Five Months or Forever by Jaye Robin Brown is a romance about starting over and finding love when and where it’s least expected.
Hannah Greenfeld is taking a chance. She’s quit her job and moving to South Carolina because isn’t that what you do after you call off a wedding just two weeks before the big day? She thought she’d found her person, but her fiancé decided that raising a teenager wasn’t what she wanted. Hannah is devastated. Her daughter, Jordan is devastated. Despite Jordan’s protests Hannah them up and moves to the idyllic town of Folly Beach.
Blythe Fitzgerald is on a break from life. She’s moved to the South Carolina coast to be near her family after her relationship imploded in the most public of ways. She’s traded in her career as a high-power architect for the low stress work as a handy woman, prepping rental units for an agency her sister manages. She’s found an easy groove; make repairs, take her boat out on the bay, hang out with her sister’s kids. It’s doing wonders to heal her broken heart, but she can’t help but hold out hope that one day she’ll meet Ms. Right.
When Hannah rolls up to her rental unit in Folly Beach, she’s met by and attractive butch informing her she got the cigarette smell out of her unit, and if her pipes freeze, just give her a call. There’s an immediate attraction between the two women. Hannah is just Blythe’s type, and her daughter Jordan seems like a great kid.
Blythe isn’t interested in a short-term fling, and Hannah isn’t looking for anything long-term – the tan line from her engagement ring is still obvious. But they check off everything each of them are looking for in a forever relationship. Before they know it love has blossomed. There’s a catch. Hannah’s failed to tell Blythe she promised Jordan they could move home if she’s still missing her old friends and high school at the end of the school term.
It’s either five months or forever. Are Hannah and Blythe willing to risk their hearts on a relationship with a built-in expiration date?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
First off, I love a book with a single mom and Brown writes a mother/daughter relationship that feels very authentic The emotional journey they find themselves on ebbs and flows naturally. The love story has its moments of angst, but overall, the budding romance is terribly sweet. While both women have been in very serious relationships in the past, they sort of dance and stumble around each other as if they were teenagers. Their heads tell them to take things slow, but their hearts know forever is in the offing. The book is written in first person, and I enjoyed that aspect very much. The story alternates between Hannah and Blythe’s points of view so I felt very present in the story.
Cons And Heads Up
The last chapter of the book jumps in time from the point of conflict to the happy-ever-after, and it felt very abrupt to me. I missed out on how Blythe and Hannah save their relationship. This is a sizeable con for me, but the pure charm of the story still shines through.
The Conclusion
Five Months or Forever was so easy to slide into. The main characters are delightful and watching them fall in love was the kind of magic that reminded me why I’m a romance reader. Both women on their own are engaging, but together they’re irresistible. I could feel the awkward tension between them as they danced around their feelings for each other, and I think that’s what hooked me. Love can make the most mature woman act like a teenager, and this book has all that energy. I thought it was fun, and I hope you do, too.
Excerpt from Five Months or Forever by Jaye Robin Brown
I could totally crush on this woman if I wasn’t dealing with the aftermath of a broken relationship and almost marriage. Why couldn’t it be a few months down the road—some respectable amount of time for thoughts of romance?
“Why’s that?” And there I went, being all coy, asking her to answer the question when I could have ignored her comment and brought up something else.
“Because I’m having a nice time. The company’s attractive and the conversation is easy.” Blythe lowered her eyes and dove into one of the tacos. It was cute and shy, and I could tell it probably took a lot for her to say that. But she wasn’t wrong, about the conversation anyway, and it wasn’t like she was asking me out or anything. There was no harm in being kind.
“Agreed. It’s nice to have a friend in a new town.” I took a bite of my food, knowing we’d need to eat quickly for me to make it home before the storm moved in. I didn’t emphasize the word friend, kept the delivery casual, but hoped she’d pick up on the implication and not push further.
We finished our food, split the bill, and headed back toward Blythe’s Bronco and my house.
“Will you go over to your sister’s after this?” She’d said she was going home, but maybe she was seeing someone. Flirtatious with a side of awkward shy could be her shtick.
Blythe shook her head. “Naw. To be honest, I like staying home on New Year’s Eve. It’s amateur hour. People who don’t drink much all year round get overfaced with champagne and choose to drive. I’d rather be cozy on my couch, reading a book, and falling asleep early.” She blew a breath out at the sky. “Oh boy. I’m really selling myself, aren’t I?”
I bumped her with my hip as we walked down the road. Okay, that was a move. I knew it, but my body took over of its own accord. It’d been so long since I flirted and had it reciprocated. My relationship with Lisa lost its spark early and I’d puttered along, convincing myself the stability was worth more than sex. But here was Blythe—so damn cute in her self-effacing way—and, hello, butterflies. She was practically the human equivalent of a teddy bear, and who didn’t love one of those? “Honestly, staying in sounds perfect. As soon as Jordan was born, going out lost its importance. I do love the promise of New Years and the rituals of New Year’s Day, though.”
We got to the bar we’d left earlier. A raucous crowd danced on the patio, undulating in unison, while the band blasted surf music.
Blythe smiled. “You don’t want to listen to one song? We could hang out here.” She slid closer and bumped me in return. Blood rushed into my face, and I hoped my body wasn’t emitting visible shimmers of energy in response to her casual touch.
The sky responded to my unexpected reaction with a crackling bolt of lightning that splintered across the dark clouds. This was quickly followed by a collective “whoa” from the bar crowd as we stopped next to Blythe’s car.
I did want to listen to one song. I could pretend I was young and unencumbered, that Blythe would wrap her arms around me and that we’d sway along to the music while the storm crackled around us. I’d be able to forget about my not-wedding for a night and maybe Blythe would have some fun too.
But I was not a girl anymore. I was a middle-aged, single mom who’d been recently ditched by her fiancée. As much as I was inconveniently attracted to Blythe, the timing was piss poor.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9798986176918
Publisher: Two Fox Fiction
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