This time, my sister’s promotion is riding on this date, so I have to say yes. And as it turns out, we’re strangely perfect for each other. I sell art. He collects it. We’re both obsessed with the same obscure, mysterious artist that most people don’t even know exists.
Roman is guarded, though, and I can understand why. He’s a widowed single dad. But as one date leads to another, he starts to let me in, and I can’t help but fall for him.
The problem is Roman still thinks I’m my sister. Is our twin swap going to be the best thing that ever happened to me and Roman—or the lie that tears us apart?
Comment: I saw this book was on sale in some retailers some time ago and the blurb was suggestive enough to make me curious. I've decided to take a chance and I'm glad to say it worked out well enough for my expectations.
In this story twin sisters Sloane and Margaux couldn't be more different, personality wise. One day Margaux asks Sloane to impersonate her at a first date, which was scheduled with a man Margaux' boss is terribly fond of. Since there's a promotion to grab at her work, Margaux didn't want to say no, but is feeling ill and doesn't want to cancel. The idea is to be pleasant but boring, and Sloane doesn't mind doing her this favor. The issue is that the date is with single dad Roman, a man who caused Sloane to be fired in the past, and someone Sloane isn't interested in either. However, during the date, despite Sloane's attempts to appear uninterested, they discover they have a lot in common, especially while talking about art. Still, they call it a night and supposedly say goodbye, but Roman notices her key chain, which is by a reclusive artist and he feels perhaps there's more to Margaux than he realized... somehow he asks for a second date, but how will the sisters get out of this? What will happen if Roman and Sloane realize they actually like one another?
At first sight, this seems to be a very unassuming story, predictable in what one hopes to read and in what the plot might offer. Although there were things I did find a little under developed and probably included just because, I still found the romance to be more or less appealing and the pace to be captivating, which made reading this story a positive experience.
I will say right away that I wasn't too impressed with the first person narrator. In this case I can accept the author's choice because it could influence the sisters' identity while dealing with other characters, but it really didn't matter much after all. I suppose I can be thankful the male protagonist also had a voice and that this is told in alternated chapters by both Roman and Sloane, which allows the story to feel balanced somehow, but I really think the first person is not necessary for romance tales.
The plot is very simple, the old case of twins swapping places and the shenanigans that result from that decision. I actually liked Sloane as a character, and she is definitely meant to be seen as the "good sister". I must add that seeing Margaux in a negative light is intentional and one of the reasons I'd say the story lacks depth in some areas, because this antagonism element is unnecessary, the conflict could have happened differently without having to make one person look only bad or good. Closer to the end, this was sort of solved in a very unrealistic way, considering the plot, but I will also admit I wasn't too worried about, since the romance did grab my attention completely.
Sloane and Roman share a specific situation in the past but they had not met in person, thus why this plot worked out. I actually liked the slow pace of their dates and how they came to see in the other someone who could stimulate them intellectually and physically. The romance was mostly cute and without a lot of drama and extras (since Roman is one of those rich heroes we often find in romanceland) but of course the fact he is a widow and has two young children is meant to make him look more complex. I did not like a few sentences he "thinks" sometimes - thus the danger of first person narrator looking juvenile or ridiculous - but overall, I liked how he and Sloane seemed to complement each other at many levels.
In fact, I was quite taken with their time together, the little things and ways they found to like one another more after each date and I wanted to keep reading and see what they would do next. I'd say the author did a good enough job, had a good base but there were some things... the sisters' antagonism at some point and after the truth comes out, the fact Roman's children were a little bit like props, the whole reclusive artist idea was more than obvious from the start although the author delayed letting us know who that person was, the explanations at the end... all these things could have been done better or could have had consistency and didn't. I see them as flaws but I did not let them ruin the entertainment of reading the story anyway, so there is that.
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