Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: A Late Summer Night’s Dream
AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 79 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2019
BLURB:
Among Oxford’s dreaming spires, can a widowed professor and a wide-eyed scholar make their own dreams of love come true?
Simeon Shakespeare is living his academic dream. As an Oxford scholar, he spends his days in libraries and whiles away his nights at the theater. A mix-up over a seat number leads to a very awkward first act, but that’s nothing compared to what happens when the lights go up.
Professor Anthony Meadows is finished with love. Shattered by the death of his husband, he divides his time between his book-lined study and Oxford’s theaters. The last thing he needs is an annoying research student bickering with him over who should sit where.
When Anthony and Simeon discover they have more in common than a shared love of the Bard, it looks as though the stage is set for romance. Yet with the memory of Anthony’s lost love keeping the professor from moving on, can Simeon’s love mend his broken heart?
REVIEW:
I love romances that take place within academia, and I’m always game for an age-gap romance, especially with an older character who is apprehensive about finding love again. Simeon and Anthony didn’t exactly have a meet-cute—in fact, they had more of a meet-angry, right before a very unfortunate production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that included more longing glances at each other than at the play. A one-night stand leaves them both wanting more, but Anthony’s past has him leaving in a hurry, leaving it up to fate to bring them back together.
Once the two men went home with each other, everything happened very quickly in this story. I’d be totally content with Anthony and Simeon re-connecting and then fading to black, showing us that they were always meant to be, even if the path was rocky (with a proper name reveal for Simeon, of course). But the story dragged on a little too much and included an unnecessary epilogue. The best parts were the flirting and the slightly awkward, charming build-up to their relationship. If this was capped at a perfect 50-page short story, my rating would’ve been higher.
This is a quick read, and the characters have warm chemistry. But it doesn’t leave much of an impression in comparison to similar age-gap romances. The authors have a way with words as usual, though, so you won’t lose anything by settling in and reading this one along with their awesome “Captivating Captains” series.
RATING: 
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