Review: Love in the Afternoon by Karen Hawkins

Author: Karen Hawkins

Publication date: June 17, 2019

eBook - Price: $1.99 - ISBN: 9781982105587

 Young widow Sofia Rodriquez has just accepted the position of greenhouse manager for Ava Dove’s booming herbal tea business. Sofia is delighted to have found a job that will make use of her gardening skills and allow her to spend time with her son, Noah, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s. Adding to her joy is the charming farmhouse she’s renting on the edge of Dove Pond.

The only cloud on Sofia’s horizon is her next door neighbor, Jake, whose yard is a thorny jungle worthy of Sleeping Beauty. Soon enough, Sofia discovers that Jake himself is just as thorny and unpleasant as his yard.

After his fiancé left him, work-from-home IT whiz and game developer Jake Klaine has gone from Prince Charming to complete hermit. But Jake isn’t really alone; he’s living with a ghost: a (formerly) hairy man named Doyle who’s a fan of bad puns and who refuses to leave Jake’s bathtub. This is nothing new for Jake, as he’s been talking to ghosts since he was a boy. He finds real people harder to deal with, like the kid next door who won’t stop bugging him about the new game he’s developing.

Love in the Afternoon is a novella in the Dove Pond series.  It's a sweet, slow burn romance involving a man who has shut himself off from the outside world and a woman trying to make a new home for herself and her child.  If you enjoy clean romances, then you will probably enjoy this one.  Even though it's a short book, I felt like the author took the time needed for us to watch the couple fall in love with each other. It never felt rushed. I also enjoyed the relationship between Jake and Noah, Sofia's son.  

There is also a bit of a paranormal element to the story.  Apparently Jake can see ghosts.  One ghost in particular won't seem to leave his bathtub.  The ghost, Doyle, added a bit of humor to the story.  There also seem to be some other characters in the town that posses some other worldly "gifts".  The Book Charmer (Book 1 in the series) looks like it features a librarian who can sense just the right book for a person when they need it the most.   This novella did hold up well as a stand alone though. 

If you are looking for something enjoyable to read on a rainy afternoon, I do recommend this novella.