Good as Gold by Sarina Bowen

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Title: Good as Gold
Author: Sarina Bowen
Published by: Indie
Release Date: June 1, 2023
Format: eARC
Pages: 312
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: the author
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 COYER Chapter 2
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

A swoony, heart-wrenching small-town romance .

Leila:

What I meant to do: Quietly divorce my lout of a husband and then have a child all on my own.

What happens instead: My crush comes back to town when I’m at my most vulnerable. After too many cocktails, I ask him to be my baby’s father.

In my defense, it’s been a rough couple of months. Seeing Matteo Rossi again after fourteen years has done a number on my emotions. And my libido.

In the morning, I’m hoping he’s forgotten the whole thing. But no such luck. In fact, Matteo has a few clarifying questions. And a few naughty ideas, too…

Matteo:

What I meant to do: visit Vermont for my brother’s wedding. Make amends to my family, and mourn the loss of a friend.

What happens instead: a hot affair with the one who got away. But it can’t last. My life is two thousand miles away, and Leila deserves everything. She’s as good as gold.

My Review:

I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

3.5 stars — Is it the cold?  Is it me?  A bit of both?  Basically this review was written while sick, and I’m still too tired to clean it up and do this book justice.  But the rating speaks more than my words, I still rounded up.

This was a solid romance, but I wasn’t blown away.  There were parts that were absolutely fantastic.  I ached seeing Matteo struggling with his grief and guilt, and the good life he had built in Colorado and then struggling when his life was changing and how to make that work.  I really enjoyed the interaction between Matteo and his family…how they were hurt, but that they quickly devolved into teasing.

But so much of the story just didn’t wow me.  It felt like going through the motions.  But did it?  I honestly don’t know, Lenore is conflicted.  Lenore is sick and Lenore doesn’t know what she thinks.

While I felt like the past relationship had moments of shining where I saw where the misunderstandings happened, they were also a bit predictable to me.  They had a few moments of talking through it, but not as much as I was expecting.  It really firmly placed their previous feelings as more crush than love for me.

On the other hand, I loved the way Matteo stepped in and volunteered for the job.  I thought they were adorable together in their steamy moments, and I loved seeing how comfortable they were with one another, but also how much chemistry they had.

I wasn’t really impressed with the Rory line.  I guess it made them both look human, but the fact that they never really dealt with him made it feel like a filler side story, and I don’t feel like it added.  It showed him treating Leila like crap, but her barely sticking up for herself.  And even Matteo never really dealt with it.  Maybe that’s like real life, but I guess I was expecting romance story wrap up.

I also didn’t like Leila’s father and the fact that that was never dealt with at all — he was borderline abusive (though maybe I was reading more into that), and I get that we’re being set up for other books, but I wish someone had stepped in for Leila at least a bit more than just Matteo.

Honestly, I really don’t know what I’m thinking, I just remember feeling happy, but not wowed.  Like it didn’t have that extra I was looking for.  But I am super nitpicky lately, so maybe me.