Review: The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter

My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it

  

Synopsis

Living side-by-side, a fledgling chef and a big-hearted contractor find a delicious attraction.
Trouble is, their chemistry could spoil their dreams.

Spirited PJ McKinley has the touch when it comes to food. Her dream of opening her own restaurant is just one building short of reality. So when a Chapel Springs resident offers her beloved ancestral home to the applicant with the best plan for the house, PJ believes it’s a contest she was meant to win.

Contractor Cole Evans is confident, professional, and swoon-worthy—but this former foster kid knows his life could have turned out very differently. When Cole discovers the contest, he believes his home for foster kids in transition has found its saving grace. All he has to do is convince the owner that an out-of-towner with a not-for-profit enterprise is good for the community.

But when the eccentric philanthropist sees PJ and Cole’s proposals, she makes an unexpected decision: the pair will share the house for a year to show what their ideas are made of. Now, with Cole and the foster kids upstairs and PJ and the restaurant below, day-to-day life has turned into out-and-out competition—with some seriously flirtatious hallway encounters on the side. Turns out in this competition, it’s not just the house on the line, it’s their hearts.

My Review

So much tension! The competition between PJ and Cole adds an element of resentment to their interactions, and as the reader it felt a little hard to shake as they began to get to know one another but still give priority to their own aspirations. It felt like an all or nothing scenario not just with the property but also with their potential for a relationship. It would have been nice to see thoughts of compromise enter in their consciousness. Overall I enjoyed the characters' eccentricities, PJ's overly concerned family members, and Cole's foster kids. Cole is one tough nut to crack! I appreciated getting to the part where PJ could get through to him and have an effect on how he thinks about himself.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

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