When divorce lawyer Jessica Barron discovers that her husband is cheating on her with their children’s nanny, she throws them out of her home. In urgent need of a new nanny, she finds the perfect replacement in Renée Arden, an enigmatic French woman owner of a childcare company in need of a temporary home after a recent breakup. After a rocky start, their relationship develops into mutual attraction but will they act on it and what will be the consequences?

This is a slow-burn romance by debut author W.A. Cooper, written in third person from both main characters’ points of view. It took me a while to adapt to her writing style that, in my opinion, interrupted the reading flow. For example, the story is presented in short-ish scenes cut with a text break without transitions. Additionally, the dialogues are often interrupted by long sentences about what the character is thinking and incidentally there is also a good amount of tell but no show.

Regarding the plot, I found it at parts unrealistic – for example, in Jessica’s coming out – and some other parts on the melodramatic side. While both main characters are well rounded and kudos to the author for featuring main 40 somethings, some of the secondary characters seem a bit stereotyped, specially the villains. All in all, the story didn’t appeal to me but I’m not that interested in plots with lots of drama and angst but I’m sure other readers will enjoy it more.

Overall an ok read from a debut author, specially if you are interested in dramatic fiction. 3 stars.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.