What a lovely book for a rainy Saturday afternoon. I found this novel very comforting for me. To date, I have listened to the audiobook several times simply because it entertained me so well.

I am one of the few who love first-person narratives. Sure, you only have one person's point of view, but it's much more profound. Here, the story is told by "Alice". She's a 51-year-old super uptight solicitor from London who lives only for her work. She has practically no private life and therefore never takes a holiday. Except for one time when her business partner and best friend "Miranda" sends her on a forced vacation to Portugal. When she meets Miranda's 29-year-old daughter "Joy" there, her life turns upside down.

I found Alice's portrayal very realistic. She made all her decisions in life because she thought that was what society expected of her. She never dared to look outside the box until she met Joy. Her friend's daughter makes her question all her life decisions, which is why she gradually finds relaxation in Joy's presence and someone to talk to. But their happiness is put to the test when Alice's best friend, who is also Joy's mother, finds out about their feelings.

Harper Bliss is one of the few authors who tell romances with significant age differences, absolutely beautiful and realistic. Thank you very much for that.

~~~
Check out my blog www.wordsandfiction.com to find more reviews. ( )

Seasons of Love
by Harper Bliss
Audio narrated by Carmen Rose
2-1/2*

Alice McAllister is a 51-year-old workaholic who has finally been convinced to go on holiday in Southern Portugal, staying in the vacation home of her best friend and business partner, Miranda. Shortly after arriving, she receives word from Miranda that her 29yo daughter, Joy, is going to crash for a few days, thus interrupting Alice's peaceful getaway.

Although the prudish Alice feels uncomfortable with Joy's excessive drinking, oversharing, and uninhibited flaunting of her body, Joy's good-natured attitude and youthful exuberance quickly allows her to steamroll her way into Alice's good graces; however, a random moment of seeing Joy nude in the moonlight at the beach triggers thoughts that make Joy feel uneasy, and she is forced to recognize and confront her feelings for the younger woman.

I think this is supposed to represent a love story, but I didn't see any growth in their relationship and it seemed to be centered on lust, with the younger and more easygoing woman being almost a bully to the older one, pushing her to come out in the open with the relationship faster than she was ready to, especially considering this was the first awareness she had of being attracted to women, having been divorced for over 15 years and essentially being married to her job. There were her doubts regarding the age gap as well as her best friend being Joy's mother. They had a lot to overcome. When the book finished, I didn't feel confident that this was a relationship that would last, despite finding resolution to some of the major issues they were facing. ( )