Henry Hobbes isn't exactly thrilled to have Edith, who he assumes is an elderly widow, dumped on him as a houseguest for the summer. But he'd do almost anything for his niece, who is practically like a sister to him given how close they are in age. Especially since Edith will be working nights and Henry works most days. When he and Edith keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes--short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives.
By the time Henry realizes his mistake--that Edith is actually the brown-eyed beauty he keeps bumping into around town--their hearts are so intertwined he hopes they never unravel. But with her departure date rapidly approaching, and Henry's roots firmly planted at home, Edith must ultimately decide if the adventure of her dreams is the one right in front of her.
Comment: This book got on my radar because the blurb implied a romance between two people who would fall in love not knowing their respective identities. This trope is very good when done well and I was curious to see how the author would develop things.
This had been my initial choice for the TBR Challenge post, but I only managed to read 106 pages before I decided to quit. At first, the story was very silly, just like any comedy of errors usually is, but once Henry figures out who Edith really is, everything stopped making sense to me, because he makes a choice that I think was ridiculous. Then, a certain secondary character stars having more protagonism and I thought to myself, there's no way this will ever go well, so I stopped reading.
I did like the idea, that is true. Two strangers who share the same house, who have a wrong idea about the other one's identity and age, and who still share handwritten notes as a cute, friendly way to communicate seemed very sweet. I actually pictured this with an historical setting but it's contemporary, in fact. Still, why not this quirky detail, it did make the story seem special and I hoped things would develop in a romantic, funny way.
Well, no, at least not until the moment I've stopped. I've found the characters to be superficial, lacking depth to the kind of situation that was being presented, and the silly tactics used by the author to delay the discovery were incredibly juvenile and weak. The characters' inner thoughts also seem misplaced, considering their lives and how their relationships went/were going. I did not connect with anyone and I think the tone/vibe the author used was not the best choice.
It was ridiculous to see how two apparently clever people could not see what was so obvious, especially if it's a small town where everyone knew each other, and attending the detailed notes they kept exchanging. yes, key information was missing because of assumptions, but I think this situation took too long to be presented. Then, someone from Edith's past starts being more intrusive and I felt annoyed at this obvious tactic to, again, delay the progress of the actual plot. Then Henry makes a choice I think is wrong if one thinks of his reasoning.Therefore, I quit.