Rowena’s review of The Last Boyfriend (The Inn Boonsboro #2) by Nora Roberts.
Hero: Owen Montgomery
Heroine: Avery McTavish
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 give him grief for his compulsive list making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn’t plan for was Avery MacTavish…
Avery’s popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a firsthand look at its amazing renovation — and a newfound 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…
This is the second book in the Inns Boonsboro trilogy by Nora Roberts and its another enjoyable read. I was so excited for these books to come out because I adored the Bride Quartet but I seem to be underwhelmed with the first two books in this series. I enjoyed the easy going nature of the books but my overall reading experience left a lot to be desired. It was too easy for me to put this book down and read something else and I was bummed about that.
This book follows the second Montgomery brother to get his happy ending, Owen. Owen is the Captain Save a Hoe in the family. He’s the details guy, the guy that takes care of the little details that nobody wants to take care of. If you need help, Owens your guy. He’s a good guy with a huge heart and he looks pretty sexy in scruffy work boots and well worn jeans.
Avery runs the pizzeria across the street from the Inn. She’s got her hands full running her own restaurant, working in it and still finds time to help her friends out across the street at the Inn. Things are coming together at the Inn and she loves that she’s a part of it all. Her best friends Hope and Claire are around and she loves having them around. She’s fiercely independent but she’s not against getting some help in the form of her first boyfriend, Owen Montgomery.
There wasn’t much to the romance between Owen and Avery because right off the bat, they liked each other. They’re friends. They grew up together and they’re comfortable with each other. They came together as a “Why not?” kind of thing and I thought they made sense but I wish there would have been more to their romance than what we got. The internal conflict was enough to satisfy me but I still liked the overall book.
I spent most of the book anxious for more Ryder and Hope. I like both of their personalities because they’re so different. Ryder is pissy and rough around the edges while Hope is a control freak who is more reserved. I think their book will be an interesting read and I think their book will probably be my favorite since from the jump, they’ve been my favorite characters. I was interested in both of them since Beckett and Claire’s book and I can’t wait to finally read their story.
I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the ghost story. Her name is Liz and we find out that she’s got a story that we don’t have in its entirety yet but there’s still another book so I’m sure it’ll come together nice and neat. Right now, we think that she’s waiting for her man to come and her, he’s just taking his time about it. The other thing that I wasn’t really a fan of was the relationship that popped up between Owen’s Mom and Avery’s Dad. There isn’t much to it and if it had been more fleshed out, maybe I would have liked it but I felt like they were just thrown together with no real reason.
Overall, this book did a good job of pulling the ghost story along and bringing Owen and Avery together. I liked the little peek we got into the way Avery ran her restaurant. I also liked seeing Owen do his thing when he was at work as well. If there was more of a conflict between Owen and Avery, I probably would have enjoyed their story more but as underwhelmed as I was with this book, I’m still looking forward to reading the last book in this series. I can’t wait for Ryder and Hope’s book. I’m anxious to getting to know them and finding how about their backgrounds and pasts. It should be interesting.
Grade: 3 out of 5
This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Review sounds wonderful.
gmapeony@yahoo.com
Gmapeony
Review sounds wonderful.
gmapeony@yahoo.com
Gmapeony
The sneak peak sounds good. Haven’t read a Nora book in awhile.
patoct@yahoo.com
I’m still reading this book, but I do have a few thoughts. Like you, I enjoyed the Bride quartet, so I was looking forward to this series. For the first 40 pages, however, Avery isn’t even in it. Then the novel is pitched as a reunion story, but Avery fell for Owen at age 6, so they never even dated. Finally, NR has gotten into the bad habit of overusing abbreviations. I didn’t mind it so much in the Bride quartet, but it’s a bit much in this novel. Just call the rooms by one of the book character’s names, instead of the J&R room or the J&D room. It just is so repetitious.
My April favorite was The Witness and luckily, I didn’t have a least favorite.
Please enter me in both drawings.
penfield716(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Sorry. The last comment was meant for a different post.
I am finding this series really hard to get into. I think it is because this feels like a sales piece for the real places that NR has an interest in, the romances seem almost secondary. I know people write what they know, but this series is as you said, you can put it down, read something else and not feel guilty.
This series seems to be getting mixed reviews here. But it sounds good, so will prob give it a try.
Natalies Mama
Thanks guys!
@Pat L: Nora Roberts is hit or miss with most people but I really enjoy her books but this series hasn’t been wowing me the way her books usually do, not that it’s going to stop me from reading them. =)
I bought these books for my mom with the idea I’d read them after. But I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just re-read the Witness. lol
@Kim: I didn’t notice that but you may be right, come to think of it. With the room names, I stopped trying to remember which room went with which abbriviation almost from the very first time they started using them.
I’m going to finish this series out but it is nowhere near my favorite series by Nora.
@LAK: It took me a long time to read this book because I kept putting it down to read other books. I’m glad that I finished it but it’s not a book that I’ll ever re-read. But I am mighty curious about Ryder and Hope. I wish their book was first. lol.
@Ames: Yeah, I don’t think you’d like these books. They weren’t all that but you can bet the farm, I’ll be getting The Witness and reading that one for sure.