Kat Girl (Love Chronicles) Kindle Edition by Sarah Lahey
A Contemporary Romance Novel published by Cross Over Press (07/12/2024)
Summary:
“She had forgotten what it was like to be loved by a man, someone who wasn’t a friend or a family member. It was a different kind of love – it was fulfilling and reassuring and life-affirming.” Page 288
Kat works in the male-dominated construction space. After being made redundant at her company, she feels lost but quickly discovers an opportunity to work as a heritage consultant. Liam needs his construction project to work. When he meets Kat on the work site, he knows she is someone he wants to pursue. Kat is determined never to marry again but that is Liam’s single-minded focus, at least initially.
Keywords:
Romance, Contemporary, Second-Chance, Construction, Australia, Male-Dominated Industry, Friendship, Romance
My Review:
First Reviewed through Reedsy Discovery.
I love second-chance romance books and this one is a solid read. It has the perfect level of sizzle in the romantic department. The sex scenes were well-written and hot, yet still concise enough not to feel overpowering.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was up with Kat but I get the vibe that she might be neuro-divergent in the way that Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time appears neuro-divergent but no specific diagnosis is presented. Sometimes Kat reads social situations in a way that I think is neuro-divergent. She is also very levelheaded emotionally, emotionally, and physically capable of being independent and alone, and thinks through situations in a way that is often detailed and literal. Her perspective is fascinating. She is also working in a male-dominated industry but never appears to be intimated by her surroundings or peers. She is not overly confident or overly anxious. She is analytical and precise with specific opinions and preferences. I adore her and the way her tea must only be brewed for 20 seconds. She feels like a real person full of a complete personality and childhood.
Liam is also a character I love. I appreciated the gender role reversal with Liam and Kat and that both these romantic leads were fully fleshed characters with their hopes, dreams, and past baggage. Liam was equally as interesting as Kat, equally as real, and full of personality. I wanted both of them to be successful but also to stop being so stubborn! Because they are unique persons, they don’t always see eye-to-eye with each other and that’s where tension blooms. There is some miscommunication but it feels organic.
The level of detail for construction, business, buildings, and history was oftentimes over my level of knowledge but I appreciated the depth it added to the world-building of this book. I wouldn’t know any better but it felt genuine and like the author and characters knew what they were talking about.
I don’t always read books set in Australia and have never been to Australia, but I didn’t feel like this was a different place than any town in my own country where you can have a meet-cute in a bar, lose your job to the boy’s club takeover, or take a weekend to get away to the country.
This novel was published by Cross Over Press on 07/12/2024 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.0
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 