It Happened One Night, is an angst-filled story of two sisters that reads more like women's fiction than contemporary romance. The plot had potential, but ultimately I didn't care for either sister and can't recommend the book.
Sisters Lana and Karin run the Wildflower Barn in Vermont. It's a wondrous place where people can buy seeds, flowers, and various accessories, and take wildflower walks. While Lana loves flowers, she secretly plans to leave Vermont as soon as her sister has a baby. However, despite trying for years, Karin and her husband haven’t succeeded. In contrast, Lana doesn't want children, she wants adventure. Yep, you can see this one coming a mile away.
After a sexual encounter with a man she barely knows, Lana discovers she’s pregnant. Wracked with shame and guilt, she fears that it will change her relationship with her sister, to say nothing about how her best friend Eli will react.
Poor Eli. He and Lana have been friends for years. He has finally decided to tell Lana that he loves her, only to discover her having sex with another man. Although somewhat supportive, Eli soon distances himself from Lana and begins dating someone else.
Eli is a true Beta hero. I would have enjoyed more focus on him, and less on the sisters. We spend a great deal of the book inside the heads of Lana and Karin, as they’re alone and trying to grapple with various problems. Unfortunately, I can’t say I especially liked either one. The dialog is minimal, with seemingly page after page of descriptions of what the characters are thinking, what they’re feeling, and what they want to do.
The author did evoke strong emotions. Lana and Karin lived a heartbreaking childhood, ignored by their father as he ran a boarding house for transients. While their history is interesting, I found the secondary story in which dad comes to town distracting.
As for the romance, there was too much push and pull in Lana and Eli’s relationship for me to enjoy. Lana pushes Eli away, and then wants him by her side. Eli distances himself and starts dating someone else, but still longs for Lana.
I found all the doubts, unhappiness, and angst to be overwhelming. Although no one is tortured, they’re all miserable in their lives and relationships. While I liked Eli at first, I got tired of him as well, and just wanted the book to end. It’s not horrible, but it just didn’t work for me.
Sensuality: Subtle
Publication Date: 2009
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