Novel Problems by Elizabeth Luly is a sweet romance between a super ethical café/bookstore owner and a famous writer suffering from writer’s block.
George owns and operates Novel Gossip café and bookstore in the small town of Sapphire Springs. She’s well liked and respected by the community, her customers and her staff and one of the reasons is a strong work ethic. This very much includes never sleeping with an employee. Her newest hire is sorely testing that rule, and it gets worse every day.
Hannah flees to Sapphire Springs to hide, and hopefully write the book her editor is waiting anxiously for. She’s hiding from her editor, her ex-wife and the unceasing action of New York City, and her multitude of fans who don’t realize H.M. Stuart is a pseudonym.
Forced to leave her new, quiet sanctuary, Hannah ends up with a job at George’s store after mishearing a question. Bad enough she can’t find her hearing aid, but her new boss is a handsome golden retriever masc who ticks all her boxes.
Writing
There is a nice balance of drama, mild cliffhanging and lots of humor through the story. The humor has characters falling into mishaps that are not just funny but give a lot of character development at the same time.
The author gives the reader a set of easily relatable, real world problems for the characters to sort through. Hannah’s anxiety, self esteem issues, and hearing problems create interesting dilemmas, as does George’s strict ethics concerning dating employees. Though these kinds of issues are not unusual in a romance novel, the author does a great job of making them fresh and having serious discussions about each.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I fell in love with George and Hannah as a couple. They are not alike in most things and yet they are perfect for each other and just being near brings relief and assistance that neither of them expected to need, much less find. The author makes the reader wait for a long time for them to get really close and the journey is a treat. They often communicate at cross purposes and in this case it’s funny and was really fun when they finally got their wires uncrossed. I was mostly blown away by how very sweet their romance is. Both of them need the other so much more than they realize, and the journey to togetherness was filled with great, tender moments.
This is the second book in the series, but I never felt that was a hindrance. There is a lot of humor, and a lot of deep discussion about serious topics that didn’t feel preachy.
Heads Up
A bad episode of anxiety.
The Conclusion
Hannah goes to Sapphire Springs for the quiet and to hide from a multitude of anxiety enhancing problems, including owing her editor her newest book. She hopes the quiet will awaken her sleeping muse, and help keep her true identity from the fans of her pen name H.M. Stuart. George owns and operates the woefully understaffed café/bookstore Novel Gossip, and doesn’t realize the cute woman who wanders into her store can’t hear her properly and hires her on the spot. The problem is, the woman is her favorite author, incognito, and George refuses to date someone who works for her.
This is the second in a series but stands alone very well. The romance between George and Hannah is super sweet, as they navigate many obstacles. A lot of hilarious mishaps and quippy humor blends nicely with discussions about more serious subjects.
Excerpt from Novel Problems by Elizabeth Luly
“Is everything okay with Romina?” I asked George as I reached into the display case to pull out a cookie.
“No,” George said. Concerned, I glanced over to find her grinning. “She slightly overcooked the muffins this morning.”
I laughed. “But they look incredible.” The raspberry, white chocolate and macadamia muffins had been a big hit with customers.
“They are incredible. I had to sample one just to convince her not to throw out the entire tray, and I can vouch for it.” George’s eyes twinkled as she shook her head. “The sacrifices I have to make for this place.”
“Well, if it happens again tomorrow, I’m happy to take one for the team and volunteer up my muffin-eating skills.” God, why did that sound kind of dirty?
George laughed. “Much appreciated. But yes, Romina doesn’t take cooking failures well, so Shane and I have been giving her a wide berth all day. Sorry, I should have mentioned it.”
By late afternoon, the steady stream of customers had reduced to a trickle. In between serving the stragglers, George spent a few minutes walking me through the ordering and payment system, which, thankfully, was fairly intuitive.
By the time she’d finished, it was five p.m., and the café was officially closed.
“I know it’s a lot to take in all at once, so don’t worry if you forget it all and need me to show you again.” A hint of pink flushed her cheeks, and for the first time, she looked unsure of herself. “Sorry, I just realized I’m jumping the gun. You did a great job today. I’d love to have you on board, but are you interested in joining us?”
Say no, Hannah. N. O. Two letters. One syllable. It’s not that hard.
But my resolve weakened at the hopeful, golden retriever-like expression on George’s face.
“Yes, that would be great!” I said quickly, and for a few seconds, George’s relieved smile made everything worth it. And then the reality of my situation flooded back. What the actual fuck, Hannah?
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Series: Sapphire Springs
Not Just Gal Pals
Novel Problems
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-0-6455808-5-3
Publisher: Indie Author
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