Her Ex’s Secret By Tricia Saxby

A Contemporary Romance Novel published by Pete’s Press (11/20/2024)

Summary:

Karen dreams of turning her design hobby into a career but first, she has to get her foot in the door. She plans to start at the bottom. The bottom is as an intern at Vale Designs in New York even though she has much more knowledge and skills than any other intern. Leo is a playboy to the highest extreme living the life of the rich and carefree at his Tuscany estate when he decides to take a short job as a photographer in New York. The same New York as Karen. The same Vale Designs as Karen. The same Karen that he used to date and then ran away without explanation five years ago.

Keywords:

Contemporary, Romance, Fashion Design, New York, Evil Boss, Exes, Winter, Photography

My Review:

First Reviewed through Reedsy Discovery.

“Sometimes women need to hear the words and see the struggle. It means more to us than any fancy gift.” (Page 292).

Leo still feels guilty for leaving Karen without a word, but not enough to try to reconcile until their second chance meet cute. This is a quick read, coming in at a word count lower than a typical romance. The two main characters, Leo and Karen, already have a past as they are exes and don’t need as much middle chunk of the book to slowly fall in love. The spark of attraction is still alive but Leo will have to show Karen that he’s not just going to run away again.

Leo is not an immediately likable character. He will have to redeem himself in Karen’s eyes and the reader’s eyes in order to become the dreamy romantic lead we fall in love with.

Nat is the surface-level villain. The nasty little witch with an ego as big as the city she lives in. Her backstory may be short but it also involves Leo and she is one major Drama Queen. She is clearly the antagonist, a bully, and ready for her comeuppance.

From the POV switching between Karen and Leo, we get a true sense of how they view themselves and each other. Leo points out Karen’s glaring fault and has to see from her perspective even though we’re in his head. Karen downplays herself out of self-preservation and because she’s been ignored and passed over for years. Leo thinks her self-esteem is not what it used to be and wants her to stick up for herself. Karen doesn’t trust Leo after what happened in the past and even though his actions today show him to be a standout swoon-worthy gentleman, can she trust the new Leo?

There are many gems sprinkled throughout this fast-paced novel that made me slow down and appreciate the writing. “He wore his guilty conscience like a cloak, even after all this time. If anything, it weighed more than ever before.” (Page 76). If you want a quick exes-to-lovers romance, then you might enjoy this read.

This novel was published by Pete’s Press on 11/20/2024 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

Goodreads