Review: Back to September

Back to September by Melissa Brayden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finished on April 12, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "Yes. Gandalf in sneakers, I love girls with pencils in their hair! I wish all of them came that way."

3.5/5 rounded down

This was a cute enough book but I just didn’t find myself invested in it.
    
This story centers around Hannah and Parker. Hannah owns a bookstore in Provincetown and the bookstore is dealing with some financial issues. She’s trying to keep her business afloat and one of her employees convinces her to give Parker’s romance books a shot as the display. She’s even convinced to apply to have Parker do a signing at her store and she’s shocked when they agree. Parker is a romance novelist, at the time only writing straight romances, and the two hit it off. It doesn’t take long for things to progress between the two and then the bumps begin to appear.

I liked Hannah throughout most of the book. I think the only part I didn’t like her was when she was wallowing and that’s more because I don’t always like to read wallowing characters. She’s determined and friendly and it’s so nice to read about someone who is trying so hard to keep their dream from sinking. I didn’t really like Parker though. She seems pretty nice to fans and friends and the like but when it comes to her being with Hannah, I couldn’t stand her. She seems flakey, ready to flee at the slightest sight of trouble, and it seems almost cruel. Brayden gave her a tragic background which could excuse some of her behavior but not all of it.

I liked when the two were just friends. It was light flirting but both of them were in other relationships. It worked nicely. Part of me was kind of hoping for a complete script change and for the two to end up just being friends while dating other people.

I didn’t much care for some of the drama that Brayden wrote in. The reconciliation between the two felt forced and their first meeting after the split just felt too coincidental to be even slightly realistic. The drama that caused the split felt the most realistic and I quite enjoyed it. I kind of wish it had dragged on longer, but it worked.

I realize that I’m mentioning a lot of negative things but there were things I enjoyed about the book. I love Hannah and her bookstore and her dedication to finding everyone their “perfect match” in a book. I love her coworkers and her sister. I love the customers who come into her store. I even liked Sheila. The writing is good and Hannah is genuinely a good character to follow, I just wish Parker had been the same.

I’ve read several Melissa Brayden books and this is the first time I can remember being disappointed by one. I had hoped for something more than what I had gotten and, while I was reading it, I found myself hoping for a non-HEA ending.