This light and enjoyable romance deftly takes on a deeper undercurrent of issues - a woman who feels time is running out to have a baby but falls in love with a man who is raising a teenager and doesn't want another child, a teenager who desperately wants love and acceptance and thinks she may find it through sex, a man trying to balance taking care of an extended family with taking care of his own needs, reproductive complications, and more.
I thought I'd be taking on a silly but fun read, not expecting to really connect emotionally with the book given its focus on magic and other new-agey ideas, yet I found the interaction between Tori and Nick compelling, and their backstories almost entirely believable and realistic, especially Nick's concerns about having another child. The minor characters from the Santangelo family shine: Nick's rebellious but needy daughter, his kleptomaniac grandmother, and his younger brother stand out.
The only discordant note I felt throughout the book was the reason for Tori's desire to have a baby immediately. Being 30 and without any family in the world is plenty enough reason to want to have a child, especially after losing a much-wanted pregnancy. But pregnancy is no longer considered a real treatment for endometriosis, and it certainly struck me as disturbingly irresponsible that a woman who couldn't afford laparoscopic surgery because she had no health insurance would think it would be more affordable to have a baby. It turned me off to her character in a way that kept nagging at me while reading.
Nevertheless, I'd happily read another book about the Santangelo family, especially if I could do so on a breezy day at the beach.
I thought I'd be taking on a silly but fun read, not expecting to really connect emotionally with the book given its focus on magic and other new-agey ideas, yet I found the interaction between Tori and Nick compelling, and their backstories almost entirely believable and realistic, especially Nick's concerns about having another child. The minor characters from the Santangelo family shine: Nick's rebellious but needy daughter, his kleptomaniac grandmother, and his younger brother stand out.
The only discordant note I felt throughout the book was the reason for Tori's desire to have a baby immediately. Being 30 and without any family in the world is plenty enough reason to want to have a child, especially after losing a much-wanted pregnancy. But pregnancy is no longer considered a real treatment for endometriosis, and it certainly struck me as disturbingly irresponsible that a woman who couldn't afford laparoscopic surgery because she had no health insurance would think it would be more affordable to have a baby. It turned me off to her character in a way that kept nagging at me while reading.
Nevertheless, I'd happily read another book about the Santangelo family, especially if I could do so on a breezy day at the beach.
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