Published on December 10, 2020
Love is Crystal Clear is Joanna Cates debut novel and it is a refreshingly uplifting and romantic tale of self-discovery and second chances.
Henri is fifty-one and single, fifteen years after the breakup of her marriage when her husband had an affair. Danny’s relationship also ended in similar fashion when he uprooted his life only to discover his wife had been cheating on him and didn’t really love him at all. Both characters have been through enough heartache and have closed themselves off from love. But on a night out with friends, one day they meet, and sparks fly. Henri and Danny can’t stop thinking about each other. Could it be time for a second chance at love?
The beginning of the book gets the reader up to speed on the former love lives of the main characters and then in present day, initially for Henri in particular there is lots of talk about sex and little else. Early on the women in this book definitely seemed to have sex on the brain and I was looking for the story and for the romance, but Joanna Cates didn’t disappoint on this front as I grew to connect with the characters and see the depth to their feelings and how genuine they were.
The characters in Love is Crystal Clear are about to discover that life doesn’t stop when you hit the big five-oh. Henri and her friend Maggie may be going through the menopause but that doesn’t mean the end of their own stories. Joanna Cates writes about life for these women with honesty and humour. There’s plenty left for Henri and Maggie to discover including the pleasure of self-love and reinventing parts of their lives that their children and even partners had long forgotten existed for women of a certain age!
This book kept me entertained. It was fast-paced, saucy and heartfelt with likeable and engaging characters that were easy to root for and invest in their potential happy-ever-afters. I did feel that the book could have been longer as the fast pace meant at times things seemed a bit rushed when they could have been played out more. The quick pace did contribute to the feel-good vibes the book possessed but I felt like most of the obstacles for the characters happened fifteen years before the story began. For Henri and Danny there was definitely room for some more controversy in their blossoming relationship. A sweet romance always seemed on the cards, but I would have liked to have been questioning it a bit more with some drama along the way.
With that being said, it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed this book. I really warmed to the characters as they allowed themselves to open up to new feelings and new experiences. Love is Crystal Clear had me reading with a smile on my face all the way through and I couldn’t wait to get to the end just to see how things would turn out for everybody. It does seem like there are possibilities of a follow up book in the future and I would 100% love to read more.
Review copy provided by the author - this was my honest review.
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