TOUGH LOVE

In this romance, an overworked lawyer cares for her grandmother with the help of a handsome doctor.

Mia Anderson works for her father’s law firm, mediating nasty divorces, and lives in the guest house of her parents’ home. For Mia, work-life balance doesn’t exist. Her first vacation in years, to Hawaii with her best friend, Joanie, is interrupted on the first day when Mia’s workaholic parents call her back to Washington state to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother Dorothy. Dorothy lives in the small town of Alpine Ridge, just outside of Seattle. Mia soon meets, and immediately clashes with, Nate Edwards, a former plastic surgeon who left facade-heavy Los Angeles for a simpler life in Alpine Ridge and now regularly checks in on Dorothy. Inspired to quit her job at her father’s firm, Mia throws herself into caring for cancer-stricken Dorothy and indulges her long-overlooked passions for cooking and baking as she contemplates an uncertain future. Mia and Nate grow close, united in their love for the delightful, spirited Dorothy, whose sickness is much worse than the woman initially let on. As the pair’s relationship evolves from friendship to love, Mia finds herself at a crossroads: return to a city life that’s soul-sucking but familiar, or forge a new path with a man who cares deeply for her? Smith, a former lead engineer for Boeing, weaves a charming tale from the dual perspectives of Mia and Nate, two intelligent and hardworking individuals whose lives haven’t exactly gone according to plan. Mia’s struggle in particular is extremely relatable, as she reflects on a career and life she never really wanted in the first place and deals with bewilderment over what may come next. Though the couple’s first sexual encounter leads to confusion—a plot twist that feels both potentially triggering and unnecessary to the story—their physical relationship is otherwise depicted in sensual yet loving terms. Dorothy is a lovely supporting character, nurturing yet stubborn, with her own plans for Mia and Nate.

A sweet, sexy read with two compelling lovers.