HOME SWEET SONOMA

James and Parrish’s debut romance follows a workaholic San Franciscan who finds love in the country.

Catherine “Kitty” Taylor has life figured out, or so she thinks. The marketing firm she took over from her late, beloved father is on the verge of a multimillion-dollar merger, and her lawyer, Nick Dylan, is also her lover. Life in the Bay Area is sweet as can be, with plenty of work, play, and Kitty’s favorite stress reliever, shopping. So what if her potential new partner is both sexist and handsy and Nick keeps pressuring Kitty to move to New York? Meanwhile in Sonoma, Kitty’s mother, Gracie, is busy running a store and renovating the old church that is her home with the help of her adoring boyfriend, Wyatt Dalton, and handsome handyman Daine Shepherd. But when Kitty shows up for Gracie’s birthday party, tragedy strikes. Kitty makes a spontaneous decision to move her business to her mother’s home in Sonoma and finds herself connecting with Daine, who harbors feelings for Kitty but has secrets of his own. Meanwhile, Nick—who isn’t happy with the sudden changes in Kitty and wonders if he should propose—is having an affair with local cafe owner Claire. The plot is standard boy-meets-girl fare, but the predictability is comforting, and the story unfolds naturally in the midst of a lovely, folksy setting. Each character is fully realized, and emotional moments ring true. Though a few of Kitty’s traits are established and never developed—her superstitious nature and lack of body confidence among them—she’s a relatable lead, smart and enterprising. Far from a cardboard love interest, Daine too is multifaceted, facing his own demons of former music superstardom cut short by drug addiction.

A sweet, heartfelt love story that reinforces real-deal values through an intelligent woman and her smoldering beau.