May 1, 2019
Enemies unconvincingly become lovers. Judgmental and with a chip on her shoulder, Sophie wants nothing more than to escape her small Alabama town for design school in New York. To make money, she works for the local florist/party planner, which also lets her spend time with her best friend, Micah, a waitress for her father's catering company. When Micah's father is picked for former celebrity chef Jett Hart's small business mentorship program, it brings Sophie into contact with Jett's son, Andrew--a guy who rubs her the wrong way with his city manners and hesitation to stand up to his mercurial father. Over the course of various events throughout the year--a format working against narrative flow, not to mention romance--Sophie struggles to get some inspiration for her design portfolio, cope with family issues, and not let Andrew get under her skin, even as she starts seeing other sides of him. It takes fighting with Micah and a good, hard look at herself for Sophie to take a chance with Andrew, just in time for a new year to begin. The episodic format doesn't jibe with the small-town setting--how can Sophie only see Andrew at events? Most characters are assumed to be white other than Micah, who is black. This stop-and-start romance doesn't come together. (Romance. 12-16)
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