The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry

I've really enjoyed Sarah Mayberry as a new Harlequin author.  (Well, she's not so new any more.)  I usually prefer her Harlequin Superromances to her Blazes, but I always find her books worth reading.  And it's fun to read a book set in Australia!

The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry
(2013, Contemporary Series)  5/30/13
Grade: 4

Oliver has escaped to his late aunt’s beach house to get away from his pending divorce.  Mackenzie has been recuperating at her beach cottage since a car accident left her with serious injuries.  Neither one is looking for a relationship, but their dogs have other ideas.  Once they’ve become friends, it’s only a short step to lovers - but is either one ready for a relationship?

This is a very low key, realistic book.  With all the trauma in the hero and heroine’s pasts, it could have been an angst fest - but instead, it was a quiet and down to earth story.  The relationship between Oliver and Mackenzie developed slowly - they were friends first, and there wasn’t a lot of the mental lusting that you get in so many books these days.  Eventually they did become involved (and there were quite a few sex scenes - I got a little bored with them after a while) but the characters remained grounded and down to earth.  Even the barriers between the characters were realistic ones - Oliver’s hesitation to get involved so soon after separating from his wife, Mackenzie’s concern about her injuries and uncertainty about her career.  In the end, the book may have been a little too realistic - it didn’t transport me or thrill me, and there were a few points in the first half when I got a little bored - but it was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t over-the-top, and I got a little misty at the end.  One of the best Mayberry books I’ve read so far.

The cover is pretty but doesn't match the book at all!  Mackenzie had short hair - it was a major plot point!  I guess Harlequin has done a poll and figured out that long hair sells more books.