Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: In The Weeds
SERIES: A New Leaf Romance
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 244 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2022
BLURB:
Florist to the stars Vin Robbins is in high demand in LA, but he hates working for someone else. When he returns to his Pennsylvania home to help his widowed father, he finds an opportunity he never expected with his first love, but learns that someone’s been taking advantage of the unused family greenhouse.
Casey Lombard wasted too much of his life denying who he is and what he wants, but he won’t do that any longer. His biggest regret is letting Vin go, so running into Vin again when he gets called to investigate who planted pot on Vin’s family’s property sends him reeling.
Vin ignites feelings Casey thought long dead. But Casey has a daughter, and Vin is only home for a visit. Surely the bright lights of Hollywood will call him back to the City of Angels, so how can Vin and Casey build the life they both wish they had?
REVIEW:
One of the things I have always appreciated about this author was the way he writes children. I like that they are not written as mini adults, but as children. It occurs to me, however, especially in this book, that the children are too perfect to be entirely realistic. There are no tears or tantrums, no misbehaviour and no pushing limits or buttons. Brianna is pushing the boundaries of being a realistic child, and although I know full well that little girls can be extremely precocious, Brianna comes across as a little too grown up, especially in her reaction to her mother and to Vin. I would have thought that meeting her mother for the first time in two years, followed by her father starting a relationship with someone else would be met with more than just simple acceptance.
That being said, I loved the romantic element of the book. There is a good spatter of excitement from Casey’s job as police officer, and the sudden arrival of his ex, and Brianna’s mother, Alicia with her unnerving new man. However, most of the conflict, as usual, is mental and emotional. With Vin back for a visit of only a week the relationship seemed doomed from the start, and although they start strong they gradually cool off because of fear of being hurt when Vin leaves.
Then there is the matter of Vin’s parents’ flower shop. It had been their pride and joy until Vin’s mother died when it fell into disrepair as his father was unable to face it without his one true love.
The relationship between Vin and Casey has ups and downs, but they are gentle ones. Clearly, there was going to be a happy ending, but it was difficult to see how that could be achieves as both had good reasons for being tied to their own places – Casey in Pennsylvania and Vin in LA.
I very much enjoyed the dynamic between all the characters, and especially Casey, Vin and Brianna. There was as much depth as always and a good, strong story to carry us through. There is a good mix of emotional drama and real-life drama and a number of smaller story arcs that played out alongside the main one.
Another solid, feel-good story that is perfect for coffee-time or to wind down at the end of the day.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Review […]