Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. Hoover’s ( November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.Īt first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. An unnecessary late-stage plot twist feels forced and inorganic, but it’s a small misstep.Ī well-crafted and charming debut romance. Michael keeps his escorting a secret from his family and struggles to separate his own identity from that of his con-man father, but Stella judges him on his own merits. Stella is nervous about revealing her Asperger’s to Michael, but he accepts her unconditionally. Both of them are plagued with insecurities even though they are generous and nonjudgmental with each other. The initial sizzling sexual chemistry deepens into a satisfying romantic relationship. Hoang is sure-footed in her character development Michael and Stella both have robust, sympathetic stories and complicated, loving families. Michael is hesitant after a past experience with a stalker client, but he recognizes her vulnerability and is overcome by an instinct to protect her.
Stella, both deeply attracted to him and grateful for his kindness, asks him to consider a long-term arrangement. At their first appointment, Michael refuses to rush into sex with a woman so frozen with discomfort, regardless of whether or not she’s paid him. Enter Michael Phan, a man as gorgeous as any K-drama star, who abandoned his promising career as a fashion designer and started escorting to pay for his mother’s cancer treatments. Stella has never enjoyed dating or sex, so when a male colleague she’s cautiously interested in rudely suggests she should “get some practice,” she takes his advice to heart. Stella Lane’s job as an econometrician is perfectly satisfying, but now that she’s 30, her mother expects her to look for a husband and start producing babies. A woman with Asperger’s falls in love with the escort she hires to teach her about sex and relationships.
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