Blogmas Book Review: Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

Summary:
Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.
Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future.
Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley’s scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one’s comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

Review:
Twice Shy follows people pleaser Maybell and grumpy Wesley after they find out they have co-inherited Maybell’s great-aunt’s house. Maybell didn’t have a super great childhood. Her mom wasn’t really a stable adult, so she never had a stable home. They were always staying with relatives here or there for a week before having to find somewhere new. Maybell remembers her great-aunt’s house as one of her best memories of childhood. So, she is saddened to hear that her aunt has passed but delighted to inherit the beautiful house and property from her childhood memories. But she’s in for a surprise when she shows up at the house and it’s in complete disrepair. And also, she’s not the only one that inherited the property.
Our love interest, Wesley, has been the groundskeeper of great-aunt Violet’s property for almost five years. She’s told him that he will inherit it after she dies, so he has lots of things planned to fix up the house and the property. But of course, Maybell arrives to complicate all those plans. Wesley has social anxiety. I loved this representation so much. I love the social anxiety representation, but especially in a man. I thought it was wonderful and really well done. I loved how he explained his anxiety and panic and how Maybell reacted to learning about it as well as her behavior toward him after she learned of his social anxiety. Wesley was just a wholesome cinnamon roll and I wanted to give him a great big hug the whole book.
I really enjoyed the slow pace and build up of the romance. I didn’t think I was going to because it’s almost halfway through the book before they really start to actually interact with each other. But I think the payoff was worth the wait. I liked that the author took the time to let us get to know Maybell before we got into the romance. I also weirdly enjoyed the whole process of fixing up the house. I think there were some great opportunities for banter and playfulness between the characters and we definitely got to see that.
Overall, this was such a sweet and wholesome story. It wasn’t a hot and passionate romance. It was slow and steady, but the pay off when the pair finally admits their feelings for one another was excellent. I especially liked that there wasn’t a third-act break-up. There totally could have been, but the author took things in a different direction and I really loved how that whole situation was handled. I want a whole sequel of Maybell and Wesley running their hotel/animal sanctuary together because it will be so sweet might need to check my blood sugar afterward. I really loved this story and its characters and I cannot wait to read what the author writes next.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.