Author: A.J. Wynn
Series: Stand Alone
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
The debut novel from A.J. Wynn, 'Willowbrooke' was a superbly engaging romantic suspense story filled with compelling characters and an even more mysterious mansion. The plot was paced well and it was easy to get lost in Willowbrooke Estate as things heat up and more than one life is in jeopardy.
Penny is at a crossroads and desperately needs a big job to make her own interior design business come to life. She comes across as rather pathetic at the beginning, letting people walk all over her. With a need for external validation, Penny has bursts of confidence but at her core, she's a people pleaser. A professional organizer, but her life is a mess.
"My entire life fit into my car. I felt humiliated. I felt defeated. I felt so small."
Leo is as mysterious as the Estate he calls home. His emotions are fragile as he deals with his grief. Good-looking but reserved to a fault, Penny is immediately drawn to him. She can plainly see some of her own brokenness inside Leo and once renovations start they slowly start to help the other heal while old secrets break down around them.
"I appreciate that this house now means something to you too. Perhaps this project can be a new beginning for both of us."
Both Penny and Leo act years younger than they are, making childlike decisions and willingly sticking their head in the sand when life gets hard. Fortunately, they bring out the best in each other, and together the characters lean on each other to face challenges head-on.
It's obvious Leo has feelings early on for Penny but their relationship is a slow-burn. The romance holds equal weight as the mystery does in this book, adding depth to the story and raising the stakes in an increasingly dangerous environment. There is on page spice, but it's not descriptive.
"I thought I'd known Leo West before that moment, but I'd had no idea. I hadn't expected making love with him to be so sweet, so slow, so emotional, so very intimate."
Despite the risk and a dwindling number of known suspects, neither character takes any precautions for their safety. As two naive amateur detectives, Leo and Penny set themselves on a silver platter for anyone trying to hurt them.
Spiraling into a decades-long mystery that has just gotten more convoluted over time, Leo and Penny race to figure out if it is truly the dead that haunt Willowbrooke, or the murderous misdeeds of the living.
*Thank you to A.J. Wynn for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tropes and Themes: Romantic Suspense, Other Woman Drama, Slow Burn, Mystery, Ghosts, Haunting.
Blurb
Penny Abbot, an aspiring interior decorator, lands a job renovating the mysterious Willowbrooke estate for the brooding Leo West.
As they delve into the project, they unearth a decades old mystery within the house's walls, forging an unbreakable connection. Together, they navigate grief, uncover family secrets, and ignite a passionate romance, while confronting the history of Willowbrooke.
Amidst the whispers of the past, Penny and Leo's love story blossoms, forever changing their lives in ways they never expected.
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