Beautiful Things by Emma L. McGeown

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I wanted to DNF several times while reading. I got to nearly 90% and had to throw in the towel.

The writing is bland and we’ve got two people who meet at 18 and spend a few hours together over a couple of days, again several years later for a few hours while having dinner, and again several years after that while both are in Italy for different reasons. I couldn’t feel any real connection or chemistry between them so the idea that they were in love at any point felt unbelievable.

Here’s the blurb:

How many chances do you get at a love that lasts forever?

In the summer of 2010, Niamh is pouring drinks at a Greek bar, trying to savor her last taste of freedom before college. Harriet is enduring a family holiday from hell. Their worlds collide one magical night sparking a whirlwind summer romance of discovery, only to be torn apart by family and circumstance.

Years later, in the heart of London, their paths cross again. They’re older and wiser but neither has forgotten what could have been, and their connection is undeniable. But life has moved on, things are complicated, and the timing still isn’t right. Or is it?

A warmhearted romance of missed chances, undeniable chemistry, and a stubborn love that maybe, just maybe, can find its way back.

I LOVE second chance romances. They are my favorite. This book doesn’t really fit that since there’s no way there was some deep attachment that could have happened in such a short amount of time without something traumatic or other reason that would heighten emotions. You know what I mean. Those situations that bond people together. Meeting someone in a bar and losing your virginity to them and then not speaking to them again for 6 or 8 years doesn’t really speak to love…

Beyond the not really 2nd chance romance, the characters were flat and nothing much of note really happens. This is still an ARC so the typos and such should be fixed but there’s nothing that could be done, as far as I’m concerned, to make this an interesting or gripping read.

I wondered if this is a debut novel but when I checked, the author has several books out – one of which I DNF’d after the second scene because of the writing. I should have checked before I requested the ARC from BSB and NetGalley.

As always, though, there are other reviews that show how much folks enjoy this book. I’m just not one of them.

Still, I thank Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Beautiful Things.



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