People Watching (People #1) by Hannah Bonam-Young
Prudence Welch has found solace in her introverted life in Baysville, a charming tourist town in Northern Ontario. Despite once dreaming of a life beyond its borders, she now finds contentment in her working at her father’s gas station, writing poetry, and caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's shortly after Prue’s nineteenth birthday. But as her mother’s condition worsens and her father’s concerns about her future intensify, Prue feels her world slipping further out of control.
Enter Milo Kablukov, an enigmatic wanderer whose beat-up van covered with ill-advised bumper stickers rolls into town just when Prue needs a change. It’s all too easy to let go with him, and Prue can’t help but strike up an unlikely friendship with Milo, which leads to a wild and sexy agreement between them.
Milo, a man of many adventures and countless stories, is not one to settle down. However, his brother’s urgent need for help has brought him to Baysville, and now the intriguing Prue has given him more reason to stay. Especially once they start spending more time together, their chemistry intensifying, and casual-sex lessons start at Prue’s request.
But as their temporary arrangement blossoms into something deeper, Prue and Milo discover that getting out of their comfort zones is one thing . . . taking that leap together is something else entirely.
Review: Prudence had always planned to leave her small hometown but after her mom was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's when Prue was 19, she has instead found contentment living at home helping her dad care for her and working at her dad's gas station. But her mother's condition continues to deteriorate, and Prue's dad is anxious about her continuing to put her life plans on hold. Then, Prue meets Milo, who is in town visiting his siblings. Milo is not one to settle down or commit. But in him, Prue sees a chance to explore love and her physical side, something she still has never had a chance to do. And while Milo has always sworn off commitment, Prue might be giving him a reason to stay put.
I have really loved the other two books I've read by this author, but I really struggled with this one because I just did not care for Milo. He is a player who has slept with hundreds of people and makes it very clear that he has no interest in anything other than a casual hookup. I am always a fan of emotional based intimacy and find that casual hookup scenes, in the absence of a meaningful connection between the characters, give me the ick. Milo had a traumatic childhood, so it makes sense that he is fearful of an emotional commitment, but I still found his behavior off-putting. I had a hard time believing that Prue - who is devoted to her family, has a wonderful example in her parents' loving marriage, and has never been in any sort of relationship before - would agree to just sleeping with Milo for the practice. She deserved better! I also didn't really believe that Milo would change his ways as easily as he does in this book.
I really struggled with how to rate this! I don't think that just because you don't care for a character that that is any reason to rate a book lower. In fact, I think that's proof that the author did her job at creating a believable character that you have strong feelings about. Every romance book shouldn't feature the same time of lovable man. They shouldn't all be alike! And Milo does grow and change over the course of this book. I guess I just wanted to see some commitment and defining of who they were to each other before they slept together. It just felt more in keeping with who Prue is as a person.
I also thought the ending of this was a bit too fairy tale when it comes to Prue's mom. This book puts a pretty happy spin on Alzheimer's and that's just not realistic. I think it would have been truer to the disease if the author had forced Prue and her dad to make some hard decisions about her mom's care and been more reflective about their grief regarding her advancing memory loss.
Stars: 3.5
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