Title: Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Mira
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 432 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Meet Dorothy Jarrow: devotedly unsexy librarian
Buttoned-up book lover DJ is all sensible shoes, drab skirts and studious glasses. After an ill-advised spring-break-fueled fling left her mortified, she’s committed to her prim and proper look. When she’s hired by a rural library in middle-of-nowhere Kansas, she finally has the lifestyle to match—and she can’t wait to get her admin on.
But it’s clear from day one that the small-town library is more interested in circulating rumors than books. DJ has to organize her unloved library, win over oddball employees and avoid her flamboyant landlady’s attempts to set her up with the town pharmacist. Especially that last part—because it turns out handsome Scott Sanderson is her old vacation fling! She is not sure whether to be relieved or offended when he doesn’t seem to recognize her. But with every meeting, DJ finds herself secretly wondering what it would be like to take off her glasses, unpin her bun and reveal the inner vixen she’s been hiding from everyone—including herself.
The Review:
Pamela Morsi’s Love Overdue is an absolutely fabulous novel and I savored every word of this entertaining and engaging story. This captivating romance is full of charming and quirky characters that are incredibly life-life and likable. The small town setting gives the story a warm, cozy feeling and adds to the story’s appeal.
Scott Sanderson and D.J. (Dorothy Jarrow) are wonderfully developed protagonists. Both have emotional baggage from their respective pasts but they are both pretty well adjusted and happy with the direction their lives have taken. D.J. is introverted but she is not shy. While she is a little overwhelmed by the town’s attention when she first arrives, she is enthusiastic about her new job and ready to put down roots in the small town.
Scott is an endearing hero and an all around great guy. He is close to his family and he loves carrying on the tradition of working in the family pharmacy. His marriage to his high school sweetheart ended in divorce and while he has been involved in a casual fling or two, Scott is no hurry to settle down again.
The secondary cast of characters is also superbly developed. One of my favorites is Scott’s mom, Viv. She is still deeply grieving the loss of her husband, and she is is having a difficult time moving on. She has an ulterior motive for hiring D.J. and she is quite determined to play matchmaker for D.J. and Scott.
The romance between D.J. and Scott is slow moving and takes a backseat for most of the novel. D.J. misinterprets some key information about Scott and she definitely has the wrong impression of him for a lot of the story. However D.J. slowly lets down her guard and an easy friendship develops between them. There is plenty of sexual tension as both of them fight their attraction to one another.
Love Overdue is a light, angst free novel. In a refreshing change of pace, there are no big emotional scenes and no big misunderstandings between Scott and D.J. The resolution of one of the storylines feels a little abrupt, but the timing of it makes it a non-issue for Scott and D.J. Pamela Morsi wraps up the story with a lovely epilogue that is quite heartwarming.
