Friday, December 21, 2012

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family’s construction business with an iron fist—and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn’t plan for was Avery McTavish...

Avery’s popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation—and a new found appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery’s thoughts. But the attraction she’s feeling for him now is far from innocent.

As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen’s hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected—and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last…

~~

After reading some not so stellar reviews about the rest of the Inn BoonsBoro series I decided to turn to my public library to finish out this trilogy. Do I regret that? Not so much.

There's not a whole lot I would pinpoint as really wrong with this book, but I also feel like Roberts has done similar work work before that I loved more. Avery and Owen are familiar characters (which I'm not complaining about) and I'd have to say their HEA is ok. I liked the transition from friends to lovers, and the little twist that they had been engaged before was adorable. I didn't dislike the ghost elements that have been there since the first book, but I do kind of consider them superfluous. They didn't seem to add much to the story, Owen and Avery were on track to fall in love again due to circumstances and proximity, so Lizzy and her lost love? Eh.

It's a fine book in an ok series, but I guess I've come to connect Roberts with always off-the-charts memorable and I wouldn't say this was it. Read it - but get it from your library.

Overall Feeling - C+

Series - 1) The Next Always 2) The Last Boyfriend 3) The Perfect Hope