This blog tour is hosted by Pump Up Your Book. To view the entire schedule, click here.
In this modern-day tale inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, bright, beautiful law student Elise Halverson looks forward to a promising career. Falling in love is low in her priorities.Review:
Well-known playboy Greg Thorpe is engaged to be married when he meets Elise. He finds her so unlike the women he used to date and he’s deeply intrigued. Distrusting the image she has of him, Elise avoids him.
But Elise’s parents invite Greg to their frequent dinner parties. There, Greg and Elise butt heads. She’s surprised to find that, behind his rich playboy persona, he’s intelligent and engaging.
The night before his wedding, they give in to their mutual attraction. Although Elise expects nothing more from that night, Greg is in for trouble. His jilted fiancée strikes back, intent on revenge.
Two years later Greg and Elise get a second chance but they find that the way to their happy-ever-after is not so easy.
At the core of this women’s fiction is a literary and realistic romance spiced with a twist of mystery. Hello, My Love is Book 1 in the series Between Two Worlds, a family saga about three strong women.
When I first heard about Hello, My Love I was instantly intrigued. As any longtime reader of my reviews and/or blog knows, I love contemporary fiction. Plus, I'm always eager to read anything inspired by a Jane Austen book.
Hello, My Love was well-written and well developed. Basically, if you love slow-burning, intricate romances - this book is for you! However, I had one slight problem with it: I wasn't truly able to connect with the main characters, Greg and Elise.
Hello, My Love tells the story of Greg Thorpe and Elise Halverson. Greg Thorpe was once considered one of the most eligible bachelors. Wealthy, successful, and handsome, Greg had no problem getting what he wanted in all facets of life; however, that's all soon to change with impending marriage to a women who he really doesn't know if he loves or really even likes. Elise is law student, passionate about her schoolwork and not much else. She doesn't have the time for romance or relationships and no one has ever really managed to change her mind on the manner. That was until Greg. Thrown together by Halverson family dinners, Greg and Elise go from enemies to friends to something more....but will they get their happily ever after without tragedy?
The romance in this was well developed. Spanning over two plus years, Hello, My Love shows the ups and downs of Elise and Greg's fatal attraction. The good as well as the bad times are seen time and time again, and forever, I was left to wonder if they'd ever achieve their happily ever after. I thought Evy did a fantastic job of making this a slow-burning, intricate relationship. We first see Elise and Greg as enemies, fighting and never getting along. Then we see them as friends, or really friendly fighters, agreeing to disagree. Then we see them as something more and then again nothing and so on...It was interesting to see the book really dig deep into their relationship and the events that kept causing them to come together again.
The writing in this was also strong. I felt that Evy did a great job of situating between time periods as well as covering a very large time gap in one book. It was ambitious but well done to say the least.
There's a lot to like about Elise and Greg. They are both strong, resilient characters. I liked the fact that they both cared a great deal about their careers, especially in the case of Elise. However, I could never truly connect to them. They were likable, don't me wrong, but I could never get past the surface and forge that connection. Sometimes that made it hard for me to get through certain parts of the book.
However, even with that slight problem I had, I still suggest you give this a try if you love slow burning romance reads, similar to Jane Austen's classic tales. While Elise and Greg weren't always my cup of tea, it doesn't mean that they won't be yours!
Grade: B
Hello, My Love is now out!
Source: Publicist provided eBook for blog tour - thanks Dorothy!
Evy Journey has always been fascinated with words and seduced by beautiful prose. She loves Jane Austen and invokes her spirit every time she spins tales of love, loss, and finding one’s way—stories she interweaves with mystery or intrigue and sets in various locales. SPR (Self Publishing Review) awarded Evy the 2015 Independent Woman Author bronze for her writing.
She’s lived and traveled in many places, from Asia to Europe. Often she’s ended up in Paris, though—her favorite place in the world. She’s an observer-wanderer. A flâneuse, as the French would say.
The mind is what fascinates her most. Armed with a Ph.D., she researched and spearheaded the development of mental health programs. And wrote like an academic. Not a good thing if you want to sound like a normal person. So, in 2012, she began to write fiction (mostly happy fiction) as an antidote.
Evy’s latest book is the contemporary women’s fiction, Hello, My Love.
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Want to read an excerpt from Hello, My Love? Click read more to get a view into Elise and Greg's relationship!
