While it’s a loose retelling, it stays true to the themes. I like that tension, the uncertainty that if they had stayed together, they may never have lasted – that because of the breakup and the years apart, they’ve become stronger people. The idea of a second chance romance, especially one where they’re both broken by the initial breakup. While I’d have to say Pride & Prejudice is my favorite Austen book, I have a special love for Persuasion retellings. I especially liked this aspect, as it helped show just how broken both men were, in different ways, and made it deliciously angsty. Second-chance romances are one of my favorite tropes, and since this book is a loose retelling of Persuasion, this was right up my alley It’s told from both main characters’ third-person POVs, and alternating between the past and present. Trigger warnings: homophobia (including one character playfully call another a “dirty fag”) Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton-he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him. The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.Įight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love. When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong.

This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.įirst love conquers all in Perfect Day, a captivating contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Last Kiss by Sally Malcolm