5-star read – Professor Romance

Overall Grade: A

Tropes: unrequited love; small town romance; found family

Without a doubt, Devney Perry’s Sable Peak, the final book of her The Edens series, is phenomenal. In totality, this series has been a breath of fresh air in romance reading over the past year as it focuses on a generational family, the central focus of a small town in Montana. But Sable Peak did something that the other books in the series, even more than the other books in Perry’s booklist, don’t: change her formula.

For the most part, Perry follows a pretty standard 3 act structure with some type of separation of her MMC and FMC at the 80% mark. Many romance authors follow this narrative structure, and we, the readers, love it…except that it can be tiresome. With Sable Peak, Perry’s structure still follows a 3 act structure, but the packaging looks a bit different. Add to it the unrequited love of Vera, an exceptionally complex character in her stable of characters, and it makes for emotional peaks and valleys between Mateo, her MMC, and Vera. Perry first creates the tension through Vera’s point of view when she realizes Mateo only sees her as a friend or sister-figure. Perry stays away, at the beginning of the story, from flipping between Vera’s and Mateo’s points of view, instead building the tension of her story solely through Vera’s point of view. I found it compelling. Once the inciting incident begins, the story between Vera and Mateo ignites and turns into the type of story we love from Perry. Adding in the complication of Vera’s relationship with her father simply adds another layer of tension to the story, actually drawing Vera and Mateo closer together.

Everything you love about a Devney Perry romance is found in Sable Peak: a sweet, yet spicy romance set in a small-town setting, a family that loves beyond its members, and an ending that steals your breath as her FMC and MMC find their way to an epic happily-ever-after. This time, Devney Perry broke her mold a bit, and it worked for her (at least it did for this reader). Here’s to hoping for more story experimentation while offering the type of romances we expect from her.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Tropes: runaway bride; single dad; dad of twins; forced proximity; grump/sunshine; opposites attract

“It’s me choosing you —- just you. As you are.”

Thus far, in the month of May, Melanie Harlow’s Runaway Love is my favorite romance book. This is part Runaway Bride, Sound of Music, and Notting Hill. Two tropes that instantly grab my attention are found in this book: single dad and grump/sunshine. And Austin, Harlow’s MMC, is drawn as deliciously hot, but a grumpyumpleton to his core. Harlow balances his curmudgeon nature with two precocious twins and a family who humbles him daily. Her FMC, Veronica aka Roni, challenges him, through her sunny disposition, to recognize his self-sacrifice and consider choosing his dreams. Conversely, Austin helps Roni recognize the importance of expecting people to love her on her terms. As they work through their separate issues, Harlow infuses spice and humor, sweetness and challenge to engage her readers’ feelings, and the combination of these things causes the reader to gobble the book. At least, I did. Austin and Roni excited me, and I didn’t realize that I’d been missing the draw of reading until I fell into Austin ad Roni’s story. I felt indignant for Roni’s betrayal, cheered Austin’s sister when she decided to invite Roni to be a nanny for Austin’s children, grew annoyed with Austin’s instant judgment of Roni, became elated when Roni showed her beautiful soul, was titillated by Austin and Roni’s chemistry, and grew emotional as both Austin and Roni recognized that he needed to choose himself and his dreams and she needed to be chosen period.

Grab Melanie Harlow’s Runaway Love if you need something to read that feeds your soul. This book will make you laugh, become misty-eyed, and fog your glasses all in one pass. This book is a total homerun.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Tag: 5-star read

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Devney Perry’s Sable Peak, the final The Edens series romance ✍🏻

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Melanie Harlow’s Runaway Love ✍🏻