The Match

A poignant, wholesome rom-com about how an epileptic child’s search for a service dog inspires romance for her single father and an epileptic woman. 

In The Match, Sarah Adams infuses serious subject matter with poignant humor and lovable dogs sure to charm rom-com readers.

 

Cheery and optimistic, Evelyn “Evie” Grace Jones is a 26-year-old who suffers from epilepsy. She moves away from her snooty, status-conscious “Charlestonian” parents to work for Southern Service Paws, an organization that led Evie to Charlie, her beloved service dog. Evie adores her job, helping to match other people with canines who offer remarkable assistance to the disabled.

 

Samantha Broaden is a 10-year-old who also suffers from epilepsy. After her parents’ divorce--her mother leaves to pursue acting aspirations--Sam is doted on and cared for by her overprotective, self-sacrificing, single father, 33-year-old architect, Jacob. Sam loves Jacob, but he’s resistant to his daughter pursuing independence by sharing her life with a service dog.

 

When Sam sneakily lures Jacob to Southern Service Paws, he locks horns with Evie, who finds him rigid, but also romantically irresistible. As Evie searches for a loyal canine companion for Sam, Jacob comes to witness Evie’s compassion toward his daughter and her condition. When Evie ultimately finds Sam a beautiful service dog, Daisy, Jacob softens and lowers his defenses. Romance blooms with Evie. However, Jacob’s insecurity from his failed marriage and the return of his ex-wife--along with Evie’s meddling family--set up obstacles to the couple’s happiness. 

Adams’s (The Rule Book) uplifting, wholesome romantic comedy delivers positive messaging and feel-good hope.  

The Match (It Happened in Charleston, Book One) by Sarah Adams

Dell (Penguin Random House), $17.99 paperback, 9780593871713, 320 pages

Publishing Date: July 2, 2024

To order this book via Indiebound/Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review as originally published on Shelf Awareness (July 19, 2024), link HERE 

Forgotten on Sunday

 

An emotionally engrossing novel that exposes the ways losses sustained by two French women, born generations apart, come to define their lives. 

An unlikely friendship is forged between two women, born generations, apart in Forgotten on Sunday, a profound, emotionally complex novel written by Valérie Perrin and translated from the French by Hildegard Serle.

 

For years, 21-year-old Justine Neige has lived in Milly, a small French village, while happily working as a nursing assistant at the Hydrangeas, the local retirement home. There, Justine is most intrigued by Hélène, an enigmatic, 96-year-old nicknamed “The Beach Lady.” Drawn to Hélène and her stories, Justine willingly collects and record her remembrances in a notebook at the behest of Hélène’s grandson. In doing so, Justine uncovers details of Hélène’s long, fascinating life that include romantic passions; a bistro job where she catered to the poet Baudelaire; and the harrowing atrocities of World War II. These incredibly moving stories of love, loss, and forgiveness awaken Justine’s desires: “I feel nostalgic, nostalgic for what I’ve not yet lived.” These feelings deepen when anonymous, mysterious phone calls are made from the Hydrangeas that falsely notify relatives that their loved ones have died. The contacts have either forgotten or refused to keep in touch with the geriatrics; the calls finally force folks to visit.  As a police investigation ensues, Justine probes the history of her own family—and questions are suddenly raised regarding the long-ago, tragic car, accident that claimed her parents’ lives.

 

Perrin (Freshwater for Flowers) skillfully juggles the storylines of Justine and Hélène, heightening the drama of each with unexpected revelations. Delicate plot points--infused with elements of historical fiction juxtaposed against contemporary themes--will keep readers, charmed and deeply engrossed. 

 

Forgotten on a Sunday by Valérie Perrin (translated from the French by Hildegarde Serle)

Europa Editions, $28, hardcover, 304 p., 9798889660187

Publishing Date: June 4, 2024

To order this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE

 

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review as originally published on Shelf Awareness (June 14, 2024), link HERE 

 

To read a longer form of this review as published on Shelf Awareness for the Book Trade (April 4, 2024), link HERE