In the Weeds (Lovelight #2)
By: B.K. Borison
Published Year: 2022/2023
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of the book.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A grumpy farmer and a no-nonsense social media influencer have another chance at love in this charming romantic comedy.
Evelyn St. James isn’t the kind of woman you forget. Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings, but Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He can’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.
So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is…confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon. When Evie disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally move on.
But Evie, who has been feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly dissatisfied with life online, is trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with.
First Impressions
I was so excited to read this after finishing Lovelight Farms (review here). I actually emailed the publisher after I finished the first one to ask them to keep me in mind to review the second one! Beckett and Evelyn’s story was teased in the first book so I was really looking forward to digging deeper.
What I thought
I loved returning to the world of Lovelight Farms.
Evelyn and Beckett hooked up when they were both at a conference in Maine. Slightly out of character for both of them, the hit it off and enjoyed a weekend together until Evelyn disappeared leaving nothing behind. When she shows up at Beckett’s farm for a contest that Beckett’s farm partner Stella entered, they’re both shocked. Months later, Evelyn returns to Lovelight Farms in hopes of finding her happy again.
I really liked Evelyn and enjoyed Beckett as well. I didn’t quite love them as much as I loved Stella and Luka though. I enjoyed that Evelyn is a boss and she is self-made. I also really liked her best friend who was blunt with her in the way that best friends can be. Beckett was sometimes hit or miss with me. I loved how sweet he was but sometimes he felt a little too gruff.
I appreciated that both of the characters were different in this novel. Beckett deals with sensory issues and Evelyn is a woman of color. I think it would’ve been nice to touch on that a little bit more, but I understand Borison not feeling comfortable with that type of storyline as she is not a woman of color herself.
This series is such a great Hallmark movie in a book type of series. It has that small town heart with quirky townsfolk an small communication type problems. I didn’t even get annoyed with the third act conflict with this one! I got a little frustrated with Beckett, but I loved the way that it was handled and solved.
I don’t know what it was that didn’t catch me as much in this one as the first, but I think it was either lack of banter (I’m a sucker for good banter) or maybe because my schedule made reading this a bit more choppy.