory to keep the plot interesting. Harrison was a bit too far on the white knight-hero side at some points, though. I got a little annoyed with his determination to save the resort without accepting help. Libby’s denial at the beginning was annoying too, but luckily she grows out of it. I’m also not the biggest fan of insta-love given that it feels a little disingenuous, but that’s more of a critique of the genre than of this book.
The Honeymooner is the first in a series about all of Harrison’s siblings. I can’t wait to see who is next!
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