She had a mature, adult plan, and staying here in this happy little fairy-tale town with a delightful big bad wolf was not conducive to that plan. It couldn’t be, because she wanted it so badly. [p. 256]
Eve Brown prefers to quit while she's ahead. Failures hurt, especially when she's failed at something she loves. She's quite aware of being an immature brat: she doesn't need her parents to tell her what a disappointment she is. When they try, she takes off, driving with no actual destination in mind, and finds herself in the quaint little town of Skybriar.
And finds herself in the quaint little town of Skybriar ... as well as encountering, under admittedly inauspicious circumstances, the handsome but prickly bed-and-breakfast owner Jacob Wayne. Eve ends up working at the B&B, though she tells herself it's just for a few weeks. Of course she can waltz away and leave Jacob behind. Of course.
I liked awkward Jacob and somewhat slapdash Eve, both of whom recognise that they are 'on the spectrum' and have learnt to accept themselves: it makes it easier for them to accept one another, too. (When I was younger I used to read romances and wistfully dream of that grand romantic love: now I read them and wistfully dream of being understood, respected and comfortable.) Hibbert's romances are immensely soothing and warm-hearted: even when my critical faculty was wondering why Eve's family didn't seem to care about where she'd disappeared to, I was confident that Hibbert would handle all my doubts. (Spoiler: she did.) Charming, sweet and occasionally (consciously and affectionately) ridiculous.
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