Nora Roberts – The last boyfriend

The second book in the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy series, published May 8, 2012.
Genre: contemporary romance, with a hint of paranormal as there is a ghost in the Inn.
Cover: welcoming, romantic



Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family's construction business with an iron fist - and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn't plan for was Avery McTavish...
Avery's popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation - and a newfound appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery's thoughts. But the attraction she's feeling for him now is far from innocent. As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen's hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected - and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last...


I loved going back to Inn Boonsboro, and its cast of characters. I love the friends to lovers trope a lot, and I enjoyed the journey of Owen and Avery. They have been friends for so long, and now (with a little nudge from the ghost) they are looking at each other in a different light. But both are hesitant to take their relationship to the next level. What if it does not work out, will they ruin their friendship?
Both Owen and Avery are very hard workers. Avery owns the pizzeria next door, and the others love to come over for lunch or dinner, and Beckett and Clare’s kids love to play the arcade games. They are all working hard on putting the finishing touches on the Inn, so they can open in time, and their mother has them working on the bakery next door and of course, she has already plans for more. But Avery has plans of herself as well. She has had her eye on the building across the street for a while now, she wants to open up a restaurant and pub in there. It will be very hard work, but with the right staff, she knows she can make it work. But now she has to get Owen and his family’s approval on her business proposal.

Owen finally has some time to devote to finding out who their resident ghost actually was, and Beckett sure had a feeling when he started calling her Elizabeth. Lizzie is waiting for her lover, or perhaps her husband, and she has been for a long time, ever since the civil war. Hope is her descendant through her sister, and to find out all those details was fun.

This is a really nice feel good romance. A description of a lot of hard work, done by all, and a slow building romance. I would love to see the Inn myself, and visit all those amazing rooms. The quest to find out about the ghost fits in nicely.
Avery is more damaged inside than she realizes, when her mother left her and her father when she was just a young girl, and has some major commitment and trust issues. Owen does not have an easy road in capturing her hand, even though she gives him her heart. Or perhaps she did that when they were children already, and that is the reason no boyfriend ever lasted long. And when her mother suddenly shows up again, well, that was a hard thing for her to live with.

When Owen finds out that his widowed mother and Avery’s father are having an affair, he and his brothers are having a hard time wrapping their mind around it. Sure they want their mother to be happy, but to imagine her having a love life is something different altogether. But they like Avery’s dad a lot, he and their father were best friends, and they both still miss their husband/best friend. Grieving together let to something more over the years, but they are happy with this casual relationship.

I look forward to book 3 already, and I am glad it arrived earlier this week. It might even take my attention from Hay Day for a while when I learn more about the last son, Ryder, and Hope, the new Innkeeper.

The three men are brothers, and the three women are best friends, and I love how they all interact each other, support each other and tease when possible. I love Nora Roberts writing style, not every book has to have lots of action and drama, and she writes so vividly I can find my way around town without ever being there.

9 stars.





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© 2014 Reviews by Aurian