Title: Between the Lines
Series: New Milton: Book Three
Author: Sally Malcolm
Publisher: Carina Press
Length: 73k Words
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: Between the Lines was such a good read. I wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out!
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Theo Wishart has given up on finding love.
Luca Moretti doesn’t want to find it.
A handful of summer days may change their lives forever—if they’re brave enough to look between the lines.
Eyes might be windows to the soul, but for Theo Wishart they’re all shuttered. His dyspraxia makes it hard to read people. He doesn’t do relationships and he certainly doesn’t do the great outdoors. Two weeks spent “embracing beach life” while he tries to close the deal on a once great, now fading seaside hotel is a special kind of hell.
Until Luca. Gorgeous, unreachable Luca.
Luca Moretti travels light, avoiding all romantic entanglements. Estranged from his parents, he vows this will be his last trip home to New Milton. His family’s hotel is on the verge of ruin and there’s nothing Luca can do to save it. He’s given up on the Majestic, he’s given up on his family and he’s given up on his future.
Until Theo. Prickly, captivating Theo.
No mushy feelings, no expectations, and no drama—that’s the deal. A simple summer fling. And it suits them both just fine. But as the summer wanes and their feelings deepen, it’s clear to everyone around them that Theo and Luca are falling in love. What will it take for them to admit it to themselves—and to each other?
Review: Sally Malcolm’s latest novel, Between the Lines, was so lovely, you guys. I didn’t know for sure what to expect, as I hadn’t read her before, but am so delighted I decided to pick this one up. Between the Lines is set in the fictional seaside town of New Milton, as are Perfect Day, and her new holiday novella, Love Around the Corner, but all the books can be read as standalones. And, you can bet I’ll be reading the others as soon as possible! I was charmed by Malcolm’s writing, and by Luca and Theo, the MCs in this story.
It’s been a long time since Luca Moretti has been back to his childhood home of New Milton. His mother hurt him deeply when she married the man who called Luca’s “lifestyle” a sin, even after he asked her not to, and he’s spent the last five years as an itinerant surf instructor during the summer, and wayward snowboarder and hotel worker in the off-seasons. He’s come home now, though, ostensibly for the last time, as his mom is planning to sell the Majestic, the hotel that has been in their family for three generations. Yet another decision he can’t forgive her for. Luca doesn’t agree with selling the hotel, but he did agree to come meet with the representative from Lux, the company who is planning to purchase and tear down the Majestic, and put a cheesy, cookie-cutter golf resort in her place.
Theo Wishart, the person Lux Properties has sent to try to close the deal on the Majestic, is trying to make his own mark in the company, which is owned by his father, but from the beginning of the book it seems pretty obvious that Theo’s heart is not really in it. He wants to be taken seriously, and undoubtedly wants to make his father proud, but Theo is no shark; that much also becomes clear early on. Luca’s mom, Jude, is resigned to sell, but she would much rather have Luca take over running the hotel, so she sets a plan in motion to see if she can’t change the outcome of the situation. She asks Theo to stay in New Milton, at the Majestic, for two weeks, in the hopes that he will fall in love with the place, and perhaps convince Lux to refurbish rather than tearing it down.
What follows is a fun, sweet, sexy, enemies-to-lovers story filled with heart and hope, with some family drama and emotion mixed in. Luca can’t deny his attraction to Theo, and after confirming that his interest is returned, he comes up with a no-strings-attached deal for the time Theo is in New Milton. No feelings…no expectations…Except, we all know how those things usually turn out, right? Heh. I loved these guys together. I loved the visions that kept popping into Theo’s mind for the hotel, and I loved watching Luca’s walls come down.
I also have to mention the care Malcolm took with writing about a significant part of Theo’s character. We learn early on that Theo has dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that affects many aspects of a person’s life. In the book, Theo gives Luca such a perfect description of a major part of the disorder, which is the inability to read people: he says, “You ever hear the expression ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’? Well, to me, all the blinds are down.” I thought that was so brilliant. And, I absolutely adored the way Luca dealt with the information, and the care he took with Theo after learning about it. So, so good.
Between the Lines was such a good read. I was a bit worried for a minute that I’d have trouble jumping into a summer book in the middle of December, but Luca and Theo made it easy. I wholeheartedly recommend checking this one out! And, if you loved Finn and Josh from Perfect Day there’s a treat for you in this book also. 😉 Happy reading!
You can buy Between the Lines here:
[zilla_button url=”https://www.carinapress.com/shop/books/9781488036200_between-the-lines.html” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Carina Press [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://books2read.com/BetweentheLines” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon & Other Booksellers [/zilla_button]