Paige Parker is a Certified Personal Organizer. She has built her business up from nothing, and now she’s successful. At work. The rest of her life is mostly relaxing at home with her cat Mr. Rochester and reruns of beloved ‘90s sitcoms. She’s happy with her life, but she is willing (sometimes) to admit that something may be missing. So when her best friend/office assistant (the Rachel to Paige’s Monica) insists that she take a vacation, she decides to consider it.
A little internet research later, and she discovers a concept called “Singles Day.” It’s the da after Valentine’s Day, and it’s a celebration of living the single life without judgement or shame. A quick quiz that’s supposed to match her up with a perfect vacation spot brings her to a site for a little B&B on an island off the North Carolina coast. It has a huge back porch filled with rocking chairs shown with charming pillows and soft blankets that call out to her soul to curl up there and watch the ocean waves go by.
It’s not until she gets there that she realizes that her perfect Singles Day vacation may not go as planned.
Lucas Croft puts most of his energy into raising his 4-year-old daughter. So if his Bed & Breakfast has slipped into disarray, he’d barely noticed. Until Sophie interfered. Knowing that her brother is running out of money, she reactivates the site offering rooms at his B&B, also known as the home he shares with his daughter. Lucas is upset with her, understandably, but he also understands that she was just trying to help him. And if the fancy businesswoman from Chicago is willing to pay three times his usual rate—in the off-season, no less—then who is he to say no?
But when she shows up, with her expensive suitcase and big city attitude, he has second thoughts. He has the one room that’s still set up as a guest room and is relatively clean, but he’s not really prepared to cater to her every need and to cook her three meals a day, especially once she announces she’s vegetarian. So he’s not at all disappointed when she decides to leave right away. And he’s not at all surprised when she comes back, the ferry having closed down once the storm started.
But what does surprise him? The way her wet sweater molds to her curves. And how he can’t seem to think straight once he noticed that. He hadn’t felt that way since his wife died, even though his sister and the rest of the island all seem to be trying to fix him up with any available female. He’d set all that aside. Until now. Paige is a guest at his B&B. He needs to be professional.
The first time Paige showed up and met with Lucas’s unwelcoming attitude, she was done. When she came back, drenched and with the knowledge that she won’t be able to got off the island for probably several days, she was still upset. But a hot shower, a meal, and a good night’s sleep helps improve her attitude.
Plus, she may have snooped a little, overhearing a phone call with his sister where she figures out that she had set up Paige’s reservation without checking in with Lucas. And she sees the family photos around but no family (eventually she finds out his daughter is staying with his sister for the week). And let’s not forget that he is extremely good looking. She can’t stop looking at him and thinking very unprofessional thoughts about him.
Paige is there to relax and celebrate Singles Day. Lucas just wants not to lose his home. But clearly, the storms that are brewing aren’t just happening outside. There is more than coffee brewing inside too . . .
Romance author Ann Marie Walker is back with Happy Singles Day, a charming rom com that brings together an organizer with the chaotic in a fun meet cute story filled with attraction, pop culture references, and rescued puppies. What could be better?
I enjoyed Happy Singles Day. I liked the characters a lot and enjoyed the slow build to the romance between Paige and Lucas. However, it’s a little unbalanced at times, with the emotional swings overly dramatic and the resolutions of the arguments just waved away, more forgetting than forgiving. There is a physical intimacy in them sharing a house together for a week, but the emotional intimacy doesn’t feel as natural. That being said, there is a lot to like in this book, and it’s a sweet story for a rainy day or a long weekend.
Egalleys for Happy Singles Day were provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca through NetGalley, with many thanks.
