She’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that.
After a failed engagement and her mother’s battle with cancer, Charlotte Carter’s life is finally turning around now that she’s landed a dream job teaching music. What she didn’t see coming was the imminent closure of the school’s music program. She’s determined to save it, even if it means getting creative. There’s no way she’s chalking this up as just another failure in her book of recent embarrassments.
Zach Bryant is back in town just long enough to see his brother Ben get married and then he’s off traveling the world again. He never imagined he’d run into Charlotte Carter, his brother’s ex-fiancé, or that everyone would believe he and Charlotte are an item. He certainly didn’t dream he’d end up riding a tandem bicycle hundreds of miles with her in an attempt to raise funds for a defunct music program, but how can he say no when the prize money would help him out of his financial predicament too?
Charlotte is sure she can set aside her differences with Zach long enough to cross the finish line and win the giant cash prize . . . can’t she? A few hundred miles in, she’s questioning her deeply held assumptions about Zach and wondering if maybe tandem biking is only the start of their biggest adventure yet.
My Review:
I don’t even know where to start…except to say that I laughed my way through the entire book. And not just mild bubbles of mirth but frequent full out belly laughs which leads me to my first reader warning: Do not read this book in public. I did, since I walk and listen, and I was enthusiastically enjoying C.J. Bloom’s narration which resulted in staccato bursts of chuckles, high-pitched peels of laughter, and even the occasional oh so embarrassing snort chortle which caused dogs to bark and pedestrians to cross over to the other side of the street. My standing in the neighbourhood is now in question but I don’t even care.
So – 5 stars plus a billion more! Impeccable comedic pacing delivered masterfully by the narrator to bring the most impact and ensure my 15 facial smile muscles got a coordinated workout. All the way through. And it never got absurd…well, okay it did but it didn’t feel like it. The way Charlotte and Zach’s situation snowballed out of control made for an epic farce. Excellent combination of physical comedy and smart banter with a healthy dose of zaniness just because.
But there’s so much heart in this story too. Emotional depth and great character development as Zach and Charlotte wrestle with angst and past trauma. Somehow the author manages to strike the right balance between the heavy and the light which made ‘Love in Tandem’ not only an entertaining read, but an impactful one as well.
Love a good fake dating trope with all the ensuing romantical complications and this one is outstanding! Plus, we’re given a secondary plot line featuring Charlotte’s sister which was just as compelling and a whole lot quirky. These sisters don’t know how to do ‘normal.’
As I mentioned, I listened to the audio edition and I really think C.J. Bloom’s performance amped up my ‘reading’ enjoyment that much more. Brilliant choice of narrator and she did these characters justice.
My thanks to the publisher, RB Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.
GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:
This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.
US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice
Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice
International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.
If you would like a chance to win a copy of Love in Tandem, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 6 2024.
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