The Hues of Me and You by Morgan Lee Miller is a second-chance contemporary romance about being true to yourself versus doing what is expected of you.
Arlette Adair is stuck. Shes working a job she never wanted and is in a relationship with a woman whom she likes but does not love. Why? So that she can live up to her family’s expectations. Arlette has never wanted the life that has been paved for her and as much as she’s tried to escape it she just seems to slip back into the rhythm of her family’s goals.
Brooke Dawson has always paved her own path. She is a struggling freelance artist who also bartends in order to pay the rent, but at least her heart is happy! Well mostly. While bartending at an elite event she runs into her old best friend and college roommate Arlette Adair. Brooke spent the whole of college crushing on Arlette, shes the one that got away!
Now that they’ve reconnected, Brooke and Arlette quickly fall back into their easy friendship while never confronting the question as to why they didn’t fall in love 5 years ago and what they are feeling now! Can they let go of past hurts in order to not let this second chance slip away?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
This is a lovely easy to read romance. It’s low on the anguish and high on the super cute sweet moments and it was just what I needed to kick off 2023!
Arlette and Brooke are both such lovable characters who get great character growth as the story unfolds. You get the sense from the start that they are meant to be and the love, care, and respect they show each other is beautiful.
Arlette is from a powerful family and the expectations she has of her are nothing that she wants. Arlette is the ‘black sheep’ of the family because she pushes all the boundaries of family traditions and tries to follow her own path. But after years of desperately wanting her father’s approval, she starts to squeeze herself into the mold her family created for her. This improves things with her father as she is in a job he always envisioned for her and dating the girl he approves of. But, Arlette isn’t happy and it takes bumping into her former best friend paired with a talk from her much-beloved grandfather to make her realise that she can and should live her life for herself and not her family.
Brooke watched her mum struggle to get by as she grew up. Her dad walked out on them, and Brooke’s mum was left to make sure they survived. Brooke may not have had everything she desired but one thing she does have is the unwavering belief and support from her mum. Brooke is true to herself and the path she wants to travel. She navigates bumps in the road and builds on being confident in herself and what she can achieve. Brooke wears her heart on her sleeve and when she bumps into Arlette all those feelings, she has pushed down come bubbling up to the surface for all to see.
This book has a great storyline, a brilliant cast of characters, and enough of that sweet, lovely romance to keep you turning the page. I devoured it and loved it.
Cons And Heads Up
An older family member that one of the characters is very close to dies
The Conclusion
This book is sweet, beautiful and an easy read.
It’s a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance that is packed full of gorgeous moments and long talks between the MC’s that will leave you feeling happy and fill your heart.
The leading ladies are well-developed and have great character growth that makes you not want to put the book down because you just need to know what’s going to happen next.
If you like low-anguish contemporary romance then this one is for you. It’s perfect for curling up in your favourite reading spot and getting lost in all that yummy romance.
Excerpt from The Hues of Me and You by Morgan Lee Miller
“Right at seven p.m., the guests filtered into the backyard in droves. The men wore button-down shirts and ties, the women an array of colorful cocktail dresses. About a half hour in, Brooke recognized several Adairs. Congressman Henry Adair walked in holding his wife’s hand. Marc Adair’s oldest daughter, Jacquelyn, walked in with the smallest baby bump forming underneath her sky-blue dress, and her grandfather, Secretary Henry Adair Sr., slowly walked beside her.
The uncle, Congressman Henry Adair, came over to the bar and without making eye contact, said, “A French 75.”
No please or thank-you. Just the drink order.
Whenever guests forgot to use manners, Brooke always went easy on the alcohol. She made sure to do that for the congressman.
She was thankful that while she’d collected numerous stories about the Adairs throughout college, none of them knew who she was. It was better that she had never met any Adairs except the one she’d been crushing on. To them, she was just the bartender. All they expected her to do was make a satisfying drink, and that was what she did for all the guests.
“They had no idea that she knew stories about all of them.
Luckily, she kept busy for the first forty minutes, making sure every guest had their first round by the time the man of the night, Governor Marc Adair—and his wife Kathryn—joined the party. But it wasn’t the presidential candidate who captured her gaze. It was his youngest daughter. She trailed him, a tall blond woman walking next to her, and just like all those years ago, Arlette Adair stole Brooke’s attention. It felt as if the evening sun had absorbed all the heat it had given throughout the day and now dumped it all on Brooke.
Her stomach plummeted. Five years later, Arlette had somehow found a way to become even more beautiful than the memory imprinted in Brooke’s mind. Her silky, chocolate brown hair blew back in the breeze wafting from the river. She wore a white blazer over a black shirt as well as white jeans that cut off at the ankle.
Brooke tried to focus on the line of people wanting their first round, but half of her kept an eye on Arlette Adair floating through the crowd. Brooke’s black vest and long white shirt absorbed enough heat to make sweat trickle down her spine. It wasn’t even an hour into the party, and the fabric of her shirt had started collecting liquid nerves.
Her heart thrummed rapidly. She sucked in the breeze to help detangle the knots in her stomach. The anticipation of running into Arlette piled on her in layers of heat. After serving two margaritas, she downed her glass of ginger ale over ice, hoping that would ease the painful stomach knots.
How the hell was she going to get through the night in one piece?
She only had a moment to figure it out because after her ginger ale break, she faced the bar again only to find the most beautiful green eyes locked on hers.
Arlette’s dark red lips parted as the breeze combed through her long hair. “Brooklyn?” Arlette said, sounding as if Brooke’s sudden appearance had sucked the breath out of her in the same way it had to Brooke.
Brooklyn. The only person to ever call her by her full name.”
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1636792293
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
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