Review: Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

This is a book I’ve been waiting five long years for.  When I was first introduced to the Travis family in SWEET TALKING STRANGER, I fell for all the members of the Travis family.  So I could wait to finally get to Joe’s HEA.  Unfortunately, it fell a little flat to me.

I liked Avery and I liked Avery and Joe together, but I felt their romance was missing something.  It didn’t feel like Joe and Avery spent enough time (at least on the page) building their relationship.  They talked on the phone, the did things together, but it felt like we jumped from one week to four weeks later without really getting a feel for what they had growing into something more.  Avery was a really tough nut to crack and I wanted to see Joe chase (somewhat similar to what Jack had to do) and prove to Avery that everything she believed was wrong about love.  Instead, when Avery most needed that reassurance, Joe turned into someone I didn’t recognize.

BROWN-EYED GIRL was an enjoyable to read, but it fell a little short (at least to me) compared to the previous three books.  I wanted a little more for Joe’s story, considering what he went through at the end of SWEET TALKING STRANGER.  I wanted to get to know Joe.  Why he wasn’t part of the family business, how he got into photography and why he took pictures at the animal rescue.  It felt like we skimmed the surface of Joe, while we got a little more in-depth with Avery.