Adelaide Hipwell

On Our Own Terms by Adelaide Hipwell

Harriet Jones is in a slump after recently discovering her high school sweetheart/long-term boyfriend/fiance of two years has been schtupping his secretary, who is now several months pregnant and plans to marry the cheating rat. (Good luck with that, Mistress.) Harriet has sold her half of their joint business to him, and after that sale and good investments over the years, she really doesn't have to worry about money. She's decided to take some time to figure out what her next step will be and to give her heart a chance to heal. Her sister, Alice, convinces her to take a vacation, leave Sydney, Australia behind for a while, and visit her in Los Angeles, California, where she lives with her pro-basketball player husband.

While Harriet is settling down in her sister's pool house, unbeknownst to her, their next-door neighbor is none other than Ned Smith, a former member of the boy band called "4G", which had a huge presence on the music scene until the band broke up in order to allow the members to have more privacy in their lives and to pursue other interests. Ned has recently been in the tabloids after breaking up with a long-term girlfriend who is now accusing him of cheating on her. Her sob story is bogus, and Ned now realizes too late that she had probably always been with him only for her own personal gain. He, like Harriet, has a bruised ego, damaged self-esteem, and hesitancy to trust his own judgment when it comes to personal relationships.

The two of them meet under funny circumstances and after some mutual embarrassment, hit it off right away. They have a sweet relationship which seems to only be hindered by their own self doubt and outside sources relating to his fame, which they have to find a way to work through. This is an easy relationship to follow with very genuine people and low angst. They have a great circle of family and friends around them which adds a lot to the story.

There was a bit of a teaser about the beginning of a romance between a couple of their friends that will be the basis of Hipwell's next book. The author did a good job of letting us feel that these two were definitely an important part of the group without giving us much information about them, so I look forward to reading about this couple as well.… (plus d'informations)