16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers is a fun romance with plenty of dogs (and cats), a healthy dollop of angst, and a few clumsy encounters worthy of a nineties rom-com.
Macy Carr surrounds herself with animals to fill the hole left by the death of her soulmate. She’s happy with her life that includes staging houses, dinner parties with her antique loving best friend, walks in the park with her three dogs, and hanging with her nephews. She’s already had her one great love and she’s okay with that.
Brooke Sullivan has just landed a great job as a high-end real estate agent which means moving to a brand-new city and leaving her family behind. She loves her conservative family, but what she doesn’t love is their constant dismissal of her bisexuality. She is career focused and doesn’t have time for distractions like her constantly arguing neighbors or the stray cat that won’t leave her alone.
Macy and Brooke are thrown together with Macy staging the property Brooke is tasked with selling. Unfortunately, they don’t really get off to a great start. Even so, neither can deny the powerful physical attraction between them.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I only listen to audiobooks when I’m driving alone or doing my groceries, but this book had me wanting to take an extra trip or two just to see what happened next. More than once, my wife found me hanging out in the car after doing groceries while I waited for a chapter to finish.
I’m a huge sucker for a book with animals, and also a huge sucker for a book with an adorable little klutz like Macy.
There’s a little nod in the book to the world of another Beers’ book which is charming.
The supporting characters are great and I’m especially fond of Macy’s nephew who is just the sweetest teen and ready to school Macy on anything and everything.
I loved Lori Prince’s narration with one exception noted below.
Cons And Heads Up
There’s a subplot revolving around Brooke’s neighbors that I didn’t particularly enjoy. I don’t know where I was expecting this subplot to go, but it didn’t really feel like it went anywhere. Instead, it’s just these occasionally heard snippets of emotional abuse (at the least) with a vague notion of friendship by the end of the book.
In terms of the narration, I could not stand the voice used for Macy’s best friend Lucas. Every scene he was in, I had trouble taking him seriously.
The Conclusion
If you’re a fan of Georgia Beers, this is a solid read. I’ve read many of Beers’ books and I’d put this one in the top five. Macy and Brooke are cute together, the animals are all adorable, and I came away with that warm, fluffy feeling that I want from every romance novel I read.
TLDR (too long didn’t read)
Neither Macy or Brooke is looking for love, but neither can deny their attraction. This is a solid contemporary romance from Beers that gave me the warm and fuzzies.
Excerpt from 16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers
Much as she loved solitary moments like this, solitary activities, that was the drawback, wasn’t it? Too much quiet, too much time for thinking. For recalling. For regretting. Sometimes, when she walked to clear her head, her head actually ended up more crowded than when she’d started out. Just as she began to worry that today was going to be one of those instances, she was startled by a small, four-legged black creature who literally jumped into her lap.
“What the—?” Brooke flinched and the creature—a dog, she could see now, a terrier—turned to look at her with the most soulful brown eyes she’d ever seen in something that wasn’t human. “Well. Hello there,” she said quietly. “You scared me.”
To its credit, the dog tilted its furry black head in a move that looked almost apologetic, then swiped its tongue across her chin.
“Aw, that was nice. Thanks.”
The dog—she craned her neck down to look at its undercarriage—was a he and had no collar. Out of breath, he did a little bit of adjusting and lay right down in her lap, his front paws hanging over Brooke’s knees like that was a regular position for him, and he lay there all the time.
“No, seriously, make yourself comfortable.” How could she not smile at this guy? He was adorable, all scruffy and cute. Remembering the inkblot of a stray cat on her patio, who had made another appearance last night, she muttered, “Am I the lady all the lost black animals come to? Am I wearing a sign? Is there a Lost Black Animals network with my name on a list?” The dog was panting like he’d run a marathon, and Brooke swiveled her head, looking around for a panicked dog owner. “Why don’t you have a collar, buddy? Hmm? Did you run away?” He was well-groomed, if not due for a haircut, and well-fed, and Brooke figured somebody was probably missing him. Just as she slid her cell phone out of her pocket to do a search on local shelters, she heard a voice calling out in a frantic pitch.
“Angus! Angus! Here, boy!”
The dog’s ears pricked up.
“Oh, is that you?” Brooke asked. “Are you Angus?” He sat up and looked at her.
“Angus,” she said again, and he tilted his head in the cutest display of listening she’d ever seen.
“Angus!”
“I think your mommy is looking for you.” Brooke and the dog both looked to the right where the voice came from. And Brooke’s eyes went so wide, she could feel them.
Macy.
She stopped, and they looked at each other. Macy wore light-colored jeans that looked so soft, Brooke wondered if they were her favorites. A red hoodie under a Carhartt jacket, a navy-blue hat, black gloves, boots. She was the epitome of mismatched, and the first word that came to mind for Brooke was adorable. Macy looked adorable. In her hand were three leashes. One led to a large golden retriever who was apparently trying hard to get to Brooke without pulling Macy off her feet. The second was attached to a small dachshund who didn’t seem at all interested in Brooke. Or anybody, for that matter. The third dangled from Macy’s hand, a red-and-black plaid collar attached to the end of it.
“What are you doing here?” Macy asked, then seemed to almost wince, as if she’d heard her words and realized how they sounded.
“Being a seat for your dog, apparently. Hi.”
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Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9781635557626
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
- Audiobook Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
- Narrator: Lori Prince
- Georgia Beers Online
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